Power Rangers Nexus
by Stellar Raven
Summary: When Tommy is mysteriously spirited away to another dimension, he'll have to get used to a completely different version of Earth...and the mismatched team of Rangers who defend it.
1. The Arrival

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 1: The Arrival

Alarms blared throughout the ship, signifying the presence of an intruder. Diskette beeped in alarm, spinning in midair on her miniature hover-jets. She shot down the hall towards the bridge, the doors opening automatically in front of her and closing in her wake.

Among the control panels and readouts of the bridge sat a single, pulsating sphere, and from this sphere emanated a deep, mellow voice.

"Diskette, please contact one of the Rangers. Any one will do."

"Yes, Zord-1." Diskette floated over to the communications console, and, extending an arm of sorts, began to type away at it.

"Is something wrong? The alarms-"

"Merely an automatic function. There is a matter to which we must attend, but nothing terribly dangerous."

Diskette brought up a readout of the current time. It was 4:17 AM. Only two or three Rangers were likely to be awake, and only one would have nothing better to do. She hit the Send key.

A series of six familiar notes rang out, followed by a surprised sounding "Hello?"

"Jareth, could you report to the bridge, please? We may have a problem."

Moments later, a shaft of golden light flew down from the ceiling, materializing into a young man about six feet tall, with long, dark hair and piercing green eyes.

"What's the problem, Zord-1?" he asked.

"There is an intruder aboard the ship, Gold Ranger," the sentient computer program intoned.

"Why not just teleport it off?"

"It is not that simple. This intruder has found himself here by accident, rather than by his own free will. Furthermore, he is a Ranger."

Jareth nodded, then did a double-take. "Beg pardon?"

"He is a Ranger. A remarkable Ranger at that."

"Not one of ours, then. All right, I'll see if I can find him, and bring him up to talk to you."

"I have already spoken to him, and explained the situation," The computer informed him. "He is prepared to come peacefully. I simply wish you to lead him here."

"Couldn't you have had Diskette do that?"

"I could, but I believe it would be more comforting to have a fellow human with whom he could talk. Remember, he is displaced, lost not in space or time, but in the dimensional continuum, which is infinitely more complex."

Jareth took a moment to mentally detangle what he'd just been told.

"All right. I'll go get him then. What's his name?"

"You will find him in one of the storage chambers on deck 37," Zord-1 said. "His name is Tommy Oliver."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So you don't have a leader?" Tommy asked, incredulous, as Jareth keyed in his order on the food dispenser in the ship's lounge.

"Nope," Jareth replied, accepting a soda from the slot in the bottom of the machine. "You want something? All you have to do is type it in."

Tommy walked up and started typing.

"No. We don't have a leader," Jareth continued. "We basically just blow things up. It was harder back when Zedd-"

"Zedd? He's still around here?"

Jareth looked at him curiously. "Yeah. You know Zedd? Anyway, back when he actually thought up complicated plans, then things were trickier. But lately, it's like he's not even trying. We just blow up what he sends and go home."

"So what kind of Zords do you pilot?"

"Depends on the situation," Jareth answered. "We've got a couple different sets, each one designed for a certain environment. On land, we usually use our Dinozords." Jareth twisted his wrist, and his Power Morpher appeared in a flash of golden light. It looked just like the morphers Tommy remembered, except that Jareth's Power Coin was embossed with the head of a Lion. "They're the strongest we've got. But if, say, the enemy is magic-resistant, and we've run into a few, then we use our Turbo Powers."

"Turbo Powers?" Tommy flicked his own wrists, and a morpher appeared that resembled a gear shift attached to an ignition.

"Yeah, that's it," Jareth said, taking another swig of soda. "Only the standard five get those, though."

"Standard five?"

"Green, Pink, Blue, Yellow, Red. Which are you?"

"Red."

"Thought so. It's all you're wearing. Yeah, the rest of us don't get Turbozords. We had to strip our old Zeo zords for the parts to build them, and there just wasn't enough to cover zords for twelve."

"But the Turbo Powers shouldn't…Twelve? Your team has twelve Rangers?"

"Yep. I know, it seems like a lot. But usually, only about half of us show up for any given battle. What shouldn't the Turbo Powers do now?"

"What? Oh. They shouldn't work against a magic-resistor," Tommy protested. "They're magical. I mean, they draw power from the Zeo Crystal, right?"

"Yes. But it's not the source that counts, it's the application. Or something. I'm not really sure," Jareth confessed. "Zord-1 handles all the details."

"Doesn't that make Zord-1 your leader?"

"No. He's a computer. He does what he's told. Well. Within certain parameters."

"What parameters?"

"Well, his first priority is to safeguard the Power. The weapons, the Zords, all that...he protects it, acts as its Guardian. His second priority is to do what we tell him. So if we told him to fry a city, he'd do it, but if we told him to fry one of our own Zords, he wouldn't."

"That is an oversimplification," Zord-1's voice intoned from the wall.

Tommy jumped, surprised.

Jareth laughed. "He's the ship's computer. He sees everything that goes on onboard, and has speakers everywhere. You get used to it."

"That's dangerous, though. What if one of you were placed under a spell or something, and told him to-"

"It's happened before. Our Black Ranger was possessed once, and told Zord-1 to destroy most of California. Zord-1 saw right through her, and refused to do it. Takes a lot to put one over on Zord-1."

Tommy nodded thoughtfully. The computer clearly wasn't a mindless machine. Then he double-taked. "Her?"

"Your Black Ranger's a guy?"

Tommy nodded. "Well…we don't actually have one at the moment. But whenever we've had a Black, it's always been male."

"Ours is a girl. Electra. You'll meet her." Jareth tossed his empty soda can at a square metal panel set into the wall. The panel opened like a laundry chute, catching the can, then slid closed.

"And then," Jareth continued, "We've got another set of Zords specifically designed for going out into space. Lolli…she's our resident tech-head…is still working the bugs out of those. Lots of fun, but if you get blown up out in space, you're pretty much screwed. You could drift forever before Zord-1 managed to get a lock on your location and send someone after you. Too far for teleportation, see. He can only handle teleportation planetside. Or rather, he can teleport you TO just about anywhere, it's getting you back that's tricky." Jareth considered for a moment. "Of course, I guess if you had another Zord that could handle space, you could just call it to come and get you. That should work."

"Interesting. Where do you keep them all? Zord Holding Bay? Turbo Garage?"

"Good question. I never thought to ask. Zord-1?"

"The Zords are stored in the Zord Deployment Bay," the wall replied. "It is on deck 42. Perhaps you would like a tour?"

Tommy shrugged. "Sure."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zord-1's directions led them to an elevator, the brushed steel doors of which opened as they approached. Jareth entered, followed by Tommy. The elevator lurched, then began to descend.

"In a moment, the lights will go out. They will be out for approximately three seconds. Please do not be alarmed."

Sure enough, the elevator was plunged into darkness. The lighting flickered, then returned. Shortly afterwards, the elevator stopped and the doors slid open, allowing the two to step out.

Before them stood an array of massive, gleaming metal creations. The majority of them were shaped like animals, while others resembled enormous cars or trucks. The two humans felt like gnats.

"I keep forgetting how big they are."

"They never seem as big when you're morphed," Jareth agreed. "Probably because you can jump right over them."

"How big must this ship be to hold them all like this?"

Jareth frowned. "Good question. I've seen the Oasis--"

"The what?"

"This ship. It's called the Oasis. I've seen it from the outside. It's about the size of an aircraft carrier. There's no way these all fit inside."

"Then...how?"

"Molecular compression," Zord-1's voice intoned from above.

"Molecular compression? You mean they shrunk?"

"Indeed. While in storage, the Zords are compressed to between three and twelve inches in height."

"They look full size to me," Tommy said.

"That is because you, too, have been compressed."

"The elevator?" Jareth asked.

"It is a mechanism for translation. You are both now approximately a quarter of an inch tall."

Jareth and Tommy exchanged an uneasy glance.

"Ummmm."

"Let's go back to the lounge."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"And that concludes our tour," Jareth said with a yawn. "Tomorrow I'll take you around and introduce you to some of the others. And don't worry, Zord-1'll find a way for you to get home."

Tommy blinked. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Bed," The Gold Ranger replied. "Sun's coming up. I must return to the safety of my crypt, lest the light of day reduce me to ash."

"You're a vampire?"

Jareth raised an eyebrow. "I was kidding, Tommy. No. As far as I know, there's no such thing as vampires. Although I have seen stranger things."

"Yeah, same here."

"Anyway. Yeah. So. Bed for me. My room," Jareth said, "is on the habitat level. Zord-1 can tell you where that is. Mine's the room with the gold door, you can't miss it. That's where I'll be, if you need anything."

"Gotcha."

"And Tommy?"

"Yeah?"

"Please don't need anything."

So saying, Jareth turned and walked away.

"Tommy," Zord-1 said. "Shall I show you to your quarters?"

Tommy considered, then nodded. "I could use some sleep.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was no telling, in his windowless room, how long Tommy had slept. He got out of bed, stretched, then looked around. To his relief, adjoining his quarters, which consisted of a bed, desk, chair and dresser, there was a bathroom. After making use of the facilities and having a shower, Tommy returned to find his clothes, which he had carelessly tossed into the corner, lying in a neatly folded pile on the counter next to the sink. He reached over and picked up his shirt....it had been cleaned, and very well cleaned at that. It was even dryer-warm. Zord-1 must have cleaned them while he was showering.

Now, how had he done that? Had snakelike metal tentacles with attached mechanical claws come out of the walls and taken them off to some cleaning facility? Had the computer just teleported them there? Or had they been bombarded with some atomic ray that cleaned them, and then brought them to life so they could fold themselves?

Grinning at that last thought as he pulled them on, Tommy stepped from the bathroom to his room--and found a small mechanical construct, about waist-high with a dome-shaped head, changing the bedspread. Well, that explained that.

The droid, ignoring Tommy, turned and left the room, the door opening for him.

Curious, Tommy followed it. It turned a corner and, inserting itself into a slot in the wall perfectly contoured to it's shape, slid straight down into the floor.

"Huh. Wonder where it went."

"Having completed his daily chores on the habitat level, Drone has gone to the Zord Deployment Bay to run daily Maintenance on the Zords," Zord-1's voice rang out from the ceiling, startling Tommy once again.

"Morning, Zord-1."

"Good morning, Tommy. Was the room to your liking?"

"It could use a little decoration, But yes, it was fine."

"Please, come to the bridge."

"Where--"

"Follow the sound of my voice," Zord-1 said, his voice seeming to move down the hall. Tommy assumed he was simply talking continuously, and merely switching one speaker off and the next one on to simulate movement in a particular direction.

"The reason I ask about the room, apart from mere courtesy, is that I have been pondering the best way to return you to your home dimension."

"And?"

"And, I have found very little. Now, you claim that you were simply minding your own business, then there was....?"

"A bright flash of red light, and then I was in that storeroom."

"Yes, that collaborates my suspicions."

"Suspicions?"

"I have one idea...only one...regarding what may have brought you here. If it turns out to be true, then I also have one idea regarding how to restore you."

"And that is?"

"I prefer not to say just now. Regardless, if it is the case, then it will take some time to accomplish. And if it is not, then it will take still more time to find the actual cause. Regardless, you are likely to be here for quite some time. Thus, I sincerely hope that the room is to your liking."

"Oh." Tommy changed the subject. "A machine can hope?"

"Certainly. I may not be capable of most emotions, but I have no trouble at all hoping. A computer is created for a certain purpose. It is instilled with the desire to fulfill that purpose. Thus, it hopes for those certain conditions to be met that will enable it's purpose to be fulfilled. Hope is perhaps the one truly universal emotion."

"I see."

"The bridge isn't far now. Continue down this passage, and take the next door to which you come." Zord-1's voice stopped there.

Tommy continued down the passage until he came to the door, which slid open of it's own accord.

The room he entered was apparently the bridge. It was circular, with the front half of the wall occupied by a massive rectangular window. The bridge was split-level, most of the room was recessed. Consoles and control panels abounded, and evenly spaced about the curving wall were wonderfully painted portraits of each of the thirteen Power Rangers. On the floor was a large, stylized X, clearly the symbol of this particular group of Power Rangers.

Intrigued, Tommy looked more closely at the portraits. While all obviously belonging to the same set, no two Ranger costumes looked quite alike. The Black Ranger was indeed female, and her suit resembled that of a ninja or an assassin, or some combination of the two. The Gold Ranger's helmet had an actual mane, and he wore a trenchcoat whose sleeves vanished halfway down his arms, becoming one with his gauntlets. The Purple Ranger's armor resembled a wetsuit, the Gray Ranger had a cloak, and one, a color Tommy couldn't immediately identify, was dressed somewhat like Superman. One of the frames, the one above the door, stood empty. Judging by the color of the frame it should have held the painting of the Red Ranger.

A pulsating orb set into the nearest control panel caught his attention.

"Welcome to the bridge, Tommy. Tell me, does anything in this room strike you as odd?"

Tommy looked around once again. "No, it's more or less what I expected. Except for the portraits."

"Their presence surprises you?"

"No, even that's not too strange. it's just that one's missing."

"Precisely. Tommy, we are missing a Ranger. Namely, the Red Ranger."

"Why didn't you just choose someone?"

"I don't claim to have any knowledge of how these things work in your world, Tommy, but here, the Coin chooses the Ranger. While the other twelve coins found suitable hosts and seem well satisfied, the Red Power Coin has never responded to anyone. We've done sweeps of the planet, even of the galaxy. Nothing."

"So how do you get by without a Red Ranger?"

"We've managed, and managed fairly well, so far. But this can only last so long. Jareth told you that Zedd has been thoughtless in his attacks lately?"

"Yes...."

"It is my belief that Lord Zedd is planning for a massive strike against the planet. I believe the Coins know this also."

"Then the Red Coin...."

"Would have been pressed to find someone it found worthy. Not finding anyone on Terra, the planet we now orbit, nor elsewhere within its range, it began searching other dimensions."

"Are you saying the Red Power Coin brought me here?"

"Yes. Your arrival has the Red Coin's proverbial fingerprints all over it."

"So...I'm your new red Ranger?"

For an answer, one of the nearby panels swung around, revealing a panel of black velvet with thirteen rectangular slots in it. Twelve were empty, but one held a silver, oblong device that Tommy recognized as a Power Morpher. As he drew closer, Tommy recognized the gold coin in the center, engraved with the image of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Suddenly, the coin began to shine a violent crimson. A ray of scarlet light shot forth from the coin, pointing right at Tommy's heart.

"The coin has indeed chosen you," Zord-1 said. "The only question remaining is, do you accept?"

"Accept?"

"The coin will not force itself on you. You must accept it."

"Oh....what happens if I refuse?"

"I am uncertain. The coin may return you to your own world, or it may ignore you entirely."

"Oh."

"While I do not wish to unduly influence your decision, Tommy, I will not lie. The coin brought you here for a reason. You are indeed needed."

Tommy stared at the morpher for a moment. He swallowed. "I accept."

The morpher vanished from its slot in a flash of scarlet light.

"Welcome to the family, Red Ranger," the sentient computer intoned.


	2. Conversational Interlude

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 2: Conversational Interlude

Later that day, Tommy entered the ship's lounge...and walked right into the middle of an argument.

"No, no, no."

"Yes."

"Can't be."

"It's true."

"Really?"

"I'm telling you. It's made of mold."

"It doesn't TASTE like mold."

"Have you ever tasted mold?"

"…Well, no."

Tommy strolled over to the circular couch and glanced down over the back. Jareth was there, and sitting opposite him was a young man dressed in black, blue, and gray.

"Oh, hey, Tommy."

"Tommy? This the one you told me about?"

"Yeah, this is him. Tommy, this is Deacon. He's the Silver Ranger."

"Nice to meet you," Tommy said.

"Likewise. Care to settle an argument?"

"Umm....sure."

"Is blue cheese made of mold?" Jareth asked.

Tommy blinked. "THIS is what you're arguing about?"

"Yep," Deacon replied. "Welcome to our world."

""So? What's your verdict?"

"I....have no idea. Why not ask Zord-1?"

"Good idea. Zord-1?"

The speaker mounted in the ceiling clicked on. "While blue cheese is not made of mold, certain kinds of mold are used in the process that creates blue cheese."

"I win," Deacon said.

"Damn."

"So, have you met any of the other Rangers, Tommy?" Deacon asked.

"No, just you two."

"That'll change. Red Ranger is on the day shift."

"What?"

"Thirteen Rangers is a bit much to mobilize at one time, so we have teams. Shifts. White, Green, Black, Blue, Yellow, Pink, and Red are the day shift," Jareth said, ticking them off on his fingers. "Although Green and White tend to get paired off for separate missions a lot. Not sure why."

"Oh. And the others are night shift?"

"Not all of us. Just Deacon, Myk and I."

"Mike?"

"Not Mike, Myk," Jareth corrected, somehow managing to convey the difference in spelling. "He's the Bronze Ranger. Goofy superhero armor, attitude to match. He even wears a cape."

Tommy realized what color the superman-ranger from the portrait was supposed to be. "Gold, Silver, Bronze. Makes sense."

"And the other three are relief. Purple, Camouflage, and Gray."

"Camouflage? You have a Camo Ranger?" Tommy asked incredulously.

"Yep. Terina says there's a good reason."

"Who?"

"Terina. Um, Yellow Ranger. She's Eltarian, just like this ship."

"She's an alien?"

"Yep. Looks human enough. From a distance anyway. There are…differences, though, up close."

Deacon snickered. "Jareth's gotten _very _close."

Jareth lightly slapped him upside the head. "Shaddup. Anyway, she says that after Medelon made one set of Chromatic Rangers and one set of Mettalic Rangers, he made Gray, Purple, and Camo to represent air, sea, and land. Yeah, I know," the Gold Ranger said, seeing Tommy about to interject. "Apparently Eltar had gray skies and purple oceans. But yeah, that's why there's a Camo Ranger."

"You'll meet her eventually," Deacon said. "And then you'll wish you hadn't."

Jareth chuckled. "Deacon and the Camo Ranger have…a history. Anyway, those three step in when we need extra manpower, or one of us is wounded...you know. Things like that."

Tommy nodded. "And…who's Medelon?"

"Supposedly, the guy who forged the Power Coins," Deacon replied. "Nobody knows much about him. Lived thousands of years ago."

"I see. Well, it sounds like you've got a pretty good system."

"Yeah, well, that's the theory," Jareth said. "But truth be told, it doesn't usually work out that way."

"True," Deacon agreed. "Normally, Zord-1 just sends out the call, and whoever's not busy answers. We normally wind up with five or six. But that's usually enough."

Jareth kicked back, resting his feet on the table. He glanced over at Deacon, who was getting himself another soda.

"So," the Gold Ranger said. "What do you think Jell-o is made of?"


	3. Trouble Brewing

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 3: Trouble Brewing

Tommy awoke to the sound of sirens.

"Red Ranger, please report to the bridge. We have a problem."

"Of course we do," Tommy mutered.

When Tommy arrived at the bridge of the orbiting craft, he found it to be milling with people, each one wearing almost exclusively a single color....obviously Rangers. One of them, a girl decked out entirely in hot pink, glanced over at him.

"About time you showed. Tommy, right?" she said. She looked a great deal like a female version of Jareth, except that her hair was lighter and her skin darker from spending a good deal more time in the sun.

"Um…yeah. Yeah, I'm Tommy. And you are…?"

"Tommy, this is my sister, Mara. Mara, Tommy." Jareth said, yawning.

"Nice to meet you, Tommy. I'm the Pink Ranger."

"No kidding," Tommy said, glancing at her shockingly pink outfit. "So, what's the problem?" he asked, glancing at the pulsating orb from which Zord-1's voice emanated.

"Three problems, actually." The large window at the front of the bridge split into three viewscreens, each displaying a different image. The image on the far left grew, eclipsing the other two. A strange, humanoid, wolflike creature was wandering a vast desert, every so often consulting what appeared to be a compass hanging from his neck.

"First of all," Zord-1 said, "A planet had appeared where there was none before."

"Does that happen often?" one of the others asked, a young man with cropped, gelled black hair. He had piercing blue eyes and an outfit to match.

"No, Troy, it does not."

"Is that a Zornian?" Deacon asked. "I thought Randomon was the last one."

"Yeah, you said that the planet Zorn had been frozen, like, five centuries ago," Jareth added.

"Indeed it was. It appears that Randomon was not the only Zornian to escape his planet's fate."

"So, a planet shows up out of nowhere, and then this Zornian guy appears… what's this got to do with us?" another girl asked, this one having a burgundy ponytail and wearing combat fatigues.

"Our job is to protect Terra," the Blue Ranger…What was his name? Troy?...agreed. "Other planets are pretty much out of our jurisdiction."

"I have performed numerous scans of the planet and cross-referenced my results with my historical logs. The closest match I can find is an obscure reference, dating back farther even than the Tzoda Wars, to a planet called Yllustri that was sealed away several million years ago.

"Why was it sealed away?" Jareth inquired.

"Ostensibly, to keep safe certain magical artifacts of significant power."

"Which is probably what he's after," Deacon surmised, eyeing the wandering Zornian on the screen.

"Zord-1, you said there were three problems," another girl chimed in, this one a tall, blue-eyed blonde in a green jumpsuit.

"Indeed. Second," the sentient computer intoned, as the image shrunk and the one next to it grew to cover the full screen, "A large contingent of spacecraft, heavily armed, is approaching Terra. It's destination appears to be New York City. The fleet is well-armed and quite capable of decimating the city."

"Those are Quadrafighters," Tommy said, recognizing the spacecraft belonging to-

"The Machine Empire."

Tommy glanced at the Ranger who'd spoken…growled, really…and was surprised to see that the menacing tone had come from a delicate-looking, elfin-featured girl less than five feet tall, dressed unassumingly in a faded yellow sweater and an equally faded pair of blue jeans.

"I thought we were only up against Zedd?" Tommy said, glancing at Jareth and Deacon. "Nobody said we'd be fighting the Machine Empire, too."

"The Machine Empire has not made its presence known in this part of the galaxy prior to this," Zord-1 informed him. "They've certainly never before shown an interest in Terra."

"Maybe they've allied with Zedd," an asian girl in expensive, purple-colored clothing suggested calmly.

"Not likely," Tommy said. "Not if your Zedd and Machine Empire are anything like the ones from my world."

"Terra does not possess the sort of resources that generally attract the Machine Empire's attention," Zord-1 said. "Nor does it present any sort of economical or military threat, as Terrans have not yet achieved Cultural Threshold."

"Cultural what now?" Mara asked, giving the most puzzled expression her face could generate.

"Cultural Threshold," the blonde girl in green explained. "It's the point at which a species achieves faster-than-light travel and joins the rest of the civilized universe."

"Humans are civilized!" the Pink Ranger exclaimed indignantly.

The Green Ranger snorted. "Humans are cavemen. As a species, we still think email is amazing."

Mara opened her mouth to respond, but someone else spoke first.

"What's the third problem?" A young teenager in white clothing asked, sounding annoyed. Tommy got the impression that someone regularly had to step in to interrupt arguments between Mara and the girl in green.

"The third problem is the usual. Giant monster attacking the abandoned warehouse district."

The image on the front screen changed again, this time displaying the monster as it carved a swath of destruction through a city.

"You know, in the future, you might want to mention that one first," Jareth suggested with a smirk.

"Is that Destiny?" Deacon asked. "Man, what IS it about our town's warehouse district? They ALWAYS go for the warehouses."

"Not always," the Gold Ranger argued. "Sometimes it's the park."

"Or the gravel quarry," the Camo Ranger added with a grin. "You know, I didn't even know Destiny HAD a gravel quarry before I took this job?"

"Jareth, Myk, and Deacon: I would like you to attend to the problem on Yllustri. Find out what the Zornian is searching for, defeat him if need be. Do you believe yourselves capable of this?"

Myk nodded. "Absolutely."

"I think we can take him," Deacon added, scrutinizing his picture on the screen.

"We took down Randomon, didn't we?" Jareth looked over at the other two. "Showtime," he said.

Acting in unison, the three held out their arms and flicked their wrists. Streams of gold, silver, and bronze smoke spiraled down the respective Rangers' arms, finally solidifying in their hands as their morphers.

**"Lion!"**

**"Eagle!"**

**"Elephant!"**

There was a blinding lightshow and a burst of sound, stirring the air.

Tommy blinked as his vision cleared. Despite having seen the portraits hanging around the bridge, some part of him had expected these three to appear in the standard, skintight, monochromatic Ranger Uniform. Instead, there now stood before him three almost completely different suits of armor.

The Gold Ranger's helmet resembled a Lion's head. However, instead of simply being carved in the shape of the animal's head, his helmet had a mane of actual fur growing from the back, encircling his neck. His torso was covered in golden armor, but it was also covered in a long black coat. The sleeves vanished halfway down his arms, becoming one with his bracers, and his lower legs were encased in boots that resembled lion's paws.

The Silver Ranger was wearing a shield, similar to the one Tommy had worn back when he was the Green Ranger, except that it's shoulder pads curled upwards. His helmet was almost nondescript, only upon closer inspection could Tommy make out the fine detailing of the Elephant's visage concealed in its features.

The Bronze Ranger looked like a classic superhero, cape and all. His helmet was carved into the form of an eagle, with the swept back wings raised from the surface so that they resembled horns. Hs entire body was armored, legs and all, and his boots ended in bladelike talons. Still, there was something about him....either the way he was standing or the armored plates that hung from the sides of his belt, that brought to mind a Roman centurion.

Without a word, the three teleported off in a flash of metallic-hued light.

"Kalen, Fox, and Angel." Three more Rangers stepped forward; the asian girl in the expensive, purple designer clothing and the girl in the combat fatigues, who were then joined by a surprisingly large male. It wasn't surprising that he was large, but that anyone so large had managed to go unnoticed for so long; he had to be almost seven feet tall and proportionately muscular. His calm eyes were a stormy gray; his hair short, curly, and brown.

"I would like the three of you to deal with the monster de jour. He shouldn't be much trouble."

Like the three before them, the Rangers thus addressed summoned their morphers.

**"Hammerhead!"**

**"Wolf!"**

**"Crocodile!"**

Tommy was less surprised this time to see the difference in the costumes. The Uniforms these Rangers wore weren't exactly uniforms, as no two seemed to be quite alike.

The Gray Ranger was wearing solid gray body armor from the waist up, but the lower half of his body was covered by a pair of loose, stitched leather pants, also gray. He also seemed to be wearing some sort of cloak or shawl....or something, that covered only his right half, made of fur and decorated with shards of bone and fangs. His helmet was sculpted to resemble a wolf.

The Purple Ranger was decked out in what seemed to be a sorceress's cloak. Her body beneath the cloak was protected by what appeared to be a purple wetsuit, and her arms and legs had bladelike fins extending from them. A similar fin grew from the top of her helmet, which resembled the head of a hammerhead shark. There were eyes on either side of her forehead, and gill slits where her ears should have been.

The remaining Ranger was wearing emerald green armor, but only on her torso could it be seen. The rest of her was covered as it had been, with camouflage army fatigues. She was wearing a camo jacket, pants, and a pair of black combat boots....but Tommy caught a flash of red just inside her Jacket, and realized that she was equipped with a Blade Blaster, just like the ones the Rangers used to use back when he was the Green Ranger. Her helmet was carved to resemble a crocodile.

Again without preamble, Zord-1 teleported them to where they needed to be. Finally, he addressed the remaining Rangers.

"Good. Now. Rangers. On to New York.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jareth was very glad he was wearing a helmet, or he'd have gotten a faceful of sand upon landing. Actually, if he hadn't been morphed, he'd have probably broken every bone in his body, given the velocity with which he hit the ground. Fortunately, morphed bodies didn't exactly have bones... or, for that matter, anything else remotely resembling an organ.

Disentangling himself from his coat and shaking the sand out of his mane, he looked over for the other two Rangers. Deacon lay some distance behind him, lying facefirst in the sand. Jareth strode over and pulled him to his feet.

"Oomph," Deacon said crankily, though he hadn't felt any actual pain. "When will that Microsoft reject learn how to land an interplanetary teleport?"

"Can YOU land an interplanetary teleport?"

"Umm..no."

"Then quit bitchin'. Where's Myk?"

"Here!"

Myk was standing atop a nearby sand dune, having managed to land perfectly.

"Come on. We have to stop that monster." he hopped down and began making his way across the sands.

"Yeah, yeah, when we're good and ready," Jareth said, brushing off his sleeves. "How do you know he went that way, anyway?"

The Bronze Ranger pointed down to a set of pawlike tracks in the sand, luckily undisturbed by any stray winds.

"Ah," Deacon said.

Since all that needed to be said had been, the three headed off across the sands.....

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Zedd sent us an ugly one this time," Fox said, her voice transmitted to the helmets of her fellow Rangers so it could be heard above the roars.

"They're ALL ugly," Angel replied. he touched a hand to the side of his helmet, opening the comlink to the Oasis' Zord Bay. "Deploy Wolf Dinozord."

Almost instantly, a gleaming, two story mechanical wolf appeared atop the next warehouse over.

He looked expectantly at the other two. "Well?"

"What, can't you handle it?" Kalen replied, teasing.

Angel sighed and willed the Line-of-sight teleportation system of his zord to beam him aboard. Settling into the cockpit, he removed his Power Coin from his belt and stretched it into an icicle-shaped crystal, then used the crystal to activate the Zord's motor functions.

The Wolf zord let out a howl and pounced upon the monster, who put up an arm to defend itself. The monster let out a screech of pain and rage as the Wolf's teeth sank into its flesh, but it couldn't shake off the Zord's metal grip.

Kalen and Fox giggled from their vantage point atop one of the warehouses as the monster flailed his arm, the wolf flailing around with it.

Angel wasn't bothered by the shaking, protected as he was by the stabilizers in the cockpit, but the giggling was nonetheless annoying.

"I'm so glad you're amused."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Tommy....do you know how to summon your Morpher?"

"I think so." Tommy concentrated, and twisted his wrist. A small swirl of crimson mist spiraled down his arm, solidifying in his open palm as his Power Morpher.

"Excellent." Zord-1 said. "The coins were originally meant to be activated by certain state of mind…usually achieved through diligent training and deep meditation. However, it was quickly discovered that this state of mind could easily be achieved, for the instant it was needed, simply by associating it with a mental trigger that could be activated by utterance of a key word or phrase. In your case-"

"Tyrannosaurus?"

"Correct. I'm glad you're familiar with the basics. I was concerned that they may differ too much here from those in your world. Now, then, Rangers....you're mission is to teleport to New York City, Morph, summon your DinoZords, and destroy the attacking fleet. Do you accept?"

There was a general babble of agreement.

"Then good luck."

In a flash of scarlet light, Tommy found himself standing atop a skyscraper in the middle of a massive city....NYC. The other Rangers stood alongside him.

Acting almost as one...Tommy had never realized before just how creepy that was...they summoned their morphers.

**"Dragonzord!"**

**"Brachiosaurus!"**

**"Mastodon!"**

**"Pterodactyl!"**

**"Triceratops!"**

**"Saber-toothed Tiger!"**

Once again, Tommy blinked....despite seeing the different armors before, he'd expected these ones to be like the ones he remembered, but only the Pink and White Rangers looked as he expected.

Instead of form-fitting green fabric, the Green Ranger had a tunic of green overlapping scales. The armor still had the golden Dragon Shield, but it now covered what were unmistakably feminine contours. The familiar Dragon Dagger hung at her hip, but a mass of golden-blonde hair now poured from a crescent-shaped slot in the back of her helmet, and her boots resembled a pair of sharp, reptilian talons.

The Black Ranger still had the familiar Mastodon-shaped helmet, but this armor, too, was now worn by a female. Her torso was protected by polished black armor, but her arms and legs were wrapped in strips of black fabric, inlaid with silver spikes and studs, like a ninja or assassin. A pair of throwing stars adorned one arm, and her right gauntlet bore a strange, clawlike device. Across her back was a short, straight black katana, the kind used by ninjas...well, in all the movies he'd seen, anyway..., its sheath fastened to her back by a thick, spiked bandolier. Dyed-blue hair spilled from the back of her helmet.

The Blue Ranger was dressed entirely in armor, with no fabric visible. There were no white diamond-markings, like Tommy had expected, but on the left side of his chest he bore a gold disc, carved to resemble the Power Coin in his belt, like a badge. He, too, had a red Blade Blaster, but instead of hanging from his belt, it was attached to the side of his right leg. On the left side of his belt was a short, blue cylinder, the purpose of which Tommy could only imagine. The armor as a whole brought to mind a kind of futuristic police officer, though quite different from the Blue Senturian Tommy had known.

The Yellow Ranger's helmet was identical to the one worn by Trini, and later Aisha, but the rest of the armor had a wild, untamed look to it. Jagged black stripes decorated the suit, and her high-heeled black boots forked at her knees.

A blast of solid light struck the sidewalk below them, shaking Tommy out of his observations. Realizing that he was still vulnerable, he held out his morpher.

**"Tyrannosaurus!"**

It was a feeling he never quite got tired of. All of the leftover weariness from the night before vanished. Every human being constantly experiences minor aches and pains, they simply get used to them to the point that they are no longer noticed...but these, too, were abruptly gone, conspicuous by their absence. In the back of his mind was the instinctive knowledge of everything this body was capable of, as though he'd been using it for centuries and knew each and every one of it's limitations.

He was the Red Power Ranger. His strength and speed, agility and reflexes, far surpassed everything the human body was capable of. His weapon was the Tyrant Sword (Tommy recognized it as the original Power Sword), which he could summon at will. He had access to a helmet device called the Power Scan, which was a sensory device to be marveled at. He had a special attack he could use called PyroSphere, which conjured a flaming orb that could fly for hundreds of yards and exploded upon impact. He was now a master of every sword technique man had ever discovered, would ever discover, and even some that had been refined millennia ago on planets never even dreamt of by man. And, last but most certainly not least, he could summon the fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex Dinozord, a sentient machine capable of leveling mountains with a single blast.

All of this information flowed through his mind so quickly, he almost thought he'd lose it...but it was there, waiting to be called on, and he knew it.

"So THAT's what the Red armor looks like," The Pink Ranger said. Her face couldn't be seen, but from the tilt of her head she was looking at him appraisingly.

The look didn't last long; another blast of energy struck the concrete, burning through the asphalt and rupturing the pipes below. A jet of superheated steam shot out as the water in the pipes was instantly vaporized.

"We'd best get to work," Tommy said. He raised a hand to the side of his helmet to call his Zord, but to his surprise, it suddenly appeared before he'd said a word, along with those of the other Rangers.

"Zord-1 sent them ahead. He knew we'd be needing them." Mara said, somehow reading the surprise on his face though she couldn't see it.

"You know how to get in, right?"

"Jump," Tommy said, but even as he said it, he realized it wasn't right. The information in his head said that the Zords had their own teleportation systems, designed to bring the Rangers aboard. "I mean, yes. I know how to get in. Thanks."

Mara nodded, then shot towards her Zord as a streak of pink light. Tommy did the same, and found himself in a bright red cockpit. Apart from the color, it was slightly similar to that of the Dragonzord, though he'd only been inside the Dragonzord once or twice, preferring to control it with his Dagger.

Tommy laid his hands on the controls, and immediately, is was as if his mind expanded to fill the Zord. The Zord seemed to become an extension of his body, or his body a single part of the Zord. Tommy/Tyrannosaur looked up as the first of the oncoming fighter ships broke through the clouds above.

"I've got 14 blips on the scope," Mara's voice called, as her Pterodactyl Zord flew by overhead.

"Two apiece," another voice called, one Tommy didn't recognize, though the accent was clearly Australian. He blinked...as if to answer his curiosity, letters began to flow past the inside of his visor. The language was completely foreign to him, he knew he could never read these characters if he weren't morphed, even if he could see them. It was information on the vital statistics of the Black Ranger; that voice had been Electra's.

That was enough for now, Tommy willed the information to go away. He'd look up more when he had the time.

Tommy/Tyrannosaur looked up...and caught a jet fighter of alien design square in the face.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ornyk scowled, consulting the magic compass that hung from the golden chain around his neck. He was getting close...good. He didn't care much for deserts. Too hot, too dry. He'd much prefer to be in a jungle or a cave, where it was at least humid enough to breathe without getting a lungful of dust. Of course, he knew better than to actually breathe here, his kind were meant to breathe to nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere of Gamma Class planets, not the methane cloud that surrounded this place. Being a magical entity, he didn't NEED to breathe, but old habits died hard, and it'd be a relief to get what he was here for and go home. What exactly he was looking for...he sighed. At this point, the main reason he was still going was to find out just what in Creoa's name it was.

"Stop!"

Ornyk spun around, and there atop a nearby sand dune stood the Bronze Ranger, striking what he supposed was meant to be a heroic pose.

Ornyk breathed an airless sigh. Power Rangers. Just what he needed. He'd never met this particular Ranger before, but he'd encountered similar teams on other worlds. They were always getting in the way; never powerful enough to be a threat, but too powerful to outright ignore. In other words, just enough to be a nuisance…and they usually insisted on doing just that.

"What do you want, Ranger?"

"We've come to stop you," the Silver Ranger said in a resigned voice, walking up to stand to the Bronze Ranger's left.

"We were just going to stab you in the back and go home, but Hero Boy here had to go for the dramatic entrance," the Gold Ranger added, shooting what was undoubtedly a withering look at the Bronze Ranger.

"I don't believe you two!" the Bronze Ranger said, turning on his teammates. "We're supposed to be the good guys!"

There was a sudden pain in Myk's back as Ornyk's dagger pierced his armor. Seizing his opportunity, Ornyk had closed the distance between them and struck.

"Oh, but Bronze Ranger...the 'bad guys' would never hesitate to stab YOU in the back."

The wolflike creature withdrew his dagger and let Myk fall to the sand. Ornyk knew he wasn't dead, far from it; if Power Rangers were that easy to kill, there'd be no point. He could already see the hole in his armor healing. He'd be up on his feet again in a few minutes.

**"Lyonscythe!"**

**"Silver Swords!"**

The remaining two Rangers pulled their weapons from thin air, one wielding a wicked curved scythe with a sword hilt on the end, the other holding a diamond-edged short sword in either hand.

"Hmm....two...and a half...Rangers, versus me. Hardly fair odds. Of course, the odds don't much matter to you two, do they? You think like a villain, if you see an opening, you take advantage of it. I respect that."

"I'm moved," the Gold Ranger said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You're respect means a lot to me. Really."

"Are you going to fight us and die now, or go away and die later?" The Silver Ranger asked. "I'd like to get this over with. I've got a date."

Ornyk tilted his head, not used to talking to Rangers who didn't heartily object to being flattered by the 'villain'. Most tended to take it as an insult, which was, of course, the entire point.

"Very well, then." Ornyk held out his hands, and, with a crackle of blue-black flame, a long, curved scabbard appeared in one of his hands, and a curiously-shaped helmet in the other. He placed the helmet firmly upon his head, then drew his blade and assumed a swordsman's stance. "Which of you wishes to die first?"

The two Rangers exchanged a glance.

"Match you for it?" the Silver one asked.

"Kay."

There followed a brief game of some sort involving hitting one's open palm with one's fist. Apparently, Silver won, as he exclaimed, "Yes!", while the other merely sighed and sat down petulantly in the sad nearby.

Ornyk raised an eyebrow. "I must admit, I hadn't expected you to actually take that seriously."

"Yeah, well, if we took you together, we'd fight later over who got the credit for making you into a throw rug," Silver said.

"Boo!" the Gold Ranger called. "This banter isn't witty enough!"

"We're boring our audience," Ornyk commented.

"Can't have that," Silver agreed.

The Silver Ranger darted forward, one of his swords swiping low in an attempt to cut Ornyk off at the knees, but the Zornian, with surprising agility for someone wearing full plate mail, leapt into the air, dodging the strike and delivering a sideways kick to the Ranger's helmet.

The Silver Ranger rolled with the force of the blow, tumbling nimbly to his feet, his helmet badly dented and his visor cracked.

Ornyk blinked in surprise as the dent reversed itself with an audible POP, the flawless shine returning to the helmet's chrome finish. The jagged lines in the black glass of the Silver Ranger's visor began to disappear, the material uncracking before the Zornian's very eyes.

"Healing factor. Now _that_ is impressive," he allowed. "What are its limits, I wonder?" He leapt forward, bringing his blade crashing down on the Ranger, who crossed his own swords above his head, parrying the attack. "Can you regenerate limbs? If I cut you in half, will I wind up with two of you?"

"Oh gods, _please _don't try it," the Gold Ranger begged from his seat. "One's enough."

"Shut. Up. You," Silver muttered, is swords clashing rapidly against Ornyk's as the two began dueling in earnest, each combatant parrying strikes as rapidly as they could come.

The Bronze Ranger, finally getting to his feet, came to stand next to Gold.

"Why aren't you helping?" he demanded.

"We went over this already," Gold replied, not taking his eyes off the battle and wishing that he had some popcorn.

"You're the only one f these dogs with a shred of honor," Ornyk said slyly. "Surely you don't intend to interrupt single combat?"

Bronze growled audibly, curling his hands into fists, but said nothing.

"Say, you're pretty good," the Silver Ranger commented. "You got a name?"

"You're not unskilled, yourself," Ornyk said. He managed to get in a kick to the Ranger's midsection, knocking him to the ground, but instead of pressing the attack, he bowed. "I am Ornyk Del'Ryssan, son of Jhyri, son of Jagun, of the Kingdom of Ynarra. And you?"

"Call me Deacon."

The Gold Ranger raised his hand. "Jareth Valentine," he said. He jerked his thumb back at the disgruntled Bronze Ranger. "And that's Myk. Just ignore him, we all do."

Myk grumbled, but said nothing as the battle resumed, eventually sitting on the ground beside Jareth.

He jumped back to his feet, however, when Ornyk ignited his sword, firing a stream of blue-black fire at the Silver Ranger. The flames struck Deacon's left arm, where, instead of igniting him, they froze, solidifying as a shell of dark crystal that entrapped his sword and encased the Ranger's arm up to the shoulder.

"Woah!"

Deacon windmilled with his free arm as the sudden added weight threw him off balance, causing his entire upper body to fall back and to the left. A second fiery blast encased his right leg from the knee down, fusing it to the sand on which it stood.

With a crackle of indigo fire, Oryk held the short, waving blade of his dirk, the same one with which he'd stabbed Myk. In the blink of an eye, it was flying straight for Deacon's visor.

Abruptly, Myk was standing between the two combatants, his cape pulled around in front of him. The dagger struck the cloth and clattered off it as though it had encountered a wall of marble, falling to the sand.

"You cheated," he accused.

"Yeah. We called no magic," Jareth added, joining Myk in front of Deacon.

The Zornian stared at the two curiously. "We called no such thing."

"Well, we should have," the Gold Ranger allowed petulantly.

"It doesn't matter. I'm putting an end to this."

So saying, Myk struck with the heel of his boot, shattering the crystal that encased Deacon's leg, never taking his eyes off Ornyk.

Deacon stood, and, with considerable effort, flexed his arm at the elbow, breaking the thick shell of crystal that had entrapped it. He joined his friends, still shaking shards of crystal from his sword.

"I suppose this is the part where I surrender?" Ornyk asked, sheathing his sword, vanishing it and crossing his arms expectantly.

"Well, generally, this is the part where we blow you up, then you grow, then we summon giant robots and blow you up again," Jareth replied. "Then we go home and eat pie."

Ornyk blinked. "Pie."

"It's true," Deacon said. "We have a celebratory pie after every battle. It's tradition."

"Supposedly, it was originally going to be a cake," the Gold Ranger added in a disgruntled tone. "But apparently, that was a lie."

Ornyk shook his head. "Well. I'm sorry to disappoint, but I have every intention of becoming a _recurring _villain. So I'm afraid that I must pass on being, as you so eloquently put it, 'blown up'."

"Oh!" Jareth exclaimed brightly. "That's different then. All you have to do is make some dramatic exit, shouting about how this isn't over, and that we've spoiled your plans for now, but you'll get us next time, Gadget."

"…Yesss. Why don't we just pretend I said all that?"

Ornyk snapped his fingers and became a ball of blue flames, but, just before his head was engulfed, Deacon, acting on impulse, swung his sword, neatly severing the chain that held Ornyk's compass. The magical locator fell to the ground as Ornyk shot across the sky.

Myk stared in bafflement at his teammates. "You let him get away. You just stood there _talking _with him."

"Well, he's interesting," Jareth said, walking over and picked it up. "Hey. This'll look good up on my bedroom wall."

"Hey! I'm the one who got it from Dog Boy before he flew off."

"We can't keep that thing!" Myk said. "It's evil!"

"What makes you say that?" Deacon asked, curious.

"It was...it belonged to..."

"I don't think Ornyk created it," Jareth said. "I think he found it."

"It's not good or evil, it just points to the artifact he was looking for?" Deacon guessed.

Jareth nodded. "And I'd be willing to bet that the thing it points to isn't good or evil either...not in and of itself, anyway. Just in how it's used."

Myk considered. "If it's good, we should claim it. If it's evil, we should take it, try to destroy it, at least keep it out of evil hands."

"And if it's neutral, then we should...umm...keep it from those who would misuse it's power?" Jareth asked.

"Yes...I suppose you're right."

"All right then," Deacon said. "Let's go hunting."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Angel released his Zord's death grip on the monsters arm, allowing himself to be thrown through the air and coming to a half-decent landing in the middle of the street. He reached over and punched a button on his control panel.

The sharp, crescent-shaped blade that was the Wolf's tail detached and went spinning off in the direction of the gargantuan creature, slicing into its shoulder. The monster screamed, more in anger than actual pain, and took an angry step towards the Wolf.

With one gnarled hand, it pulled the tailblade from its shoulder and snapped it in half. The other it raised, pointing at the Wolf. As it lifted its arm, the creatures flesh shifted like putty, its hand taking the shape of a massive cannon. It fired off a blast of energy.... but as it did, a crescent of golden light struck it square in the chest, knocking it off balance and spoiling its aim. The Wolf leapt aside as the monster's blast tore through to concrete beneath it, its internal systems replicating a new tail as it did so.

A huge purple hammerhead shark swam down from above, another arc of gold energy forming along the front of it's crescent-shaped head and launching off towards the monster. The beast roared, bringing its weapon to bear on the Hammerhead zord, but abruptly found itself lying on its back, its legs swept out from under it. Hammerhead's blast caught the floored monster square in the chest, the impact cracking the beast's ribs as the heat from the blast incinerated layers of its thick, elephant-like hide.

The massive crocodile zord completed its circle, retracting the spikes from the enormous metal tail it had used to trip the monster. From its cockpit, Fox opened a communications channel.

"Can we make the Megazord now?"

"Do we really need it?" Angel asked, pelting the monster with laser blasts from Wolf's eyes.

"No....not really....but I wanna make the Megazord!"

Kalen rolled her eyes in her helmet. "Fine," she said, and reached over, keying the Megazord codes into her console.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Dreams to dream,

in the dark of the night,

when the world goes wrong,

I can still make it right,

I can see, so far in my dreams--"

"Jareth?" Myk asked, gritting his teeth.

"Yes?"

"Stop singing." Jareth had been singing for miles, and his voice, while fairly good, tended to grate after a while.

"Oh, come on. That one's not even Disney."

"Just…stop. Please. Let's just walk in silence for a bit."

"A music critic. Lovely. Shall I tell jokes instead?"

Deacon grinned under his helmet. "Oh, please do."

"Very well. A lesbian, a nun, and a sanitation worker walk into a bar..."

"Jareth?"

"Yes, Myk?"

The Bronze Ranger sighed."Sing."

"My pleasure."

Jareth lapsed back into his song, checking the compass to be sure they were going in the right direction. They were, but there was nothing but sand as far as the Power-enhanced eye could see. Whatever they were after, it was a long way off.

Jareth did a quick count to make sure he knew enough songs to last the trip.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Aside from the color, the Mastodon Dinozord and the Elephant Dinozord had very few differences. One of these was that while the Elephant's trunk fired an incredibly powerful and focused laser pulse, the Mastodon's fired a beam of concentrated cryogenic energy.

This beam narrowly missed Tyrannosaur's head as it shot across the sky and iced one of the fighters, which then fell like a rock, smashing into several thousand fragments on the concrete below. Above, the Pterodactyl zord performed a truly remarkable series of aerial maneuvers, shooting down not two, but three of the fighter jets.

Dragonzord unleashed a score of missiles from its fingertips, destroying two more. Triceratops launched its horns, ensnaring one with the long, powerful chains they concealed, then unleashed a surge of electricity, disrupting the fighter's circuitry and causing it to spiral into the nearest building.

Not to be outdone, Tommy opened Tyrannosaur's mouth and let loose a ribbon of fire, melting yet another of the alien jet fighters to slag in midair.

"Eight down," Mara reported, "Six to go."

The saber-toothed Tiger leapt atop a nearby building and carefully leveled its tail at the regrouping jets, firing a pencil-thin beam of energy which lanced out, breaking their formation and bringing down another.

Something clicked in Tommy's head. "Where's the White Ranger?"

"Titanus is too big to maneuver in the city streets, so he's off rounding people up and into the shelters. Don't worry about him," Electra's voice replied. Her zord iced yet another fighter, bringing the total down to four.

Tommy deployed the Tyrannosaur's flametongue again, but missed. "I think these things are getting smarter," Tommy said.

"They are," Mara replied, "They're scouts. They're designed to analyze our techniques, then download that info into bigger, badder monsters. We have to be careful not to let any get away, or the next baddie we fight will be that much worse."

As she spoke, the Pink Ranger gunned down yet another, until only two remained.

"What makes you say that?"

"Zedd did this once before," Lolli's voice answered. "But with a swarm of reptilian bees. Same behavior."

"If a construct is bright enough to adapt, but not powerful enough to make use of it, it's safe to assume it's a scout," Troy agreed.

One fighter, winged by a stray blast, crashed into the street and skidded to a halt, but it's blinking lights and still-firing weapons indicated that it was still operating. It's aiming mechanism seemed damaged, though, as it kept firing at the same mailbox. Tommy simply stomped on it.

The final fighter, registering that it was the only remaining one in its squadron, turned about and shot into the air, heading for deep space.

"Mara?" The Blue Ranger asked.

"On it." Pterodactyl shot into the sky, lasers lancing out as she tried to lock on to the fighter.

The two were soon out of sight above the clouds. Moments later, a single craft fell through the crowd cover.....Pterodactyl, leaving behind a thick trail of black smoke and approaching the ground at an increasingly unsafe speed.

"Umm...guys? Little help?" Mara was clearly trying not to sound too panicked.

Tommy, with the help of his computer, calculated her angle and positioned Tyrannosaur to intercept her. At the last possible moment, he leapt up, catching the damaged Zord squarely in the chest, but also breaking its fall. The force of the impact shattered several windows in the vicinity and knocked the Tyrannosaur back several hundred feet, tearing great gouges in the concrete, but the greater calamity had been averted.

"Phew. Thanks, Tommy."

"What happened?"

"He slowed down so that I shot past him, then winged me from behind. Should have seen it coming."

"Well, it's gone now," Lolli said. "City saved, mission accomplished."

"You know what they say about discretion and valor," Troy commented. "let's get out of here."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Huh. wasn't expecting THAT."

Deacon glanced over at Jareth. "No? What were you expecting?"

"Maybe a pyramid? I dunno. Certainly not a big stone igloo."

For the structure they stood before was, in fact, a big stone igloo.

"There must be a way in," Myk said. "Deacon, you circle it to the right, Jareth, you go left. See if there's an entrance."

"What about you?" Deacon asked.

"I'll.....supervise," Myk replied.

Jareth and Deacon exchanged a slightly exasperated glance, then rolled their eyes and started off in their separate directions.

Myk tapped the side of his helmet, opening a communications channel to the Oasis. "Zord-1? I need a Turbo Navigator."

Moments later, a fiery missile shot through the air, plummeting to the ground with a sand-muffled THUD a few thousand yards away.

Grumbling, Myk set off to retrieve it.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Crocodile Dinozord's rear legs extended out behind it, them bent in such a way that the body of the Zord was upright, its head pointing towards the sky. Its forelegs swiveled back, revealing a pair of cylindrical connection ports. The Hammerhead zord swam down into position and locked onto one of these ports, so that its tooth-filled mouth formed a hand, and the Wolf, after carefully folding away its legs, did the same. Finally, the crocodile's head folded down, forming a chestplate, and a humanoid head emerged from the mechanism, glaring balefully at the monster.

Inside the control Chamber, the three Rangers sat at their stations.

"Predator Megazord online," Angel said.

"Predazord," Fox corrected.

"A Zord by any other name still blows things up," Angel replied.

Kalen tapped the same two buttons back and forth, demonstrating her boredom and at the same time causing the Megazord to twirl it's staff. It was hard to say just who did what in a Megazord....sometimes it seemed as though the entire group had but one mind, and automatically knew what everyone else was thinking....like the way they seemed to become one with their own zords, but on a larger scale. And so it was hard to say who's decision it was to kick the monster square in the stomach, or who brought the staff -- the tail of the crocodile -- down directly on it's head.

There was no question, however, that it was Fox who kneed the beast right between the legs.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jareth and Deacon made their way back to the front of the dome (assuming the dome had a front) to meet with Myk. Neither had found anything that could have been an entrance. They found the Bronze Ranger making adjustments and fiddling with the buttons and knobs of a small, hand-held device.

"Turbo Navigator?" Deacon asked. "Good idea."

"What's a Turbo Navigator?" Jareth asked.

"If you didn't go out of your way to avoid using anything with the word 'Turbo' in it--" Myk began.

"I don't like cars."

"--Then you'd know that the Turbo navigator is a scanning, tracking and locating device specifically designed for just such occasions."

"And anyway," Jareth continued, though no one was listening anymore. ""It's not as though I GET a Turbo Zord, even if I were willing to use it. There are only the five, you know."

"Any signs of a way in?" Deacon asked.

"Umm...yes. But it's buried. A few thousand yards of sand."

"Umm...guys?" Jareth called, having wandered a fair way off.

"I guess we'll have to dig."

"It'd be easier if we had some tools..."

"Guys?"

"You think our weapons would work?"

"Yours might, it's a sword. Mine's no good, though."

"You're very good at getting out of doing things, you know that?"

"GUYS!"

Deacon and Myk turned.

"Come look at this."

The two trudged through the sand to where Jareth stood. He was holding out the golden compass in his golden hand, and it still pointed the way it had....but Jareth had moved a few yards to the right, and it no longer pointed at the igloo at all.

"The igloo was never our destination," he said. "It just happened to be in our way."

Deacon gazed along the enchanted arrows path, and saw nothing but sand and the horizon.

"Dammit," he said.

No one disagreed.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tommy and the rest of his team teleported back onto the bridge of the Oasis. A few demorphed so as to better relax in the plush, reclining chairs provided, others, like Tommy, simply removed their helmets and glanced up at the screen.

"Anything else come up, Zordo...Zord One?"

"No, nothing yet, Tommy...what did you almost call me?"

"Zordon," Tommy said, slightly abashed. "Force of habit."

"I know Zordon."

"The Zordon of this dimension?"

"No, Red Ranger, he doesn't exist in this dimension, or any other. He's what we like to call a Gatehopper: A being that has no dimension of his own, or has forgotten it if he had, and is capable of transversing dimensions at will. I met him once, when he visited this realm some 300,000 Terran years ago."

"300,000 years?"

"317,567 years, 10 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 14 hours, 12 minutes and 37 seconds, actually, but part of my regular human emulation is not to sound too technical in casual conversation."

"Huh," Tommy mused. "Funny, I didn't think Zordon was that old."

"Neither is this ship," Zord-1 agreed. "There were…other factors involved."

There was a flash as three more teleport signatures appeared in the room...Grey, Purple, and Camouflage.

"The deed is done," Angel said, demorphing. He turned to Tommy. "How'd you guys do?"

"57 percent damage to Pterodactyl, 7 percent damage to Tyrannosaurus, 2 percent damage to Mastodon, an estimated total of 17 hours worth of repairs," Zord-1 answered. "Drone should be pleased, he's had little to do lately."

"Drone?" Tommy asked, the name ringing a faint bell.

"One of Zord-1's assistants," Fox answered. "He has three: Pilot, the little talking laptop-thing, Diskette, the little talking hovering thing, and Drone, who rolls around on tank treads. He's like the maintenance man around here."

"And an excellent job he does," Zord-1 said.

Tommy nodded, recalling the construct that had changed his sheets.

"How about the others?" Kalen asked offhandedly, retrieving a soda from a wall dispenser. "Back yet?"

"I'm afraid not, and I would worry, but Myk recently contacted me and asked for a Turbo Navigator. I presume that they are looking for something, perhaps the artifact the Zornian was after. I could bring them up on the main screen, if you wish to monitor them."

Tommy nodded, and the screen lit up, showing the three rangers trudging across the desert, their metallic armor gleaming in the fading sunlight. A moment later the sound came on.

Tommy blinked. "Is he singing The Little Mermaid?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey guys, look what I can do!" Jareth called. As soon as he was sure they were paying attention, he brought out his scythe and turned it upside down, so that the sword hilt faced upwards, the Lion's head on the end blinking amusedly. Tracing his fingers back and forth between the shaft of the scythe and the blade, Jareth left behind a glowing strands of golden light. Once there were enough, he ran his hand along them...and produced a sound as though he were strumming a harp.

"Great," Myk said. "Now he has an instrument."

Jareth plucked out a simple tune, and sang a few notes in harmony with them....not a bad sound.

"Hey, Kyra, why don't you sing along?"

The Lion's head atop the hilt blinked in surprise. "I don't know the words."

"There aren't any yet. Just go for the notes." And Jareth sang the note again. Kyra sang along, managing fairly well. By the time the sun finally went down and frozen winds began to blow across the sands, Deacon and Myk were practically being serenaded.

Eventually a shape appeared on the horizon. As they drew closer, it came into focus: A massive statue of a hideous ogre and a fearsome dragon, locked together in mortal combat. When they came even closer, they realized that it was much larger than it had seemed from afar... Jareth, the tallest of the three, barely came up to the ogre's disgustingly detailed toe.

Deacon took a step forward..and his boot clicked on something more solid than sand. Leaning over, he brushed some sand from the ground, revealing a smooth slab of stone into which intricate marking had been carved.

"Hey, guys....look at this."

"Looks like writing," Jareth said. "What do you think it says?"

"I thought those nifty high-tech contacts of yours translated anything you read?"

"Not while I'm morphed. And I can't demorph here. No oxygen."

Myk keyed a few buttons into the navigator, then shook his head. "No translation available."

"I can read it," Kyra said.

The three Rangers turned to stare at the sentient weapon.

"How?" Deacon demanded.

"The Morphin Grid is almost universal," Kyra replied. "A translation matrix is intrinsic. Why do you think you understand anything anyone says while you're morphed?"

"We have our comchips," Myk replied. "They translate for us."

"You don' have those when you're morphed," the scythe reminded him. "You don't have human bodies at all. That's why jareth's contacts don't work; he doesn't have them in Ranger form."

"Then why can't we read it ourselves?" Jareth inquired.

"Your connection to the Grid is imperfect. As an extension of the Power itself, mine is…well, less imperfect."

"So what does it say?"

"Eons hidden, deep below, through centuries of ice and snow,

There lies a horror none must know, a blade of pain and blight.

And hidden there to guard its rest , a power lies within this nest

A warrior proven, best of best, within the blade of light.

And now that this be read and known, Let none enter Scepter's Throne

Break not the balance set in stone. Be warned, and taketh flight."

There was a pause as everyone absorbed this.

"That's a rough translation, of course," the scythe added.

"Dr. Seuss?" Jareth asked.

"I really doubt it," Kyra replied. "I think we should just head on home."

"I agree," Deacon said. "Let's do what the nice inscription says and NOT wake up the ancient evil, kay?"

"The Blade of Light....," Myk said, sounding mystified.

"What?" Jareth asked.

"Just think...this place...Scepter's Throne? It's been here for ages. If that sword is powerful enough to hold back that evil for this long...imagine what it could do if it were to be used against the evil that's out there today? Imagine what it could do...in the hands of a Power Ranger."

"I don't see what difference it makes," Jareth said. "Unless you can find a way to get in."

"I know how to get in," Kyra said. "It's written in the inscriptions. But I really wish you'd--"

"How?" Myk asked.

Kyra sighed. "Just say 'Sikanda', and the door will--"

There was a deep rumbling sound, and the stone slap split apart, spreading apart to reveal a staircase descending into the deep abyss below.

"Are we really going down there?" Deacon asked.

Myk nodded, already walking down the stairs. Jareth glanced at Deacon, shrugged, and followed.

Deacon gave one last look up at the massive statues above the entrance, shuddered, and began making his way down into Scepter's Throne.


	4. A New Threat

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 4: A New Threat

"What's going on?" Tommy asked as the picture on the viewscreen faded into snowy static.

"We've lost them," Zord-1 replied. "The area they've entered is magically protected, and my sensors cannot penetrate. I'm afraid they're on their own."

Mara drummed her fingers nervously on the countertop.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Can we find what we're looking for and go?" Jareth asked, ducking a large cobweb that stretched across the upper part of the hall. "I have better things to do with my afternoon than spend it dungeon-diving."

"Oh?" Deacon asked, turning his chrome helmet back to look at the Gold Ranger. "Like what? Go home and dungeon-dive in a video game?"

"Probably. Or just spend another evening throwing peanut butter at the ceiling fan. But it still beats this."

Myk gritted his teeth beneath his helmet. Jareth's whining was begging to grow old, and the voices of his two fellow rangers echoed off the ancient stone walls, undoubtedly alerting anything down here to their presence. He'd tell them to shut up, but that never worked. At least Jareth had stopped singing. For now.

The Bronze Ranger stopped and glanced down at the Turbo Navigator, reassuring himself that they were headed the right direction. They still had the golden compass taken from Ornyk (in fact, Jareth was wearing it around his neck, probably because it matched his armor), but Myk preferred not to rely on anything that had been in evil hands. There was no telling what evil spells or curses Ornyk could have placed on it.

"I just wish we had some idea what we were looking for," Deacon said.

"Just inferring from that poem up at the entrance, I'd say there are a pair of magical swords down here. One good, one evil," Jareth replied.

"So we're here to collect them both?"

"No, of course not," Myk replied. "We claim the good one, and destroy the evil one."

Jareth raised an eyebrow beneath his helmet. "If it could be destroyed, why would it have been imprisoned all the way down here with a good sword left to guard it?"

Myk considered. "Well....we'll decide what to do when we get there."

As they continued down into Scepter's Throne, the Bronze Ranger pondered their objective. The Sword of Light. A Sword of pure, unblemished goodness. A weapon of truth and justice, a blade against which no evil could stand. It almost made his mouth water.

He'd have to be the one to wield it, of course. Deacon was undoubtedly better with a sword, but his temper was legendary. The last time he'd let his anger get the best of him...well. No one liked to talk about that. No, Deacon had too much evil in him to be trusted with such a weapon. And as for Jareth, anything mellower had been shot. He was far too relaxed, taking everything as it came. There was no way he could be trusted to handle the sort of responsibility involved in wielding a weapon like the one they sought.

No, it'd have to be him. Only he could resist the temptation to use the sword's power for evil.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Good news, Rangers," Zord-1 intoned. "The damage to Pterodactyl is not as severe as my initial scans suggested. It can be fully operational again in as little as four hours."

Mara forced a smile. "Good," she said.

"You are worried about Jareth." Zord-1 said. it was a statement, not a question.

Mara nodded. "If anything were to happen to him...I....well, I'd have to be the one to tell Mom. She'd be thrilled, you know?"

Zord-1 chuckled, a surprising sound coming from a machine. "I have a feeling Jareth will be fine. If you hadn't noticed, it's almost as though catastrophe deliberately seeks him out, then avoids him."

Mara nodded. "Yep. He does that. Chaos all around him, usually caused by him, but none of it ever touches him. I've never been able to figure it out."

Tommy snorted. "Sounds like my life, inside-out."

"You're a weirdness magnet, too?"

"Yeah. Difference is, I'm never the one that causes it, and it always happens _to _me."

"Such as?"

"Talking swords, flying cars, monsters in my stomach. Magic spells that make you sing everything you say. And that parade…"

Mara quirked an eyebrow. "Parade?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Tommy shuddered, muttering to himself. "Through the mall…through the park…through the movie theater…"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey," Jareth said. "Question."

"What is it?" Myk asked.

"We're on Yllustri," Jareth said. "A planet so far from Terra my brain can't even begin to process the numbers involved. Furthermore, there's no actual air here. Just methane and stuff."

"Right. So?" Deacon asked.

"So, remember that cobweb we had to duck a few tunnels back? How in the world could there be spiders here?"

There was silence for a moment.

"Jareth?" Deacon said.

"Yes?"

"You think too much."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tommy jumped as alarms suddenly blared throughout the bridge of the Oasis.

"My, _this_ is interesting...," Zord-1 said, sounding a bit concerned.

"What is it?" the Yellow Ranger asked, cocking her head to the side.

"See for yourself, Terina," the sentient computer replied, as the screen at the front of the room sprang to life.

A city street seemed to be under siege by a number of....Tommy blinked.

"Power Rangers?"

"An imitation thereof, at least," Zord-1 replied.

The armor of these mock-Rangers was mostly black, the details of each picked out in the Ranger's color. The style of the armors was impressive, obviously designed to look menacing.

"Friends of yours?" Lolli asked, glancing at Tommy.

"Never seen them before in my life."

"There are only five," Zord-1 observed. "Blue, Red, Pink, Yellow, and Black."

"Then that's who goes," Tommy said. "Ready, guys?"

Affirmative answers.

"Then let's go." Tommy and Troy replaced their helmets, not having bothered to demorph. The other three conjured their morphers.

**"Mastodon!"**

**"Pterodactyl!**

**"Saber-toothed Tiger!"**

Five streaks of light shots down through the stratosphere towards the planet below.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"This place is beyond creepy," Jareth said, and he, Myk, and Deacon walked down a long tunnel lined with sarcophagi.

"I thought you liked creepy?" Myk said.

"Oh, I wasn't complaining. Just making conversation." The group came to a junction point, a circular chamber where several tunnels seemed to meet, branching off in every direction. Following the compass, as the Turbo Navigator had ceased to function at all, the group set off down the appropriate tunnel.

The trio eventually came to a crossroads.

"Which way now?" Deacon asked.

Jareth consulted his compass. "Umm....that way?" he said, sounding confused, pointing back the way they had come.

"We just came from that way," Myk said.

"I'm well aware of that, Hero," Jareth replied. "Now, tell it to the compass."

"Well, you're _obviously_ reading it wrong."

"The arrow is pointing back the way we came. Please tell me how it is I'm misinterpreting _that_."

"Give me that." Myk snatched the compass from Jareth, but as the chain was still around the Gold Ranger's neck, he came with it.

"Ack! Hey!"

Myk stared at the compass for a few moments, but there was no denying it.....Jareth was right.

The Bronze Ranger sighed. "Let's go." Turning to leave, he tripped as his talon-shaped boot caught in a deep groove in the floor. "Ow." Myk sighed. "I hate this place."

"Hey, it was _your_ idea to come down here," Deacon said.

As the other two went back down the passage, Jareth knelt down and examined the groove over which Myk had tripped. "Hmm....."

Deacon turned. "You coming?"

"Hmm? Yeah." Jareth rose to his feet and followed.

Once again they came to the junction point, and once again, following the compass, they chose a tunnel and ventured on.

"Okay, which way now?" Deacon asked as they came to yet another crossroads.

Jareth consulted the golden compass around his neck. "Guys...you won't believe this...."

"Don't tell me it says to go back the way we came again."

Jareth shrugged. "Okay. I won't."

Without uttering a sound, Myk turned on his heel and walked back up the tunnel. Jareth started to follow, but paused, examining the wall. Sure enough, it had a deep groove similar to the previous tunnel.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" Deacon asked.

"Not sure. But I think it's important."

Back at the Junction, they again selected a tunnel, and once again they were shortly forced to retrace their path.

"This is getting ridiculous," Myk said.

"_Getting_ ridiculous?" Deacon asked.

"The compass must be malfunctioning," Myk said. "That's the only explanation."

"There's no such thing as an 'only' explanation," Jareth replied. "If we assume that the compass is working properly, and that it always points to the path that leads to the swords....then the path that leads to the swords must be changing."

"Maybe the swords are moving?" Deacon suggested.

"Could be. Or maybe...." A look of comprehension dawned on Jareth's face, though no one could see it. "WE are."

"Of course we're moving, but we're always--"

"No, no, no....not _us_," Jareth explained. "The tunnels we're in. It's a wheel, see." Jareth knelt down and scratched a crude picture in the dust on the chamber floor. "A big, thick stone wheel, with the tunnels running all through it, silently and slowly spinning. At certain times, the tunnels in the wheel match up to tunnels in the surrounding rock. So sometimes, a certain tunnel WILL lead to the swords. But by the time we get there, the wheel's moved, so it doesn't anymore. That's what the groove you tripped over was," Jareth said, standing. "The place where the wheel meets the stone around it."

"Are you sure about this?" Myk asked.

Jareth shrugged. "No. But it's easy enough to test."

"All we have to do is go down the tunnel the Compass indicates," Deacon said. "Sit by the groove..."

"And wait," Jareth finished. "Sooner or later, it'll line up with the right tunnel again."

The Silver ranger sighed wistfully. "I'm not gonna get home in time for my date, am I?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

No sooner had the five Rangers appeared than they were assaulted by their respective counterparts.

**"Arctic Axe!"** Electra cried, the power weapon materializing in her black-gauntleted hand. "So, what's your deal?"

"We are the Psycho Rangers," her opponent said, sparks flying as her twisted black axe crossed with Electra's. "And we will be your downfall."

Electra let go of her axe with her right arm and aimed it at Psycho Black's stomach, the mechanism on her wrist firing a grappling hook on a study black tether. Psycho Black staggered back as the sharp metal struck, clutching at the rent in her armor the hook had left behind.

Tommy drew the short sword from its sheath on his back, swinging down at Psycho Red, who parried with his own demented mockery of the Red Power Sword. Tommy's sword went flying, but before the Red Psycho Ranger could strike again, Tommy summoned his real weapon.

**"Tyrant Sword!"** The Red Power Weapon was nothing but a blur as Tommy relentlessly hammered back Psycho Red, bringing him to his knees. "They always try evil rangers," he complained. "And it never works."

The Blue Psycho Ranger produced a staff with wicked curved blades at either end, obviously his answer to the blue power weapon. Breaking it in two, Psycho Blue fired a beam of jagged blue lightning from the blades. Troy knelt down and brought his left arm forward, his gauntlet projecting a rectangular shield of solid red light, off of which Psycho Blue's attack splashed harmlessly. Drawing his Blade Blaster from its holster, the Blue Ranger countered with a barrage of laser fire, knocking the weapon from his opponents hands and blasting him to the ground.

**"Dino Daggers!"** With twin flashes of yellow light, Terina produced her weapons and hurled them at Psycho Yellow, striking her directly in the head and cracking her visor. The weapons returned magically to her hands as Psycho Yellow collapsed to the pavement.

**"Battle Bow!"** Mara cried, the pink longbow appearing in her hand. As she pulled back the string, an arrow of pink light appeared, aimed directly at Psycho Pink. Mara released the string and the arrow flew faster than the eye could follow...but not fast enough. Psycho Pink's hand shot forward and caught the arrow, inches from her faceplate. Slowly and deliberately, she snapped the energy arrow in half, leaving the fragments to shatter into beads of pink light as they fell to the sidewalk below.

Glaring at her counterpart, Mara jumped into the air and hung there, suspended by her power. Shifting her grip on her bow, she soared forward and swung her bow like a sword, tearing a long slice in Psycho Pink's armor and causing her to spin around as she fell to the ground.

"Let's bring 'em together!" Tommy cried.

Pausing, the other four Rangers stared at him, clueless.

"Umm...bring WHAT together?" Troy asked.

Tommy blinked beneath his helmet. "Umm...our weapons? These weapons DO combine, don't they?"

The other four Rangers blinked in surprise as the power informed that that they could.

"Umm..yes. They do," Mara said. "Okay, sure. Why not?"

**"Arctic Axe!"**

**"Battle Bow!"**

**"Tricera Lance!"**

**"Dino Daggers!"**

One by one the Rangers threw their weapons into the air, where they hovered in place, each successive weapon locking onto the last.

**"Tyrant Sword!"**

Tommy leapt up into the air and locked his two-handed sword atop the assembly, then came to the ground with the weapon in his hands. It resembled a high-tech crossbow with several gun barrels.

"Nice," Mara said appraisingly.

The Psycho Rangers had regrouped, their armor still smoking from their respective engagements. This wasn't the brightest move, as they were all now in one place, making them a very convenient target.

The other four Rangers grouped behind Tommy as he pulled the trigger of the Power Blaster, firing an intensely powerful blast of energy at the Psycho Rangers. The Psychos fell to the ground once again, their helmets melting and their armor plates fusing together.

The weapon disassembled, its component weapons returning to the hands of their owners.

Terina surveyed the remains of the Psycho Rangers contemplatively. "Funny," she said. "Don't the bad guys usually explode when we beat them?"

"Yeah," Mara agreed. "I mean, how are we supposed to do that cool Turn-Your-Back-On-The-Villain-As-It-Blows-Up thing, if it doesn't blow up?"

"I thought we did that because it'd be damaging to the eyes to look directly at the explosions?" Troy asked.

"Oh, is _that_ why?" Mara asked. "And here I thought we were just being dramatic."

"Well, anyway, it looks like we're done here," Tommy said.

"We're not done yet, Rangers!" came the demented, twisted voice of Psycho Red. It came, not from the pile of melted armor in front of them, but from behind. As one, the Rangers turned to see the Psycho Rangers, alive and well, standing in formation before them.

"Wha...but you were...we just....How'd you do that?" Troy asked, glancing from the slag to the Psychos and back again.

"Nice trick, huh?" Psycho Blue quipped.

Tommy stepped forward, tightening his grip on his sword. "Okay, Rangers. Here's the plan: Grab your Bizarro twin, and beat the living daylights out of 'em!"

"Works for me," Terina agreed readily.

"Now?" Psycho Yellow asked, her eyes on Terina.

"Now!" Psycho Red agreed, not taking his own gaze off Tommy.

The Psycho Rangers drew the short blades that hung from their belts and held them out, blades pointed towards the sky. Instantly, beams of Ranger-colored energy began to flow from the Power Coins in the Ranger's belts to the crystal orbs set in the hilts of the swords. As the beams finally stopped, the Power Rangers fell to the ground and de-morphed, lying unconscious on the street.

Psycho Black sheathed her dagger and materialized her axe, walking over to where Electra lay. She raised her weapon and prepared to end the life of the Black ranger....but her blade never fell.

For a moment she simply stood, blade poised to strike, then she lowered her axe. "Why can't I kill her?"

"Our orders," Psycho Red replied.

"What do our orders have to do with--Oh." Psycho Black let out a low growl.

"Zedd is an idiot," Psycho Blue commented, gazing at Troy.

"Agreed," Yellow added. "Shall we go tell him in person?"

The five Psycho Rangers streaked away in a blur of rainbow-colored light.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After a tiresome eternity of searching, the three metallic Rangers found themselves in a long, low chamber. At the end of the room was a flat altar, at the top of which sat two ornate swords. One was black, the other white.

"There they are," Myk breathed, approaching the weapons.

"Which do we take?" Jareth asked. "We never did find out which was the good one."

"The white one, of course," Myk replied. "Everyone knows white is the color of good."

"Sure, in _our _culture," Jareth muttered. "Who knows about Yllustri. They may not have even been able to _see _black and white."

But Myk was already moving towards the altar.

Jareth crossed his arms and looked over at Deacon, who just shrugged.

Myk reached up with one bronze-gauntleted hand and removed the white sword from its place on the altar.

"I can feel it," Myk said, his voice almost a whisper. "The power in this sword...it's incredible."

_Indeed it is._

Myk jumped.

"What" Deacon asked, suddenly alert for danger, looking around cautiously. "What's wrong?"

"It...the voice..."

Deacon and Jareth exchanged another glance.

"What voice?" Jareth asked slowly, as though suspecting that his fellow Ranger might have finally cracked.

_They cannot hear me. Only he who holds the sword can hear my voice._

Myk stared at the sword, not wanting to speak aloud again in front of Jareth and Deacon.

_You needn't speak aloud. I can hear your thoughts, if you direct them at me._

_Who are you?_ Myk thought.

_I am Ikaika, _the voice replied._ Long ago, I was placed here within Dorn, Sword of Light, to guard a great evil; Exodia, Sword of Darkness, the blade that lies yet upon the altar. _

"Myk?" Are you feeling okay?" Jareth asked.

Myk looked up from the shining white sword. "I'm fine. I was right, this is the good one."

"Okay, so what do we do about that one?" Deacon asked, pointing to the other sword.

_Exodia and the dark spirit that dwells within it cannot be destroyed, any more than I can_, Ikaika intoned to Myk.

_So, what do we do? Hide it somewhere?_

_No. You must not touch it. Leave it, _the sword suggested_. If it is ever awakened, I will know, and I will alert you. But for now, let it remain here, forgotten._

"We leave it," Myk said aloud.

"Does that mean this mission is over?" Jareth asked.

Myk nodded.

"Good. Let's go home."


	5. Soul Thieves

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 5: Soul Thieves

"Psycho Rangers, huh?" Diskette asked in her electronically reproduced feminine voice, as she hovered around the medbay performing scans on the five afflicted Rangers lying on the pallets.

"That's what they called themselves," Electra said, propping herself up on her elbows. Her voice had a vague, faraway feel.

Zord-1's voice replied. "It stands to reason that there will be 'Psycho' counterparts for the remaining Rangers as well."

"Well, Their powers are still intact," Diskette said, analyzing the readouts. "Life signs stable...."

"We told you, we're fine," Troy said slowly. It was obvious, However, that he wasn't fine. It wasn't anything physical, but there was a shadow behind the Ranger's eyes so deep and dark even the machines could see it.

"They did something to us," Mara said haltingly, seeming uncharacteristicly insecure. "But...what?"

"They didn't do anything to us," Tommy said, gazing blankly at the wall. "They took something _from_ us. I...I can't feel it anymore. It's gone."

"_What's_ gone?" Diskette asked.

Tommy didn't say anything for a moment. When he finally spoke, it came out as a whisper. "The falcon."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Stephen looked up as the doors to the bridge opened and Diskette's ovoid body flew into the room. "Well?" he asked. 'Are they okay?"

"Apparently not," Diskette replied. "Do you two know anything about 'Animal Totems'?"

The green and white Rangers shook their respective heads.

"Well, it's evidently some sort of mythology from Tommy's world that turned out to be true. Within every sentient being is the spirit of an animal that acts as some sort of guide."

"Guide to what?" Lolli asked.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure," Diskette said. "After all, I'm nothing but a hovering ball of transistors. This doesn't apply to me."

"It applies to us, though," Lolli said. 'What animals do we have?"

"I don't know, and I don't know how to find out. Tommy said something about a Spirit Quest, but we don't have anyone to act as our all-powerful spiritual Guru, so that's out. Anyway, that's what the Psychos stole....the Ranger's animal guides. Without them, they're like zombies. Virtually no will to do anything. They still have their powers, but they'd be useless in battle."

Without warning, mostly because they _were_ the warning, the alarms blared to life throughout the circular bridge.

"Uh-Oh. Action down below," Lolli said, turning to face the screen. "Zord-1, what do we have?"

"Two more Psycho Rangers," the computer replied, pulling up a visual on the large screen that covered the front of the room. "The green and white ones, conveniently enough."

Lolli cocked an eyebrow. "That IS quite a coincidence."

Stephen smirked. "Well....ready to go get our souls sucked out?"

"Sure. Why not."

Twisting their wrists, Lolli and Stephen summoned their morphers in twin swirls of white and green smoke.

**"Dragonzord!"**

**"Brachiosaurus!"**

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Is it here yet?"

"Obviously not," Deacon replied, glancing sideways at his gold-armored friend. "Hey, Mykey, any sign of it yet?"

From his position atop the wind-swept rock that sat in the middle of the wind-swept alien desert, the Bronze Ranger flipped open his Turbo Navigator.

"Actually, yes. It's almost here. It should arrive in about....13 seconds."

"Ah, good. Just enough time to throw one more rock." Jareth tossed a smooth, flat rock, sending it sailing across the desert sands. Oddly enough, the rock actually skipped on the sand.

No sooner had the rock stopped moving than a massive blue disc shot down from the sky, coming to a landing right in front of them. The front side was elongated, and attached to the bottom were to large, oblong structures, like pontoons.

"_That_'s the Astro Megaship?" Deacon asked.

"Where's the rest of it?" Myk asked.

"This isn't Star Trek, guys," Jareth replied, strolling up to the massive blue ship. "Sometimes the disc is all you need."

As the Rangers approached, the silver front of one of the pontoons rose, revealing itself to be an entrance.

At the command deck of the Megaship, Jareth moved directly to the helm and grasped the control levers.

"Hang on tight, amigos," he said.

"Why do I get the feeling you've done this before?" Myk asked.

"I've taken this zord out for a few joyrides, yeah," Jareth replied. "By the way, the dark side of the moon isn't nearly as mysterious as it's cracked up to be. Just dust and rock. Hey, careful, Dea. Don't push the big red button."

The Silver Ranger hastily jerked his hand away from an invitingly large red button marked with the Rangers' X-logo.

"Okay, Myk, plot a course for home."

"How?"

"What?"

"How do I plot a course for home?"

"Oh, for the love of...move." Jareth elbowed Myk aside and started typing at the console. "Look. You select 'Plot course', then tell it where you are, then tell it where you want to go. It couldn't be simpler."

Jareth slapped his gold-armored hand down on the "Okay" button, igniting the thrusters and sending the ship hurtling through space towards Terra.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Well," Lolli said, appraising the twisted warrior that stood before her. "Can't knock your choice of color."

"What have you done with the Ranger's...animal....umm..things?" Stephen demanded, Saba in hand.

Psycho White chuckled, drawning the small saber fom his belt and twirling it on his finger. In his other hand materialized a wicked curved white scimitar, a twisted mockery of Saba. "You'll find out in a moment, won't you?"

"Ugh, I find that barbaric weapon most insulting," Saba cried, outraged. "Is that supposed to be _me_?"

"Feel free to lodge a complaint," Stephen said, grinning beneath his helmet. He aimed the sentient sword so that his head was facing Psycho White.

Saba complied, firing twin beams of pure white energy from his eyes. Psycho White cartwheeled out of the way, and the fight was on.

Psycho Green summoned a twisted dagger, twirling it in her left hand and wielding her crystal saber in her right. Lolli drew the Dragon dagger from its sheath at her belt. The two green rangers began a blindingly fast melee struggle, and the striking of blade against blade rang out so quickly it could have been mistaken for machine gun fire. Finally, Lolli fell back, clutching at a slowly healing rent in her armor just below the golden shield. Psycho Green had simply been better.

"Nighty-night, Green Ranger," Psycho Green sneered.

"Yeah, like it's _that _easy," Lolli snapped**. "Ruby Ray!"**

A bolt of scarlet light shot forth from the gem in the center of the dragon's forehead on Lolli's helmet.

Psycho Green tensed to dodge, but the ray passed harmlessly past her, instead striking a fire hydrant that sat along the sidewalk nearby. A jet of water fountained into the air.

The Psycho observed this, then turned back towards the Ranger.

"You _missed_?" Green asked. "I'm standing ten feet in front of you! You are absolutely _pathetic_!"

Lolli smirked. "Oh, I didn't miss." The Green Ranger raised her hands, and the sound of splashing against the pavement stopped.

Psycho Green turned again, heir attention this time drawn to the large sphere of water that was accumulating in the air behind them, fed by a spiral of liquid that continued to rise from the broken hydrant.

Lolli gestured, and the sphere elongated snaking out and encircling the Psychos. Another gesture, and it flattened, forming a wide, invisibly thin ring.

"Nighty-night, yourself," the Green Ranger muttered, concentrating. She brought her hands together with a clap, and the ring abruptly shrank, its razor-keen edge snapping closed.

Green reacted with lightning reflexes, leaping into the air and flipping, coming to a neat landing behind Lolli. She aimed a kick at the Green ranger's unprotected back, but Lolli rolled to the side, making a drawing-back motion with her hand.

In response to her mental command, the water regrouped and snaked over to where she stood, this time shaping itself into a spear that floated alongside her.

The Green Ranger thrust her hand forward, causing the spear to launch itself at Psycho Green with enough force to punch a hole through concrete.

Psycho Green stood her ground. The spear struck her square in the chest…but splashed harmlessly off of her like the water it was.

Lolli's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

The Green Ranger shook her head. "I hate magic," she muttered.

Stephen and Psycho White went at things with a bit more style, parrying and thrusting like master fencers. Psycho White initially had the advantage of having two weapons, as opposed to Stephen's one, until Stephen countered by conjuring his Blade Blaster and wielding it in his off-hand. Still, White was easily able to parry every thrust.

"You're cheating!" Saba exclaimed. "We'd beat you easily in fair fight!"

"Well, that's not much incentive for me to fight fair, then, is it?" Psycho White asked ironically, delivering one final backhanded swipe of his scimitar that sliced neatly into Stephen's torso. The White Ranger fell to the ground, unable to fight more until his wounds healed.

There was an "Oof!" as something green with a lot of yellow hair struck the concrete nearby and rolled to a stop next to him.

"This is not going well," Lolli informed her teammate, groaning.

Psycho White and Psycho Green regrouped, sheathed their main weapons, and drew their Crystal Sabers.

As they advanced on the Rangers, Stephen narrowed his eyes, concentrating, and flung his hands to the sides, palms out, a bubble of milky white light expanding to cover them both.

Psycho Green walked facefirst into the barrier, as though unable to see it, and stumbled back a step, shaking her head.

"Please," Psycho White sneered disdainfully, plunging his hand effortlessly through Stephen's force field and tearing it apart as though it were made of cobwebs. The entire sphere dissolved into shreds.

Twin streams of White and Green light flew from the belts of the White and Green rangers into the hilts of the Crystal Sabers. Lolli and Stephen demorphed and feel to the ground, out cold.

Psycho Green stepped up to Lolli and prepared to finish her off.

"Don't bother," Psycho White said. "We can't kill them yet. It conflicts with our orders."

"We just have to let them go?"

"For now. Until the other Psychos finish their jobs."

"Zedd is an idiot."

"Yes," White said resignedly. "It has been observed."

Several streaks of light filled the air, and the other five Psycho Rangers materialized around them.

"Mission accomplished, I see," Psycho Red said, sounding pleased.

"Easily," Psycho White replied, examining the edge of his scimitar almost daintily. "So, now what?"

"We still have a few Rangers left to flush out, don't we?" Psycho Red said in his twisted, painful voice. "Now, how do you suggest we go about that?"

"Oh! Oh! I vote for mass destruction!" Psycho Black replied, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"I second the motion," Psycho Red replied. "All in favor?"

"_Aye_!" all the Psycho Rangers shouted in unison. Still acting as one, they pulled the short swords from their sides and raised them to the sky. "Psycho Zords, descend!"

A series of haunting, discordant crystal notes filled the air, and from out of nowhere, giant mechanical beasts seemed to appear, racing towards the Psychos.

A massive green gorilla knuckle-walked across the land, the earth shaking with every step of its massive feet. Psycho Green shot across the sky, materializing in its cockpit.

White as the frozen tundra, a giant polar bear zord barreled across the landscape, letting out a fearsome roar as Psycho White beamed aboard.

Racing on four thick, broad, hooved feet, a black bison zord stampeded along, keeping pace with the others. Psycho Black willed herself aboard.

A small pink wheel rolled across the land, finally unfolding to reveal itself as an armadillo. Psycho Pink teleported aboard.

Swimming through the sky as though it were a swift ocean current, a cybernetic blue shark cut through the air. Psycho Blue shot towards it as a jagged streak of sapphire light.

Trotting across the terrain on four long, fragile-looking legs, a yellow giraffe sped along, Psycho Yellow streaking up towards the horned head that scraped the sky.

And, soaring through the air, so large that it blocked out the sun and dwarfed all the other zords, an enormous red falcon flew at breakneck speed. Psycho Red laughed a sinister laugh as he shot across the sky, appearing in the scarlet cockpit of the mammoth zord.

The menagerie of mechanical creatures descended on the nearest town, and immediately began firing laser blasts, fireballs, ice beams, and missiles, as well as punching, kicking, clawing, and in general just doing their best to destroy everything in sight.

"I really do love my job," Psycho Green said, as her gorilla zord lifted a small building over its head and prepared to throw it. Before it could, however, a blast of energy caught it in the stomach, causing it to drop the structure on itself.

"Wha--Who did that?!" Psycho Green shrieked, outraged. As Gorilla extricated itself from the rubble, all the other psycho Zords turned to face this new threat, growling, snarling, and shrieking.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Predazord took a step forward, unhooking its staff from its back and bringing it up in a defensive position.

"My,my, my. Just look at them all," Kalen said from her position at the right side of the cockpit..

"We can take 'em," Fox said, hands ready at the controls.

"Oh, certainly," Kalen replied. "Seven of them, one of us, of course we can take them. How could I have _ever_ thought otherwise?"

"Just pipe down and work the zord," Angel said tersely from Fox's left.

Kalen gave an 'it's your funeral' shrug and turned back to the controls.

Predazord slashed with its staff, and a crescent of energy lanced out at the nearest Psycho Zord: Gorilla again. Gorilla was ready this time, and jumped aside, the blast merely demolishing whatever remained of the building it had been tearing apart.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"A megazord," Psycho Green said sneeringly. "It figures. Well then. Shall we show them one of our own megazords?"

"Initiating assembly," Psycho Red replied.

Bison rose up, its parts shifting and folding away until it had become a pair of legs. Falcon flew down and perched on them, it'd head and talons folding together to create a torso. Shark swam down and locked onto the side, it's toothy mouth forming a hand. Polar bear, its legs folding away, did the same, becoming the left arm. An armored head emerged from the top of the configuration, glaring balefully at the Predazord. Spreading its wings, the falcon's wings, the sinister megazord prepared to strike.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The three rangers watched in stunned silence as the Psycho Ranger's Megazord took shape.

"You do realize that we just wasted a perfect opportunity to attack, yes?" Kalen asked.

Angel shook his head. "Zords are shielded during transformation by a force field so powerful, not even the weapons aboard the Oasis could penetrate them."

Fox glanced at him quizzically. "If we have shields that powerful, why not use them all the ti--"

An explosion rocked the megazord as the Psycho Ranger's zord struck.

"Later. Right," the Camo Ranger said tersely, returning o the controls.

Predazord swirled its staff, attempting to bring it down atop the Psycho Megazord's head, but the dark zord reached up and caught the sharp-edged blade of the staff with its shark-mouth-hand. Reaching out with its polar bear hand, the Psycho Megazord unleashed a blast of icy energy that froze the Megazord on the spot.

"Not good," Angel said. "Servos are frozen, main power's out,--"

"If we're screwed, just say so," Kalen shot at him.

Angel considered, nodded, and replied. "We're screwed."

Through the ice covered viewport, the three trapped rangers could only watch as the Psycho Megazord stepped back and unfurled its wings. Spreading its feathers, the zord revealed a large pair of what appeared to be eyes. The eyes began glowing, obviously charging to release a powerful attack.

Within the cockpit, Fox and Angel screwed their eyes shut, awaiting the final blow. Kalen, on the other hand, merely narrowed her eyes, her hand poised above controls.

The eyes of the Psychozord released their charge.....but the attack missed as the Dark Megazord was knocked back off its feet by a blast from behind the Predazord.

As the trapped Rangers watched, a massive blue disc shot across the sky, looping in the air overhead.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jareth whooped as he made the Astro Megaship loop through the air like a roller coaster.

Myk climbed back to his feet. "Please don't do that again."

"Oh, you're no fun."

"This is no time be having fun. That Megazord wont be down forever."

"Okay, okay. Now lemmeesee....Ah, here it is..." The Gold Ranger keyed in a few more controls, adjusting the intensity of the megalaser cannons and bringing them to bear on the Predazord.

The high-powered heat from the lasers melted most of the ice, and the Predazord shook free, shards of ice still falling from its joints.

"There." Jareth opened a communications channel to the Predazord. "Feeling better?"

"Much," Angels voice replied. "We owe you one."

"Well, don't thank us ye--"

The bridge of the Astro Megaship shook as The Psycho Megazord, having gotten to its feet, reached up and grabbed it with it's shark-hand.

"Uh-oh."

Predazord raised its wolf-arm, firing the crecent-shaped blade that was the wolf's tail and jarring the Psycho Megazord's grip on the spacecraft, which flew up out of reach.

"Deacon," Jareth said, eyes on the screen. "Remember the big red button?"

"Yeah?"

"Push the big red button."

"But you said not to push the big red button."

"Yes, but now it's okay. Push the big red button."

"I distinctly remember you telling me not to push the big red button."

"WILL YOU JUST PRESS THE STUPID BUTTON?!"

"Okay, okay."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The front end of the Astro Megaship split open, revealing a small blue-and white space shuttle. The shuttle launched from the ship, which began to split apart, the pontoons folding out to become arms and the docking bays assuming the position of the legs. Finally, the shuttle came full circle, reattaching to the ship and forming the head.

"Astro Megazord online," Jareth said. "And one of you can take it from here. I have no idea how to drive a Megazord."

"I've never driven one either," Myk said.

"I got it," Deacon said, stepping up to the controls. "This is about the same design as Silver Battlezord."

The Astro Megazord assumed a fighting position, a giant sword materializing digitally in its hand.

Psycho Megazord aimed its polar bear arm at the Astro Megazord, preparing to unleash another blast of frigid energy, but the blast went wide as Predazord tackled it from behind, pinning its arms.

"Now's your chance, guys," Angel's voice crackled over the comlink.

The Astro Megazord raised its sword, preparing to slice the Psycho Megazord in half, but before it could bring its blade down, the green Gorrila Zord leapt up and delivered a crushing blow to the Megazord's head, which snapped off from the main body and went sailing through the air, the three metallic rangers within hanging on for dear life.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Oops. We forgot about the leftovers," Fox said, as the blue body of the Astro Megazord fell to the ground, gorilla standing astride it.

Taking advantage of the Ranger's momentary lapse of concentration, the Psycho Megazord elbowed Predazord in the midsection, breaking free of its grip and turning to face it.

Predazord brought its staff around, preparing to strike, but before it could, Giraffe butted it from the side with its hard, horned head, knocking the Megazord to the ground.

Armadillo broke into a run. Once it had achieved enough speed, it leapt into the air and curled into a ball, which struck the Predazord's head with the force of a freight train.

Predazord was left lying on its back. The Psycho Megazord walked up and planted one foot on the fallen Megazord's chest, sparks flying as the weight compressed the Predazord's hull.

"We've got to bail!" Fox cried. She looked over at Angel, who nodded. The Rangers activated the emergency eject systems, which automatically teleported them both to the sidelines. To Fox and Angel's surprise, Kalen was already there.

"Ah, so you _were_ smart enough to bail out. Bravo." Then, in an undertone, "I just lost a bet with myself."

"Save your applause, Ranger," Came a distorted voice from behind them. The three rangers spun about to see three new Psycho Rangers. Psycho Purple stood a step ahead of the other two, it had been she who had spoken.

"Well, THAT was only a matter of time," Angel said, glaring at Psycho Gray.

Fox grinned beneath her helmet, drawing her Blade Blaster. "Let's play."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Walking with a limp, and with his left arm missing entirely, Jareth dragged himself from the sparking wreckage of Mega-1, the shuttlecraft that had until recently formed the head of the Astro Megazord.

"Owwww..." Once free, Jareth looked back at the ruined craft, an expression of disbelief on his face beneath his mangled helmet. _One_ zord had done this? The Gold Ranger looked around, but there was no sign of life in sight; the Mega-1 had crashed in the middle of a desert, smashing against a large rock formation. That gorilla had packed quite a punch.

_Destiny has a desert, too? _He thought to himself.

"Deacon!" he cried, bringing his one remaining hand up to his mouthplate. "Myk!"

"Over here," came Deacon's voice from somewhere to the Gold Ranger's left. Following his voice, Jareth found the Silver Ranger lying beneath a pile of debris, his chrome armor badly scratched and dented. "Need a hand?" Jareth asked, offering his.

Deacon took the hand offered, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. "No," he said, "But it looks like you do."

"Oh, ha ha."

"Any sign of Hero Boy?"

"Over here," Myk said, walking calmly over to them, looking slightly dirty but otherwise unharmed. "And please don't call me that."

Jareth looked at his two fellow Rangers, then down at his own armor, taking in the stump of his arm and his bent, twisted leg. "It's just not fair, I tell ya. Power down."

In a flash of amber light, the Gold Ranger was gone, replaced by a young man with long dark hair and black clothes. Jareth flexed his left arm, testing his fingers, then glanced back at the smoldering husk of Mega-1.

"Well, wherever we are, we're not getting home in this."

Deacon glanced up at the position of the sun. "I think we're in the desert east of town. From the look of things, I'd say we're two, maybe three miles out."

"When did Destiny get a desert?" the Gold Ranger asked.

Deacon shrugged. "It's always been here."

"Huh."

Myk raised his hand to the side of his helmet, activating the built-in comlink. "Zord-1..."

"Yes, I know. Teleporting Mega-1 back to the Oasis for repairs."

In a crackle of static, the scrapped shuttle vanished.

"What about us?" Deacon asked.

"The teleportation system will require a moment to recharge after transporting so large an object, especially when one takes into account the fact that I teleported the remains of the Astro Megaship aboard as well, not to mention the disabled Rangers. Please wait."

Jareth kicked at a small chunk of rock that had been dislodged from the ground by the shuttle's crash. "I hate waiting."

"Oh, we'll be happy to keep you entertained, Gold Ranger," came a twisted demented voice from high atop the wind-scoured rock formation.

Spinning towards the voice, the Rangers saw three shining, metallic-hued Psycho Rangers: One Silver, one Bronze, and one Gold.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Though they had no mouths, the trio of Psycho Rangers gave the distinct impression of grinning as they holstered their Crystal Sabers and the Purple, Gray, and Camoflauge Rangers fell to the ground, demorphed.

"Can we finish them off?" Psycho Camo asked.

Psycho Gray looked to sky, his head cocked to the side as if listening to something. Finally, he shook his head. "Not yet. There are still three remaining."

"Damn orders," Psycho Camo snarled, glaring balefully down at Fox's unconscious form.

"There'll be other times," Psycho Purple said in her sultry voice. "Come, Zedd will be wanting to hear of this."

Psycho Camo nodded curtly, and the three of them blazed off towards the sky, leaving their counterparts to lie defeated.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Nope. No way. I'm not playing anymore."

"Jareth!"

"No. Forget it. It's not fair. How come THEY get the cool armor? Do we have a union? I want to lodge a complaint."

"Just Morph," Deacon said tersely, summoning his Silver Swords.

Jareth nodded and extended his arm out by his side, preparing to summon his morpher, but before he could, Psycho Silver began raining down blasts of energy.

"No!" Psycho Gold cried in an anguished, distorted voice. "Not yet! He isn't--"

Too late. One of the blasts struck a sparking conduit at Jareth's feet that had once been part of Mega-1, but for some reason hadn't been teleported back to the Oasis with the rest of it. The unit exploded, picking Jareth up bodily and sending him flying out of sight.

"NO!" Psycho Gold screamed, streaking off after the Gold Ranger as a blur of amber light.

"Jareth!" Deacon yelled, but before he could rush to his friend's aid, Psycho Silver was upon him.

"Worry about yourself, Ranger!" Psycho Silver snarled, twirling his twisted swords.

**"Razor Rush!"** Deacon cried, his voice echoing as he invoked his special attack, moving with a speed that defied physics... but, to his astonishment, Psycho Silver still matched him move for move. Regaining his composure Deacon began a series of gravity-defying gymnastics, using every trick he had to score a hit, but everything he did, Psycho Silver blocked. Worse still, Psycho Silver was taking advantage of openings Deacon hadn't even realized were there. As Razor Rush's effects wore off, Deacon fell back, smoking gashes covering his armor. "You're no match for me, Ranger," Psycho Silver snarled, advancing, blades steaming slightly. "Just pack it in now. It'll be easier."

Psycho Bronze flew at Myk, a pair of barbed nunchakus appearing in his hands. Myk rose up into the air, evading the tackle, and summoned his own weapon.

**"Eagle Nunchucks!"**

Spinning midair, Myk flew down at Psycho Bronze, who rose to meet his attack. The two clashed...and Myk was thrown back, his weapon flying from his hand. Myk righted himself and landed atop the rock formation, Psycho Bronze alighting a few meters ahead of him.

"**Chronoflash!"** A bright flash emitted from the Bronze Ranger's hands, and the world froze. Every particle of sand being blown by the wind, every cloud in the sky, even the two Silver Rangers below stopped as though the world had become one big photograph....everything, that is, except for the twisted mockery of himself standing directly in front of him.

Completely unaffected by the stasis, Psycho Bronze executed another flying tackle, knocking Myk off the edge of the rock formation. Fortunately, Myk remembered that he could fly, and as Psycho Bronze peered down over the edge to gaze at his fallen opponent, Myk came back at him with a flying uppercut that knocked Psycho Bronze down onto his back.

Once again landing in front of his counterpart, Myk held out his hand, and a shining white blade appeared in his fist. For the first time, Psycho Bronze seemed taken aback. Recovering from his surprise, the Bronze Psycho Ranger leaped to his feet. Myk brought the legendary blade down, attempting to cleave the dark Ranger in two, but Psycho Bronze simply stepped aside, letting the force of Myk's swing cut into the very rock.

Myk scowled beneath his helmet and attempted to remove Dorn from the rock, but it was stuck fast. Psycho Bronze flew at him in yet another tackle, but this time, as they went over the edge, he stayed with him, forcing him down with his power of flight and slamming him into one of the lower shelves of rock, the stone cracking with the force of the impact.

Chronoflash wore off and the world began moving again. There was a thud as the Silver Ranger was hurled like a bag of doorknobs onto the rock shelf next to Myk, and Psycho Silver leapt up onto the rock to stand alongside Psycho Bronze. The two Psychos drew their Sabers.

"Two more for the collection," Silver said, chuckling.

Two bright streams of light flowed from the Ranger's morphers to the swords, and Myk and Deacon demorphed.

"Well? Can we finish them?" Bronze asked.

Silver tilted his head. "No. Gold still hasn't gotten his. What's taking him so long?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Psycho Gold paced angrily back and forth, glaring down at the concussed form that lay before him.

"Wake up, you worm, wake _up_!"

When Jareth had fallen, his head had struck a rock that jutted up from the sand, and he had immediately been knocked out cold. A considerable amount of blood flowed from the side of his head, only to be swallowed up by the sand.

"What's taking so long?" Psycho Silver asked impatiently, appearing beside him.

"What's taking so long? I'll tell you what's taking so long! _You_ attacked him before he was morphed, you imbecile! He can't very well morph when he's unconscious, can he?! And I can't very well drain his essence if he isn't morphed, can I?! And we can't kill ANY of them until we have _all_ their guides, _can we_?!"

"Dude, calm down," Psycho Silver said. "Look, all we have to do is wait. Either he wakes up, sees us, and morphs, or he bleeds to death, or whatever humans do when they hit their heads on rocks. Either way--"

Before Silver could continue further, Jareth's body disappeared in a flash of Golden light. From over by the rock formation, a streak of silver and a streak of bronze shot into the sky. Zord-1 had finally teleported the Rangers home.

Psycho Gold's screams of fury echoed across the desert.


	6. The Glory Song

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 6: The Glory Song

Jareth woke up and immediately regretted it. His head felt like someone had used it to play hockey, then gotten bored with it and tossed it onto a busy interstate afterwards.

Groaning, he sat up and opened his eyes. He was in the Oasis' medbay.

_Well. There are worse places to wake up._

He did a quick status check. Ten fingers, two arms, legs still attached. So far so good. A strange device was stuck to the side of his head.

How had we wound up here? Ah, yes, he remembered now...Crashing in the desert. Demorphing to ditch his damaged Ranger form. The three Psychos showing up. And the ground, coming at him very very fast.

"It is good to see you are awake, Jareth," Zord-1's voice said.

"How's the patient, doc? Will he live?" the Gold Ranger asked, his voice a feeble croak.

"You will be fine. You have several minor burns and a very slight concussion."

"Ah. That would explain the disconnected thoughts and mild hallucinations."

Zord-1 double-checked his scan. "No, according to my results, those are not symptoms of the head trauma."

"Oh. Must have always had those and just never noticed." Jareth sat up, swinging his legs over the side of his bed. "What's this on my head?"

"It is a tissue regenerator. It is repairing the damage to your skull, skin, and blood vessels. Your brain, fortunately, was virtually undamaged."

Jareth wasn't sure he liked the way Zord-1 had said 'virtually'.

"And the others?" he asked.

"They've been better," Diskette said, hovering into the room. "The Psychos got them all."

"Psychos?"

"Come to the bridge, Gold Ranger," Zord-1 requested. "I will explain everything there.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"While you and your group were on Yllustri, the first group of Psycho Rangers appeared."

Jareth appraised the images on the bridge's vidscreen. "I still say it's not fair that they get the cool armor."

"I have only recently completed my analysis," the computer continued. "They are demonic entities, summoned from another plane and given shape by energy provided from the Morphin Grid."

"How did Zedd access the Morphin Grid?"

"I am uncertain, but it stands to reason that he could only do it this once. If he had full access, he would have been able to summon hoards of these knock-off Rangers."

"Just hope he hasn't." Jareth's eyes narrowed as he watched the re-play of the first five Psycho Rangers siphoning away the spirits of his fellow Rangers. "What did they just do?"

Zord-1 explained about the animal totems.

"So....they steal our guides, then create zords to match them? Why?"

"I believe they stole the guides simply to incapacitate the Rangers. Creating the Psycho Zords in their images was most likely done to satisfy Zedd's sick sense of humor. Although there is also the psychological aspect."

"What?"

"These animals form an integral part of the Ranger's personalities, and are therefore the animal the Rangers would want least to fight against."

"Oh. I guess that kinda makes sense."

"It would appear that they can only drain your animal guides while you are morphed. Being rendered unconscious was a boon."

"Oh, yeah. Real lucky." Jareth rubbed his head.

"I am serious, Jareth. You could hardly have been more fortunate in your misfortune."

"Let's hear it for massive cranial trauma." Jareth turned and glanced at one of the monitors set into the closest control panel. The other twelve Rangers were wandering aimlessly through the ship, either meandering the halls, in their rooms, or in the lounge. "Any idea how we can get them to snap out of it?"

"I believe this can be done by returning their animal totems to them."

"And how do I do that?"

"I don't know."

Jareth sighed.

A thought occurred to him. "Okay, one last question. Why didn't Psycho Gold just kill me when I was lying there?"

"It would have been counterproductive to kill you without first claiming your spirit guide."

"Then why didn't the other Psychos kill their Rangers after they'd drained them?"

There was a split second's pause while Zord-1 processed this.

"Entities summoned from the demonic plane must obey the expressly spoken wishes of the being who summoned them. It is likely that Zedd was careless in the wording of his commands to the Psycho Rangers."

"How so?"

"He likely said something along the lines of, "Steal the spirit guides from all the Rangers, then destroy them.". With this as a directive, the Psychos would have been unable to kill any of you until all of you had been drained."

"Because of the way he worded it. I get it."

The Gold Ranger glanced dubiously at the others on the monitors. "Well, in that case, maybe I can stay here, and we can get one of the others to pull themselves together long enough to go down and fight the Psychos. They wouldn't be able to hurt us, because they haven't got me."

Jareth head turned as the door to the bridge opened and Electra wandered in. The Black Ranger's expression was normally dreamlike, as though she was staring at something no one else could see. But if her expression normally read "Out To Lunch", it now read, "Gone for Six-Month Vacation in Tahiti". Taking no notice of the stare he was giving her, she walked unsteadily across the bridge and out the door on the other side.

"Zord-1?" Jareth asked.

"Yes?"

"We're screwed."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Life on the ship certainly was dull. A bit ironic, really, Jareth thought to himself, considering that it was more crowded now than it had been in a very long time. Zord-1 had thought it best that all the incapacitated Rangers remain on the ship instead of returning to their normal lives. For some, like Terina, this was not a big change. For the others, Jareth had phoned their schools or places of work and made excuses.

As the other Rangers wandered aimlessly around the ship, the Gold Ranger alternately a) viewed the clips of the Psycho battles in the hopes of finding a cure for what they had done, and b) tried to teach himself coin tricks.

He gave up on most of the coin tricks, but managed to convince himself that they didn't work because while normal coins had engraving on both faces, his power coin was blank on one side, and that upset the balance of the coin. Yeah, that was it.

Alarms blared throughout the bridge, and Jareth glanced at the screen.

"They're attacking," Jareth noted.

"They certainly are," Zord-1 replied. "You must defend the city, Gold Ranger."

Jareth shook his head. "I can't hold off thirteen Psycho Rangers all by myself."

"Then take the others with you. Their powers are intact."

Jareth glanced at the other Rangers in the room, just to make sure he and the computer were referring to the same people.

"Are you honestly suggesting that I lead this group of Zombie-Rangers into battle against a group of demented knock-offs who, need I remind you, defeated us all when we were at our best?"

"Yes, ordinarily, I prefer not to have a designated leader in favor of a more balanced team dynamic, but in this case--"

"I think you're missing my point."

Zord-1 let out an electronic sigh. "No, I was merely attempting to gloss over it. Yes, the situation does indeed look hopeless, but what are your alternatives? If you do not defend Terra, Zedd will conquer it. Where will you be then?"

"Here. On this ship, in the lounge, enjoying a steak dinner while watching Even Stevens and wishing fervently that Tawny would dump Louis and date me."

"What?" Diskette asked.

"Never mind," Jareth said, waving the question aside.

"You don't want to go out in a blaze of glory?" Pilot asked, his rarely-heard voice ringing out across the bridge.

Jareth glanced at the small, laptop-sized unit. "Why die in a blaze of glory when the alternative is to stay up here and not die?"

There was a pause.

"Well," Pilot said slowly. "Why not?"

Jareth was silent for a moment, then he shrugged. "Okay."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

In a crackle of energy, thirteen Power Rangers materialized in the large parking lot outside Wal-Mart, completely emptied except for a few smoldering husks of what were once cars.

Standing stock-still in front of them were the Psycho Rangers, each one giving the impression of malevolently glaring at their counterparts.

Psycho Gold stepped forward. "I knew you'd show."

"That's funny," Jareth said. "I almost didn't."

Behind him, the other Rangers stood, not attacking, not doing anything. Just standing there. The other twelve Psycho Rangers stood behind Psycho Gold, but unlike the Power Rangers, their stance was tense and ready to strike, not merely listless and apathetic.

Psycho Gold materialized a twisted, savage-looking scythe and rushed at Jareth, swinging. Jareth ducked and fell back. Instead of capitalizing on their weaknesses, the Psychos seemed to prefer to beat the Rangers at their strengths.

What were his strengths?

Jareth used a scythe. Blade on a long stick. Good for hitting things at a distance. Awkward at hitting things at got in under your guard, though; often, Jareth had found himself reeling from blows delivered by nimble opponents who'd managed to get past his weapon's blade.

He dropped Kyra, letting the sentient weapon fall to the ground.

The Gold Ranger flicked his fingers, inch-long, bladelike claws extending form his fingertips. When Psycho Gold came in with his scythe again, Jareth ducked underneath it and swiped at Gold's faceplate, leaving four long gouges in his helmet.

Psycho Gold staggered back, more surprised than hurt. He grabbed his face, then glared again at the Gold Ranger as he sheathed his claws. Psycho Gold spun, delivering a kick to Jareth's torso that sent him staggering back towards the other Rangers. Psycho Gold twirled his scythe, each slash firing a crescent of golden energy at Jareth.

Jareth did his best to dodge, but unfortunately, every blast that missed him was quite likely to hit one of his teammates, who lacked even the motivation to get out of the way. A number of them fell to the ground, smoking gashes in their armor.

With a frustrated growl, Jareth brought his hands forward, palms together, aiming them at Psycho Gold.

**"Ray of Hope!"** A thick beam of golden sparks shot forward from the Gold Ranger's hands as he invoked his special attack.

Psycho Gold spun his scythe in a circle, deflecting the blast, which splashed off and grazed Psycho Silver. Rather than retaliate, however, Silver just regained his composure and continued to stand there.

Unnoticed by Psycho Gold, the Lyonscythe had risen from the ground and was now floating behind him. Kyra's eyes glowed as he prepared to attack the Gold Psycho Ranger from behind.

"Enough games," Psycho Gold snarled, vanishing his scythe and drawing his Crystal Saber.

"Oh, shi-" was as far as Jareth got before a stream of golden light flowed from his morpher into the crystal orb in the hilt of Psycho Gold's saber. Jareth feel to the ground, demorphing. Kyra gave a cry before vanishing in a crackle of amber energy.

"That's it, then," Psycho Red stated, his voice dripping with grim enjoyment. "Gold, you've wrapped things up nicely. Would you like to take the first kill?"

"It would be my pleasure," Psycho Gold replied. He pulled his scythe out of nowhere and walked over to Jareth's prone figure, raising the farm-implement-turned-weapon over his head.

A silver short sword flew through the air, catching Psycho Gold square in the face. The black glass of his visor cracked and the metal of his helmet bent inward as the sword embedded itself in his head, the blade emerging from the back of his skull. Had he possessed a face, Gold would scarcely have had time to register an expression of surprise before falling over backwards and lying very, very still.

As one, the other twelve Psychos turned their heads. Deacon strode forward, twirling his remaining sword, then wrenched his other one free from Psycho Gold's face.

Psycho Silver brought his hand to his waist, feeling for his Crystal Saber. Not finding it there, he glanced behind him...and there, on the ground, its crystal orb shattered into numerous infinitesimal pieces, lay the weapon. The Gold Ranger's attack, deflected by Psycho Gold, had knocked it free from its sheath.

Deacon saw the weapon as well. A slow smile spread on his face beneath his visor. "Ah," he said. "Aha. I think I get it."

Psycho Silver gave the impression of sneering as he stepped forward, Psycho Gold rising from the ground and taking his place in the line, his face healing. Silver summoned his jagged silver swords. "There's one thing you _don't _seem to get, Ranger," he growled.

"What's that?"

"There's nothing stopping us from killing you NOW." Psycho Silver rushed forward, and the two entered into a four-bladed swordfight. Sparks flew from the silver blades as the two battled, the sounds of metal against metal ringing out through the abandoned lot.

Psycho Red stepped forward. "We've waited long enough. Destroy them."

Moving as one in that eerie way they did, the Psychos stepped forward and began attacking their counterparts....who didn't lift a finger to defend themselves.

Deacon soon fell back, gashes in his chrome armor from the blows he hadn't been able to parry. Psycho Silver moved in for the kill....and something gleamed out of the corner of Deacon's eye...

The blade of Psycho Gold's scythe, poised and ready to pierce Jareth's back. Again. The Gold Ranger was demorphed, and last time Deacon had checked, a scythe in the back would kill a human being.

Deacon dived back and parried the scythe with his sword. He quickly made a tally on the mental list he and Jareth had been keeping since they first became Rangers: who'd saved who's life the most. Jareth was falling behind; Deacon had scored twice in the last two minutes.

Psycho Gold took a step back, seemingly confused. He looked at Deacon inquisitively, as though he expected a small bird to leap out of his forehead on a spring, his jagged golden helmet cocked to the side. The Psycho Ranger turned back to Jareth and raised his scythe again, but again Deacon parried. And again Psycho Gold looked at him strangely, paused, and repeated the process.

"Dude, what's wrong with you?" Deacon asked. This time, Psycho Gold's scythe didn't even drop.....he just glanced up at Deacon, looked at him strangely, and turned back to Jareth and prepared to strike again.

Psycho Silver seemed equally confused. Watching Deacon clashing blades with Psycho Gold was something he just couldn't seem to compute. The chrome-armored Psycho Ranger simply stood there, trying unsuccessfully to comprehend just what the hell was going on.

As he parried Psycho Gold's scythe for the sixth time, Deacon shook his head. This may have been a great way to score points, but it was beginning to get old. As Psycho Gold went into his confused stance, Deacon slashed at his side, shattering the Crystal Saber hanging at his hip.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Psycho Bronze cackled wickedly as he threw Myk down the narrow alley that branched off the parking lot. The Bronze Ranger landed with a crash amongst the garbage cans, some of them full, that were stacked against the fence at the end. Myk didn't react, either to the injury of being thrown or the insult of having landed in garbage.

Bronze chuckled, as he strode boastfully down the alley, standing before the fallen Ranger.

"Normally," he said, in his warped, distorted voice. "This is the part where the villain makes some terribly cliché' parting comment. But I think we'll just skip that part."

Allowing himself another cruel chuckle, Psycho Bronze flexed his fingers, his fingertips elongating into sharp talons. Thrusting his fist forward, he drove his metal hand through Myk's face, shredding his entire head into ribbons. The intense pain overloading his connection to the Morphin Grid, Myk demorphed, Psycho Bronze's hand still embedded in his brain. Death was instantaneous.

That, at least, was the plan.

The reality fell short. Approximately three inches short. Myk's hand shot forward, grabbing Psycho Bronze's wrist and stopping his strike mere inches from the Bronze Ranger's visor.

"What? But....you can't....I don't...."

"My, aren't we the articulate one?" The voice was Myk's, yet not Myk's. It was a though the voice was coming from both the Bronze Ranger's throat and from somewhere in the center of his chest, at the same time. Myk's left hand shot forward, grasping the Psycho Ranger by the throat. Rising to his feet, Myk lifted the Psycho up off of the asphalt. In his right hand, a shining sword of white light materialized, its glow illuminating the entire alley.

It wasn't quite clear exactly how the Psycho Rangers managed to convey facial expressions, but this one gave the distinct impression of displaying a look of wide-eyed terror.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jareth tore down the halls of the Wal-Mart, wincing at each loud report his metallic, paw-shaped boots made against the tiles. He scampered into the toy department and ducked down behind a large bin of stuffed animals.

The moment he'd revived, he'd morphed, then, as he was still lying on the ground, kicked Psycho Gold square in the shins. Unfortunately, seeing the Gold Ranger attack the Gold Psycho Ranger seemed to clear up the confusion in the minds of both Psycho Silver and Psycho Gold. Silver had immediately attacked Deacon, and, knowing full well that Gold would do the same to him, Jareth had run away.

Well, maybe retreated was a better word....No, no, he'd definitely run away. Psycho Gold was bigger, stronger, faster, and probably smarter than him. It seemed the right thing to do at the time.

The Gold Ranger let out a cry of surprise as a pair of gauntleted fists closed around his neck. Thanking the gods for his lack of a windpipe while in Ranger form, Jareth tried to pry the fingers loose.

"You're breathing so loudly," Psycho Gold quipped, "I could hear you all the way from Sporting Goods."

"Sporting Goods is right next to the Toy Department," Jareth pointed out. "And Rangers don't breathe."

"Yes, fine, but it was still a good line."

Jareth had to admit that it was, indeed, a good line.

Psycho Gold threw him like a rag doll. The Gold Ranger's armored body flew into the shelf behind him, knocking it over. Reaching back for something to pull himself to his feet, Jareth's hand fell against a familiar-feeling object. He closed his fingers around it.

"Come on, you're an intelligent...umm...person," the Gold Ranger said. "Let's talk this out. What's Zedd paying you? Money? Girls? Real estate?"

"Zedd's spell binds us to this realm until we have carried out his wishes. He has wished for your destruction."

"Not real estate. Okay. Umm....Look at that!" Jareth pointed at something behind Psycho Gold's shoulder.

Psycho Gold manifested his scythe and took a step forward.

"No? Not even a peek?" Jareth sighed. He tightened his grip on the cylinder in his hand, sincerely hoping that it was what he thought it was.

As Psycho Gold reared back his blade to strike, the Gold Ranger whipped his arm around and pressed the top of the can, spraying a mass of sticky, wet, multicolored string directly into his face.

Psycho Gold roared and dropped his weapon, clawing at his face. By the time he'd cleared the silly string from his visor, Jareth was gone.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Psycho Red gave the impression of smiling as he punched, kicked, and generally did his best to physically injure Tommy. The other Psychos were doing more or less the same thing. They'd been dragged from their world and magically compelled to follow that simpleton Zedd's orders, but as long as they were here, they figured, they may as well have some fun. So they decided to beat the Rangers into a bloody pulp before killing them. Fun.

Someone tapped his armored shoulder. Figuring it was another of the Psychos, Red turned....and found himself looking at the Gold Power Ranger? The Gold Ranger reached forward and pulled the small sword from Psycho Red's belt, letting it drop to the concrete. There was a tinkle as the orb shattered.

Red stood for a moment, bewildered, then shrugged and turned back to Tommy.

Tommy punched him in the face.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Nice shot," Jareth said, looking down at Psycho Red. The dark Ranger lay on the concrete, out cold.

"Thanks," Tommy said, rubbing his fist. "What's...?"

"Just run around and break the swords. It'll get all the others back up and running."

"Then what?"

Jareth shrugged. "Do what I do. Worry about then, then." With that, the Gold Ranger turned and walked calmly into the crowd of pummeling Psycho Rangers, smashing their swords with his scythe as he went.

Tommy shrugged, drawing the short sword from his back and following suit.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was like waking up, Kalen thought, as the stupor which had enveloped her brain faded. Waking up to find that the nightmare was still happening, she amended. Psycho Purple was standing directly in front of her, a long, gnarled staff in her hands. Judging from the aches she felt all over her body, Kalen presumed that she had been using it.

**"Staff of Aquarius,"** Kalen summoned, the long purple staff appearing in her hand. Aiming the dark green orb that sat atop the staff directly at Psycho Purple, Kalen fired off an energy ball.

Not enough. Psycho Purple caught it as though it had been a softball. "Please," the Psycho Ranger said condescendingly, before hurling the ball right back. The energy orb caught Kalen squarely in the stomach, knocking her to the ground, her butt skidding on the pavement.

"You've gone quite soft, Ranger," Purple said, sauntering up to Kalen, seductress-style. "I'm you, you know....all of your strengths, amplified to the furthest degree, rolled up into one ever-so gorgeous package. You can't hope to beat me. Why not just give up? Demorph. I'll make it quick. Just one good--"

Kalen calmly raised her staff again, not taking her eyes off her counterpart, but this time, instead of pointing it at the Purple Psycho Ranger, she pointed it at one of the lampposts that illuminated the parking lot. Struck by her blast, the post fell....directly on top of Psycho Purple.

"Yes, well, _I _know better than to monologue until _after _the kill_."_

The Purple Ranger rose to her feet, walked over and prodded the downed Psycho Purple with her staff, contemplating what the Psycho Ranger's innards looked like, and whether it would be worth her trouble to find out.

Abruptly, Psycho Purple's hand shot up, grabbing the Staff of Aquarius and ripping it from her grasp. With a single swipe, the staff caught Kalen in the face, knocking her away.

Psycho Purple tossed the staff aside and rose to her feet, lifting the lamppost as though it were cardboard rather than steel. Looking at Kalen, the Psycho Ranger calmly broke the end of the lamppost off against her knee, then strode forward and began swinging at the Purple Ranger.

Kalen ducked the first swing. "For someone with all my strengths, you seem to be lacking a bit in finesse," she said.

"I've grown bored with finesse," Psycho Purple replied calmly, catching Kalen in the ribs with the massive iron pole. A second blow followed the first, then a third. As Kalen was off-balance now, she was far easier to hit.

Hitting with an uppercut, Psycho Purple knocked Kalen up into the air, and the Purple Ranger fell to the ground, facing the sky. Her pain threshold exceeded, she demorphed.

"There, now," Psycho Purple said, hefting the massive pole like a baseball bat. "That's more like it. Now, hold still. This won't hurt a bit....Not for long, anyway."

Psycho Purple lunged forward and plunged the thick iron pole down through Kalen's chest, the asphalt, and the earth below.

Kalen's eyes opened wide, then glazed over as her blood blossomed out onto the concrete.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jareth watched from across the lot as Psycho Purple struck, skewering Kalen. He stepped back, shaking his head. "Deja vu," he whispered. Shaking his head, Jareth clicked on his comlink. "Zord-1, get Kalen out of here. Teleport her directly to the Medbay. Now."

A flash of purple streaked up into the sky.

"We have her, Jareth....but it doesn't look good."

Jareth shook his head. He looked at the battle that was being fought all around him. All of the Crystal Sabers had been shattered, but there was no denying that the Rangers were still losing. The Psychos had always been better than they were, and now there were no technicalities keeping them from harming them...Psycho Purple had just proven that. The situation seemed hopeless.

**"Times I lose the spark.....living in the dark...How I wish my song could be a sign...." **The words were out of Jareth's mouth before he realized he had sang them. A quick, catchy tune had started paying, seemingly coming from everywhere at once, the melody both joyous and sad, inspirational and downright corny all at the same time.

**"Singing like a bird....sunlight in my words....Learn to sing, the golden sun to shine....**

**Shine on, Shine on me...**

**Shine on, shine on me..."**

His voice on autopilot, the Gold Ranger looked around, astounded by what he saw. A sparkle of golden light was paying over the armor of every Ranger in the lot. The Rangers seemed faster, better....they were actually holding their own against the Psychos now.

"**Times I'm in the night...can't locate the light....how I wish I knew the right design...**

**Music in the air, making brightness there, learn to sing, the golden sun to shine...**

**Shine on, shine on me...**

**Shine on, shine on me...."**

Whatever was happening, it was clear that the Gold Ranger's song was responsible.

"Since when have you been able to do THIS, Valentine?" Stephen yelled, slashing away with Saba at Psycho White.

"Umm...since now," Jareth replied. "I'm almost positive these powers make themselves up as they go."

It was right about at this point that Psycho Gold finally realized that the Gold Ranger was no longer inside the store and came out to check the lot. He surveyed the battle from the shattered storefront window, eyeing the golden energy that enveloped the Rangers.

"You can't win that way, Gold Ranger!"

Taking a deep breath, or seeming to, Psycho Gold let out a bloodcurdling sonic blast that shattered every window of the supermarket behind him. The glowing aura of golden light that was playing over the Rangers also shattered, the enhancement it provided vanishing. Most of the Rangers fell to their knees, hands clutching their helmets, trying to block out the noise.

The other Psychos were unaffected. They renewed their attack, weapons at the ready.

"Rangers, retreat!" Tommy ordered. "Back to the Oasis, now!"

The Blue and White Rangers immediately shot into the air as streaks of light. A few of the others shot Tommy questioning looks, and a few balked outright at his tone, but all of them knew a good idea when they heard one. Nine more streaks filled the sky.

Psycho Red walked over to Psycho Gold. "Nice work," Red said.

"Thanks," Gold replied.

"How long have you been able to do that?"

"Since now," Psycho Gold replied. "These powers make themselves up as they go."

"Hey," Psycho Black said, running up to join them. She looked around the lot. "Where's Bronze?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"And let that be a lesson to you," the echoing voice said, as Psycho Bronze fell to the concrete, his armor steaming.

Myk's body strode over and removed the small dagger from the Psycho's belt and dropped it to the ground. He then whirled the shining white blade above his head and brought it down, stabbing directly through the delicate crystal orb.

Ikaika stepped back as Myk's spirit returned to his body, reanimating him.

Myk blinked. His will may have been gone, but his mind had been present throughout the ordeal. "Ikaika....you...took over."

_Your body was without a spirit. I am a spirit._

"But then...why didn't you step in to help sooner? When Jareth was the only--"

_It would have been suspicious if you had been alert and the other Rangers not. They would have discovered me. I do not trust them, Myk. You know what they are like. Thieves, spies, saboteurs, murderers._

"They're not that bad--"

_Aren't they? It's all right here, in your memories. The purple one could not BE more evil. The green one is a thief. And you have heard the rumors about the silver one. He has killed, Myk. He has killed many._

Myk didn't say anything.

_You are the only one I trust with my power, Myk. You are the one I acted to protect. I will also act to protect them, when I can, if I can do so without alerting them to my existence. If that is your wish._

"It is," Myk said.

_Then so be it. Meanwhile, let us return to our fortress with the others. They will be expecting us._

Myk nodded, and a streak of bronze-colored light cut across the night sky.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kalen slumped back against her door the moment it slid closed. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the full-length mirror that stood in the corner, removing her shirt as she went.

Her skin was perfect. No scars, not even any tanlines. And yet, not an hour ago, there had been a jagged, gaping hole in her torso. Zord-1's medical technology? Or something more? She pulled the purple blouse back on, uncharacteristically insecure.

Abruptly, the lights went out. She found herself in a round chamber, illuminated only by a spotlight that shone down from the center of the ceiling above. This would have alarmed her, if it hadn't happened before.

At equidistant points around the room were wide, flat pillars, each about waist-high, lit from above by a smaller spotlight. Most were empty, as though they were awaiting specimens.

Four were not.

Above one floated a tiny human form, and infant. It was disfigured and discolored, its eyes bloodshot and its skin blue-tinged, the umbilical cord wrapped painfully tight round its neck.

Her parents had mentioned that she'd been a problem birth, that she was lucky to have survived.

Floating above the next was a small asian girl, roughly nine or ten years old. Her skin was textured like tree bark, and tufts of brown leaves sprouted from random places. Her neck was bent at a disturbing angle.

Unwillingly, Kalen was reminded of the time she had gone climbing in a tree her parents had warned her was unsafe. The tree was dead, they'd said, the branches too weak to hold her weight. She'd climbed it anyway, of course, and of course the branch on which she'd been standing had broken. When she woke up in the hospital, everyone said she should have broken her neck, that she should thank her lucky stars to still be alive.

The next specimen was her, plain and simple. A perfect replica of herself....if you overlooked the smashed section of her skull and oddly bent wrist.

This one was the time her house had fallen down, in Lord Zedd's first ever attack on the planet Terra. Her entire family had been killed by the falling rafters--except for her. When the paramedics had pulled her, miraculously unscathed, from the ruins of her home, they'd said she was lucky.

All of these had been there before. The body floating over the column to its left, however, was new. It was her, with a gaping whole through her chest. Her heart floated in midair about a foot in front of the statue, the muscular walls torn open, flakes of rust from the metal that had skewered her drifting around it. It was still beating.

All of them were staring at her.

Suddenly, it was gone. She was standing back in her chambers on the Oasis, before her full length mirror. She wasn't altogether pleased by what she saw. The girl reflected in the glass looked terribly disconcerted. Soaked with sweat. No way _that_ was Kalen Starrose. Taking another deep breath, she composed herself and walked over to her adjoined bathroom, stripping off her damp clothes and stepping into the shower. For a few moments, she just stood there, letting the scalding water hit her back, trying to ignore the voice in her head.

Zord-1 had said it was a miracle that she'd lived long enough to receive medical attention on the ship. That it was remarkable that she'd survived the teleport in her condition. He'd said she was lucky to be alive. They'd _all_ said that she was lucky to be alive.

_Bullshit. Luck had nothing to do with it_, said the voice.

"Shut up," Kalen growled. But she couldn't keep herself from thinking. How many more? How many more times could she cheat death? How many more miraculous escapes could she pull off?

_That's a rather stupid question. You KNOW how many more, Kalen. You counted the pedestals. The empty ones._

Kalen gritted her teeth.

_Four lives down, Starrose_, the voice in her head said. Her own voice. _Four down. Five to go._


	7. Power Failure

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 7: Power Failure

_A month_, Tommy thought to himself, staring vacantly out the porthole of his room on the Power Rangers' orbiting command center.

An entire month had passed since their last encounter with the Psycho Rangers, and there hadn't been a hint of evil activity since.

The Red Ranger was starting to wonder whether Zord-1 had been right when the sentient computer had voiced the possibility that Zedd may have dismissed the Psychos back to their demonic plane.

Well, at least the reprieve had given him a chance to decorate the room to his liking. The walls were white, the carpeting, bedspread, and the curtains around the circular viewport were red. The furnishings in the room remained functional, there was only the bed, the dresser, and a small desk. A large poster of a red formula-1 race car hung on the wall over his bed. He'd been disappointed, to say the least, to learn that there were no race cars in this world.

That had been another advantage of the break....it had given him time to learn more about the strange dimension he'd been dumped into. While similar to Earth in many ways, Terra had quite a few differences that couldn't be ignored. For one, there was the fact that civilization and cities seemed to be contained to a dozen or so small, state-sized regions. The rest of the world was populated by various human tribes, each one possessed of its own laws, customs, and beliefs.

Oddly enough, the others hadn't seen how the world could function any other way.

"Wait, you mean your world is _entirely_ covered in civilization? Cities everywhere? No tribes at all?" Jareth had asked, one day on the bridge when Tommy had inquired on the subject.

"Well," he'd replied, "There are still a few, in Africa and places," Tommy said. "But the rest of the world pretty much considers them a joke. You know, a throwback. To the way the world used to be, before civilization was discovered."

"How does that even work?"

"What?"

"I mean, what keeps the population from expanding until the planet can't support it anymore? What holds your numbers down?"

"Well, there are a few things. Crime, disease, accidents..."

"That wouldn't be enough," Jareth argued. "In a civilized society, the population doubles every generation. It's a proven fact. Without any natural controls, humans would go extinct, just like any other animal whose population rises too high."

"Don't be silly," Tommy had replied. "Humans aren't like animals. We can control when we want to breed."

Jareth had given him a funny look. "If you really believe that, then it's a wonder humans in your world have lasted as long as they have. Even the small cities on Terra had to institute population control to keep their numbers manageable."

"And the tribes didn't?"

"Of course not. Tribal society is the way humans naturally live. In the wild, I mean. They have their own natural controls. Ever run into a lion? Or a bear?"

"So they have a higher death rate," Tommy challenged. "It's a wonder anyone lives in the tribes at all when there are cities to go to."

"Some tribalists DO choose to move to the cities. But most of those change their minds, and more people desert the cities for tribes than the other way around."

"Why?"

Jareth had shrugged. "I suppose they have their reasons. I'd always just assumed that tribal life is better. Never actually tried it, myself. Too much social interaction for me."

Then Zord-1 had spoken up. "There are a number of reasons that humans revert to tribal life," the computer had said, in his deep, resonant voice. "For one, it is the way they live naturally, so their instincts steer them towards it. For another, there is the fact that a person living in a tribal society can expect to put in as little as four hours of work a week, while a city dweller can expect more than twenty. And then there are psychological and social aspects--"

"But what about art? Music? Philosophy? Religion? Technology?" the Red Ranger had argued.

"The tribes have art, music, religion, and philosophy," Zord-1 had replied.

"But not much technology," Jareth had admitted. "That's what the civilized sectors are for. They contribute to the human race by supplying advancements in technology, while the tribes contribute population control. Oh, and also, Tribal people are stronger. You know, healthier, from living in the wild and whatnot. Better immune systems and stuff. They help by interbreeding with people in civilized sectors. You know, keep the race from deteriorating. Getting too flabby."

"All in all, it is a stable balance," Zord-1 had said.

Tommy shook his head as he stared out his viewport. He had to admit, during his entire stay on Terra, he hadn't seen a single person wearing eyeglasses, or being pushed around in a wheelchair. The people of this world did seem to be generally healthier than those on Earth. Maybe they were onto something.

Then again, they were also distinctively _not normal_. Humans in this world had a bizarre range of eye and skin colors, for one thing. Making the occasional foray to the planet's surface, he'd seen eyes in every shade of blue, green, brown, purple, pink, yellow and turquoise, often with flecks of metallic gold or silver, and often mismatched. Skin colors ran the usual gamut from milk-white to almost-black (though the darker shades were apparently uncommon outside Africa), but there were also examples of pale blues and greens.

Hair colors seemed to stick to what he was used to, but it was not considered strange at all, even in professional workplaces, to dye it bizarre shades. Electra's vibrant shade of blue, for example, was a rather common choice, as were greens, pinks, and fiery reds. There also appeared to be no gender bias regarding color; he'd seen perfectly macho guys sporting, with impunity, hair and clothes in pinks, purples, and lavenders.

"Tommy," the computer's voice suddenly called from the speaker set into the ceiling of the Red Ranger's room, interrupting his thoughts, "Could you please report to the Bridge?"

"On my way."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tommy arrived at the bridge of the oblong spaceship, the doors opening automatically before him.

The room was circular, with a large, rectangular viewscreen set into the front wall. There was a horseshoe-shaped platform against the back wall, raised a good two feet above the main floor. In the center of the floor was the stylized, circular X that was the logo of the Power Rangers. At equidistant points around the room were masterfully painted portraits, each one depicting one of the thirteen Power Rangers, no two of them quite alike (the empty spot on the wall had been filled by his own portrait, that of the Red Ranger). Computer consoles and control panels were scattered throughout the room, and into the central panel was set a single, pulsating orb, like a plasma ball.

Most of the Rangers had homes on the planet's surface, but a number of them seemed to either live on the ship or spend most of their time there. These Rangers had gathered on the bridge as well, most likely in response to summons like the one Tommy had received.

Over the last three months, he'd gotten to know them all fairly well, or at least well enough to know their names.

The girl in the green shirt with the absurdly long, golden-blonde hair was Lolli. Once he'd gotten over the surprise of seeing his old Green Dragon armor worn by a girl, and of learning that her name was, of all things, Lolli, he quickly found out that the girl was a genius. Literally, a genius. She could have given Billy Cranston a run for his money. Unlike Billy, though, Lolli had the habit of picking locks and pockets whenever she got bored. She also had a penchant for alcohol, knowing how to mix any drink you could name perfectly capable of drinking anyone she met under the table.

The girl sitting in the corner and staring off into space was Electra. She was dressed in goth-style clothes, as always, all black with fishnet sleeves, the fluorescent lighting shining in her electric-blue hair. Electra wasn't the most social of Rangers. She didn't go out of her way to talk to anyone; indeed, she usually didn't talk at all unless asked a direct question. It was almost impossible to tell what she was thinking or feeling, as she seemed to be lost in a perpetual mental fog, and she could usually be found sitting in the corner, as she was now, either writing or drawing something in one of her notebooks.

Tommy had gotten to know Jareth right away; he'd met the Gold Ranger the very first night he'd been brought to this world. Relaxed and carefree, Jareth never seemed to be too concerned with anything. Honestly, Tommy wasn't sure what to make of the Gold Ranger. He was certainly resourceful, and seemed clever enough, but the word 'reckless' seemed more fitting than the word 'courageous'. Indeed, Jareth often described himself as 'insane', which in and of itself worried him…even if it wasn't true, anyone who'd claim that of themselves (with something bordering on _pride_, Tommy couldn't help but note) was likely to use it to excuse nearly any action.

Tommy's gazed moved on, pausing to linger on Terina. The Yellow Ranger. Tiny little thing, Tommy couldn't help but think. The girl was actually much older than any of them, having been a Ranger on Eltar long before any of the other Rangers were born, but she stood less than five feet tall. Terina's attitude almost matched Jareth's, but she was generally more active; where Jareth could happily spend an entire day sitting in front of the TV eating popcorn, Terina would much rather have been off somewhere rollerblading. Her short stature notwithstanding, Terina could pass for human at a glance, but on closer examination, a few of her alien features became apparent. Her ears were slightly pointed; her irises just a bit too wide, and slightly reflective when the light caught them just right. Other features weren't so apparent; the girl had remarkably sharp senses and was strong enough to lift a small car.

Finally, Tommy's eyes feel on the beautiful Asian girl leaning against the back wall, absently filing her nails. Kalen. Dressed in a pair of tight, black pants and a stylish purple blouse, the girl gave every impression of not wanting to be there. Tommy hadn't even bothered trying to befriend the Purple Ranger....she never took an interest in anything unless it would directly benefit her. Rumor had it she had planted cameras around the ship so as to be able to watch all the other Rangers, purely for her own amusement...but Tommy had never seen one, which meant either that the rumor was just a rumor and nothing more, or that she had hidden them very, very well.

As Tommy understood it, Kalen had been born to a very wealthy family…which at least explained her haughty attitude…and only joined the Rangers for revenge against Zedd after they'd been killed in a monster attack. Fortunately for the Rangers, she had inherited all of her family's properties and companies, and had acquired many more since then, and her connections and resources planetside had aided the Rangers more than once.

"Rangers, I have detected a distress signal," Zord-1 said, attracting Tommy's attention away from the other Rangers. "It originates from the royal palace on the planet of Tyrari, second planet from Ursa Minor Beta."

"Ignore it," Kalen said. "Our job is to defend Terra, not police the entire cosmos."

"I agree," Jareth said, running his hand through his long, dark hair. "I was in the middle of a perfectly good nap."

Tommy shook his head. "A while back, the Rangers in my world had to send out a call for help. The Rangers of Aquitar answered. The planet would have been lost without them."

"So?" Kalen asked, a look of profound understanding and sympathy utterly failing to cross her pretty Asian face.

"So, I'm not going to turn my back on someone if they need help."

"I'll go, too," Terina said. The short-statured Yellow Ranger said, hopping down from where she had been sitting on one of the consoles. "I need to get out for a while."

Jareth sighed. "Well, I'm not about to miss out on an adventure. Count me in."

"Not me," Lolli said, tossing back her long, golden-blonde hair. "I'm in the middle of a project."

"What project?" Terina asked.

"Ain't tellin'," the Green Ranger replied. "Let me know how it goes, though. Good luck." And with that, she walked off the Bridge, the doors opening with an electronic swoosh.

The three volunteers turned to the remaining Rangers present.

"Lecca? You coming?" Terina asked.

Electra glanced over at her, regarded her silently for a moment, then nodded. She stood and went to join them.

Kalen continued to file her nails.

After a moment, she spoke up. "You all can stop staring at me. I'm staying here."

"You sure?" Jareth asked, smirking. "Funny....I figure it never hurts to be owed a favor. Especially from royalty."

"Good guys never return favors. They _expect_ people to do things for each other."

"How do we know the king's a good guy?"

Kalen sighed. "Oh, fine." She narrowed her eyes at the Gold Ranger, lifting them from her nails for the first time. "One of these days," she said, pointing the file at him. "You're NOT going to know just the right thing to say. I just hope I'm there to rub it in."

Jareth smirked at her. "To the Megaship, then."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Gotta hand it to Drone," Terina said, as the five miniaturized Rangers made their way towards the miniaturized Megaship in the Oasis' Zord Deployment Bay. "He does good work. You'd never know to look at it that this ship was totaled by the Psychos."

A number of the Rangers flinched. Jareth chuckled. The word 'Psycho' had become as bad as 'Voldemort' where most of the Rangers were concerned.

The Astro Megaship was a large blue disc with an elongated section in the front, and two massive struts on the bottom that served as landing gear and engines. As they drew near, the silvery front of one of the struts retracted upwards, revealing the entrance.

"Wait!"

The Rangers spun around. Shooting through the air towards them from the elevator was a small, oblong disc.

"Diskette?" Terina asked. "What are you doing here?'

"I'm coming with."

This came as a bit of a surprise; none of the Rangers could recall the small, hovering droid ever having left the ship before.

"Are you sure?" Tommy asked. "It might be dan--"

"Dangerous, I know. That's why I'm coming. You may need me."

Jareth shrugged. "Let's go, then."

The Rangers, plus one small droid, boarded the ship. Once on the Bridge, Kalen surveyed the two levers that served as steering apparati.

"So, which of us pilots this crate?"

"Me," Jareth replied, moving to stand at the controls.

Even the normally passive Electra managed a shocked face at this revelation.

"_You_?" Tommy said. "_You're_ driving?"

"I want out," Kalen said. "Now."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, people." Then, speaking to the ceiling, he said, "Okay, Zord-1. Deploy."

There was a roar of machinery that was almost deafening, though had they been normal-sized, the Rangers would most likely not have even noticed it.

Outside the oblong, egg-shaped spacecraft that was the Oasis, a massive disc lowered itself from the flat underbelly, the miniature zord held in place in the center of the disc by force-grapples. Rotating until the tiny blue disc of the Astro Megaship was facing forward, the ship reversed the molecular compression field that held the Megaship in storage mode. Instantly, the ship began to grow, going from barely a foot in diameter to over six stories tall in seconds, the deployment disc folding away so as not to be shattered by the rapid growth.

Inside, Terina twitched, rubbing her arms. "I hate being compressed," the petite Ranger grumbled.

"Hold on tight," the Gold Ranger suggested, pushing both levers forward. Kalen quickly sat down and strapped herself in as the Megaship shot free of the Oasis, which was now a good deal smaller than it.

"This is your pilot speaking," the Gold Ranger said. "We have achieved our cruising velocity of Hyper-Rush seven. The captain has turned off the seat belt sign. Please feel free to move about the ship." He turned to the others. "That means you can stop hanging on for dear life now."

"Yeah, we got it." Terina quipped, letting go of the chair she'd been gripping.

"How long will this flight take?" Tommy asked.

"At our current speed, approximately four hours," Diskette replied.

Kalen unclasped her seat belt and kicked her feet up onto the console, crossing her arms across her chest. "So," she asked. "Is there a movie?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After an uneventful journey (uneventful if, of course, you ignored Jareth's little joyride through that asteroid field), the Astro Megaship slowed to sublight speed. The small, blue-green sphere of Tyrari floated serenely before them.

"Approaching planet," Jareth said. "Beginning decent." Then, after a short pause, he added, "Narrating self."

The ship rocked violently as it entered the planet's atmosphere, spilling Kalen from her seat. Terina and Tommy likewise fell to the floor. Only Electra was spared, having already been sitting against the back wall.

"Hey! Try steering!" Kalen yelled, rubbing her elbow.

"The controls have gone…soggy."

"What?" Tommy asked.

"You heard me. They're not responding properly."

"Can you take us back into space?"

"Nope. Not enough thrust. We're going to crash."

"What do we do?" Terina asked.

"Weren't you listening? We crash. Now if you'll all kindly shut up, I'll try to make it as smooth as I can."

The Gold Ranger struggled with the control levers, trying to level the massive blue disc's trajectory.

"There," he said, a few moments later. "A perfect seventeen-point landing. As promised."

"Everyone okay?" Tommy asked, as he and most of the other Rangers returned to their feet from various positions on the floor.

"I don't feel so good," Terina answered, her eyes shifting in and out of focus.

Abruptly, the lights flickered and dimmed, blinking out.

"Hey!" Jareth cried. "I can't see!"

"Duh. None of us can. The lights went out," Terina replied.

"No, he's right," Kalen said. "Our contacts have stopped working."

"Contacts?" Electra's voice asked, sounding confused.

"A little piece of equipment Kalen and I stumbled onto the first day we became Rangers," the Gold Ranger explained. "Contact lenses....lenses that actually come into contact with the eye."

"We have those in my world," Tommy said. "People use them to correct deficient vision."

"Wha? Deficient....okay. Told you all that civilization was bad for people."

"Well, what do yours do?"

"Depends on the options package," Jareth replied. "Mine give me telescopic vision, darkvision, and instant, automatic text translation."

"Thus the surprise at not being able to see," Kalen said.

"Give me a sec, and I'll see what I can do about that." There was a moment of silence as Jareth fumbled with the controls, then a sudden WOOSH as the shutters that covered the front windows snapped open, letting sunlight pour in.

"Gah!" Jareth said, shading his eyes. "Mine are also supposed to darken automatically in sunlight. Guess that's not working, either."

"Diskette's gone, too," Kalen added, nudging the small automaton with her foot. The droid lay, limp and lifeless, on the Megaship's metal floor. Her normally electric-blue repulsorjets were dead, and her shining halogen eyes had gone out. She didn't move.

Electra shook her head. "Does anyone else have a headache?"

Jareth tapped the spot behind his right ear. "I think the headache is because our comchips have died."

Tommy grimaced. Instead of normal communicators, this team of Rangers relied on cranial implants for communication. Those implants too the form of tiny chips, no larger than a human thumbnail, implanted beneath the skin of the right ear and directly connected to the auditory nerves.

Having it installed had caused a similar sensation to getting stabbed in the side of the head with an icepick. Dipped in lemon juice.

"It's like everything technological has gone dead," the Gold Ranger continued. "But that can't be it because--" he broke off.

"Because why?" Tommy asked.

Jareth was peering at Terina, a concerned look on hi face.

"Nothing. Terina, are you going to be okay?"

"NO," the petite Yellow Ranger replied. "I don't feel well at all." Terina's skin was unusually pale, and she was covered in a cold sweat. Dark circles were beginning to form under her eyes. She certainly looked ill.

Tommy experimentally flipped a few switches, but nothing happened. "I take it we don't have scanners?"

Jareth shook his head. "We don't even have lights, Tommy. The entire ship is dead."

"We should search the area. See if we can find out what's causing this," Tommy said.

"It could be anything," Kalen argued. "It could even be the planet itself."

"She's right," the Gold Ranger said. "And we don't even have any way of telling whether the air is even breathable out there."

"I can handle that," Terina said, standing.

Before anyone could object, she walked over to the door, activated the manual override, and walked out. Looking out the front window, they watched as she strolled out a ways from the ship, then licked her finger and stuck it into the air. A moment passed, then she turned and walked back into the ship.

"That was really dangerous, Terina," Tommy scolded, as the Yellow Ranger walked back onto the bridge. "The air out there could have--"

"The air is mostly oxygen, some nitrogen, trace amounts of hydrogen and krypton. No airborne toxins, and the microorganisms in the atmosphere don't appear to be particularly virulent. It's livable."

Tommy blinked. "Oh. Is that, like, an Eltarian thing?"

"Something like that," the Yellow Ranger replied, plopping heavily down into one of the padded seats and placing her head in her hands.

"I saw the royal palace as we landed," Electra said quietly.

"You call that a landing?" Kalen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, if you think you could do better--" Jareth began.

"It's not far off," the Black Ranger continued. She pointed. "Just over those hills."

"As long as we're stuck here, we may as well answer that distress call. It's what we came here to do, and maybe the royal family can help us get off this rock," Tommy said.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I told you, you should have stayed with the ship," Tommy said, helping Terina back to her feet. This was the fourth time she'd fallen.

"And I told you, I'm not staying behind while everyone else goes off on the mission."

"Have you considered that in your condition, you're actually detrimental to the mission?" Kalen asked. "You're slowing us down."

"All right, then," Terina said crankily, "Suppose I just don't want to be left alone, in case I pass out and choke to death on my own vomit?"

Kalen considered, shrugged, and continued walking, evidently accepting this logic.

As the Rangers continued walking towards the palace, the forest around them became so dense that they were forced to walk single-file down the narrow path between the trees. Tommy stayed just behind Terina, so that he could catch her if she fell again. This planet didn't seem to agree with her at all. Was it because she had walked out into the atmosphere? No, couldn't be....they were all walking in it now, and none of them had gotten sick. And the Yellow Ranger had started feeling sick before she ever left the ship. Was it because she was Eltarian, then? Was whatever nullified all their technology also harmful to Eltarian biology? Come to think of it, how much did he actually know about Eltarians? Tommy had always thought that Zordon was Eltarian....he'd referred to himself as 'Zordon of Eltar'. But that didn't necessarily mean he'd been born there....just that he considered himself part of their culture. He made a mental note to see what information Zord-1 had on Eltar when they got back. IF they got back.

The flags and towers of the royal palace came into sight over the trees as the Rangers drew near.

"Almost there, Ter," Jareth said.

Terina mumbled something incomprehensible.

Electra stopped short. "Something's wrong," she said.

"Yes," Kalen agreed, stuck behind the thickly-built girl. "You're holding up the line."

"No...something's happened...."

"What?"

Electra's eyes lost focus, as though she were looking at some far-away object.

_"The new one came, this very morn_

_and brought with him a crystal flower_

_And now he's taken on the throne _

_and stripped us of our rightful power_

_We called for help, but no one came_

No one even heard our call

_But now, we beg you, lend your aid,_

_Break the flower, free us all....,"_

Kalen blinked. "Is that something you rehearsed, or did you just make that up?"

Electra shook her head, her eyes focusing on Kalen. "Make what up?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Is it just me," Jareth said slowly, "or is that castle made of wood?"

"It's not just you," Tommy replied.

Upon closer inspection, the Tyrarian Royal palace wasn't just made of wood...it was alive. The entire surface was covered in bark, and budding flowers grew from random places along its surface. The tops of the outer walls were lined with thorns, and judging by their sick, greenish pallor, they were poisonous.

A pair of guards stood at the door. They, too, looked normal at first....until the Rangers drew closer.

Electra blinked. "They're...."

"Weeds," Kalen finished.

The Epsilonians looked like green-skinned centaurs, with humanoid upper torsos and four hooved legs. Instead of hair, each one of the two guards flanking the entrance had a tangle of soft green leaves growing from his head. They wore body armor, and it, too, was made of wood. Each one carried a long, wooden spear, bristling with toxic-looking barbs.

Jareth lay Terina down on the ground, sick of carrying her, as Tommy approached the open drawbridge, hands raised. The guard leveled his spear at The Red Ranger's head.

He swallowed. "Hey, easy. We're here to answer the distress call your king sent."

"Glutt meh nadir! Zradicon!"

"What?" Tommy asked.

"Uh-oh," Jareth said, tapping his comchip. "No comchips, no UT."

"UT?"

"Universal Translation."

"Oh."

"Crona met Kitanos! Nutanna!" The guard poked Tommy in the chest with the spear.

"Hey!"

Two more guards suddenly appeared, as armed and armored as the first. The Rangers looked at them apprehensively.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Tommy asked, turning back to the others.

Jareth nodded. "It's showtime."

Acting as one, the four Rangers twisted their wrists, summoning their Power Morphers.

Nothing happened.

Jareth stared at his empty hand. "That's not good."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They didn't even get to see the inside of the castle. The Guards herded them around the back and down through what appeared to be a cellar door. Moving quickly, as though they couldn't stand it down here, one of the guards unlocked the door of a large cell and his companions forced the Rangers in. Once the door was securely locked, they galloped back out and into the daylight at top speed.

The cell they were stuck in was dank, dark, and gloomy. Terina lay against the stone wall, eyes closed, her breathing shallow and rapid. Her hair was stringy, her skin pale and clammy. It was fairly obvious to all of them that she wouldn't last much longer unless they got her off this planet.

Kalen had pulled the file back out and was once again doing her nails. Electra was off in her own world again, though she occasionally spared a compassionate look in Terina's direction. Jareth sat in another corner, repeatedly flicking his wrist, trying to summon his morpher.

"Could it be the same thing that brought down the ship?" Tommy asked. "Could that be blocking our powers?"

"Our Zeo Powers, sure," Jareth replied. "But the Power Coins are pure magic. They shouldn't be affected by something that kills technology."

"A spell,then?"

The Gold Ranger shook his head. "I've seen Null-Tech spells, and Null-magic spells, but they can't both be in effect at once."

"Why not?"

"A Null-magic spell cancels out all magic other than itself, so it would cancel out the Null-tech spell, too," Jareth explained.

"There's someone else in here," Electra said, not taking her eyes off the part of the wall at which she'd been staring.

Tommy's head swiveled. "What?"

Electra pointed towards a corner of the cell that was even darker than the rest of it.

Tommy took a few cautious strides towards the corner. In the shadows, there stood what appeared to be an Tyrarian...but he wasn't moving.

Jareth stood up and walked over, cautiously poking the figure. Its skin was hard and felt like dried-out bark. "Is it dead?"

"No," Electra said. "He's alive."

"How do you--" Tommy began to ask, but Jareth interrupted him.

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's gone into hibernation. That's what his kind do when they're out of the sunlight long enough."

"How--"

"Who is he?" Jareth interrupted again.

"He's the king."

"We came all this way to rescue a lawn ornament. Lovely," Kalen said, examining her nails in the dim light.

Electra stood up and walked over to where Jareth and Tommy stood. She stared into the king's frozen face.

"His throne has been taken from him. He sent the distress call."

"How are you--"

Jareth cut Tommy off yet again, glaring at him. "Does he know what happened to our technology?"

"He doesn't know what technology is."

"So it IS the planet...." Jareth said quietly.

"What?" the Red Ranger looked from Electra to Jareth. "What are you two talking about?"

"Something about this planet nullifies all technology. That's why the King doesn't know what it is. It's never existed on this world," the Gold Ranger explained.

"The people of this world are naturally adept at magic," Electra said, not taking her eyes off the king's wooden expression. "They use it for everything, in place of technology. They used it to grow this castle. They use it to grow armor."

"Is there anything they _don't_ grow?" Kalen asked.

Jareth sat back down on the floor and resumed trying in vain to summon his Morpher. "Electra, does he know why our powers don't work?"

"Yesterday, someone came to this palace. He had a flower with him."

"What?"

"All their magic stopped working. The new one said he'd return their power to them if they served him. The King refused…and his subjects turned against him. They wanted their magic back. The king was overthrown and put here…and now they all serve the stranger..."

"Electra...," Tommy began.

"Yes," she said, closing her eyes. It was an, 'Ask and get it over with' sort of Yes.

Tommy blinked, finally getting why Jareth had kept cutting him off. Whatever Electra was doing, she didn't really want to talk about it.

"Never mind." Tommy sighed, and started pacing, examining the cell. The walls were solid stone, the bars and door made of thick, gray metal. There didn't seem to be any way to escape.

"So, if there's no tech, and their magic was taken away, how did they send the distress call?" Kalen inquired.

The Rangers all exchanged curious glances.

"That…a very good question," Electra informed her.

"I wish Lolli were here," the Red Ranger said, looking wistfully at the door. "I'll bet she could pick that lock."

Jareth examined the lock closely. "I probably _could_," he said dubiously. "But it'd take me a while, and I don't have anything to pick it _with_. I didn't bring any lockpicks with m--Ap!"

Jareth broke off mid sentence as something flew across the cell and hit him in the head, then fell to the floor with a clatter. Glancing down, he saw a metal nailfile lying on the stone floor of the cell.

Kalen whistled innocently.


	8. Conversational Interlude II

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 8: Conversational Interlude II

Lolli's fingers darted across the keyboard, moving so fast that they were almost invisible to the naked human eye. Characters flowed past on the screen, the Green Ranger's crystal-blue eyes taking in every bit of information.

With a slight hiss, the doors to the bridge slid open automatically as Stephen, the White Power Ranger, walked into the room.

Running a hand through his short, dirty-blonde hair, he glanced around the room.

"Hey Lolli."

"Hi," she replied, not moving and inch...apart from her eyes and fingers, which didn't stop.

"Have you seen Kalen? I wanted to ask her something."

"Tyrari."

"What?"

"She's on Tyrari, with Tommy and a few of the others. They went to answer a distress call."

"She went on a mission? Without me?"

"Yup."

"And she went with Tommy."

Lolli chuckled at the unmistakable jealousy in his voice.

Not receiving an answer, the White Ranger turned to leave.

A thought occurred to the Green Ranger, and her fingers froze in place.

"Oh, hey, Stephen...."

"Yes?" he asked, stopping at the door and turning back.

"I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What?"

"Your Zord is a Brachiosaur...there's a Brachiosaur on your Power Coin...so why is it that your armor and weapon seem to have a White Tiger theme?"

Stephen blinked. "That's a very good question. Let's ask the all-knowing databank, shall we?"

"Zord-1?" Lolli asked.

"The White Ranger armor is as it is due to the refinements in Zord reconstruction technology achieved by the Eltarians who first brought the Power Coins to Terra," the computer replied.

"Umm...would you care to elaborate on that?"

"Certainly. The Zords, you see, were not constructed by Medelon. He only created the coins. The Zords were constructed by the Eltarians, prior to their bringing the coins to Terra for safekeeping. They foresaw that the Rangers, should they ever be needed, would benefit from having such powerful weapons."

The screen at the front of the room came to life, displaying a split-scene clip of a massive, purple, birdlike zord, careening across the sky and falling with a tremendous crash into the ocean. As it sank, completely totaled, a small device emerged from it and began sweeping what appeared to be a massive fan of light through the water. On the other side of the screen, a serpentlike zord with flippers did something similar as it feebly tried to resist sinking into a swamp.

"Within each Zord is housed a DNA scanner," Zord-1 continued. "This scanner is activated when a Zord is damaged beyond any hope of repair. By scanning the DNA of any local life form, the Zord is able to reconstruct itself in that life form's image."

"Like the Hammerhead and Crocodile did." Lolli surmised, as the damaged hardware of the Archaeopteryx Zord on the screen began to remodel itself, transforming gradually into a purple Hammerhead Shark.

"Yes. AS you know, the Hammerhead and Crocodile zords were once the Archaeopteryx and Tylosaurus Zords, respectively. This is why the Power Coins belonging to Fox and Kalen still bear the images of the Archaeopteryx and Tylosaurus, but their armor is patterned after the newer animals."

"I guess that explains why my armor doesn't match my coin....but then why do I still drive a Brachiosaur?"

"Because your Zord was once the White Tiger, but later reconfigured into the shape of a Brachiosaur, altering the face of your Power Coin in the process."

"But that's backwards. The other's armor changed, but their coins didn't...my armor didn't, but my coin did."

"Indeed. It was a glitch in the process. After the White Tiger Zord became Titanis, the Eltarian engineers immediately saw to the corrections, ensuring that in the future, only the armor would change, not the coin, as it was feared that changes made to the coin might destabilize the Powers within. Observing the Hammerhead and Crocodile Zords, it is obvious that they succeeded."

"But wait...how could it have been a tiger BEFORE it was a Brachiosaur? Tigers came centuries later," the White Ranger said.

"Millennia later, actually...on Terra."

"Excuse me?" Stephen asked.

"Terra is remarkably similar in geography and climate to Eltar. Where Terra-like conditions are present, Terra-similar life will inevitably develop. There are animals on Eltar almost identical to many of the species currently living on Terra. Or rather, there were....the planet is little more than a scorched chunk of spaceborne rock now."

"I always wondered why there were Terran animals on coins that were supposedly forged on another planet. And why there were mammals thrown in with all the dinosaurs," Lolli said.

"Indeed. All of the animals on the Power Coins lived contemporaneously on Eltar."

There was a pause.

"Good to know," Lolli said finally, resuming her high-speed typing.

Stephen turned again to leave, the doors opening for him of their own accord. He stopped abruptly in the doorframe and turned back to Lolli. For a moment he just stood there. Then, finally, he blurted out:

"She really went with Tommy?"

The Green Ranger dragged her eyes off the screen long enough to roll them towards the ceiling.


	9. Breaking and Exiting

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 9: Breaking and Exiting

Tommy looked up as the cell door quietly creaked open and Electra tiptoed back in.

"Well?"

"Yeah. I scouted around, like you asked. The door that we came in, the one that opens directly to the courtyard? It doesn't open from the inside."

"So how do we get out?" Jareth asked.

"The prison chambers are connected to the rest of the castle. We'll have to go through the inside. Trouble is, the only way out that I could find is the main drawbridge."

"Meaning we have to get past all the guards."

The blue-haired girl nodded.

"Lovely."

"I know the way there. I can lead us out."

"Well.....we'll need a distraction," Tommy said, looking at Jareth.

"Then you're in luck." The Gold Ranger grinned. "Distractions are my specialty."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jareth peeked out around the corner, then turned back to the others. Tommy, Electra, and Kalen were all standing in the narrow hallway that connected the prison cellblock to the rest of the castle, struggling to quietly lift the petrified Tyrarian King, with the unconscious Terina draped across his equine back.

"Three guards. With nasty-looking spears. And cool hats." He peered out again.

"Can you handle it?" Tommy whispered.

"I think so. Hey, they can't understand a word we say, right?"

"Right. Why?"

Jareth grinned, and calmly stepped out into the room.

Tommy tightly closed his eyes and crossed his fingers.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey!"

The green-skinned centaurs stared at Jareth, evidently surprised to see him.

"What are you waiting for? What kind of guards are you? Come get me! I'm the distraction!"

Shaking their heads in astonishment, the guards made chuckling comments to one another. Jareth could guess what they were saying, even if he couldn't make out the words. What kind of moron escaped from his cell just to stand there and yell at the guards?

"Hey! What kind of moron doesn't know a distraction when he sees it?"

Having enjoyed their laugh, they drew their spears and lazily pointed them at Jareth, clearly not considering him much of a threat.

"Uh-oh. Umm..." Jareth dig frantically in his pocket for a moment, grabbed a handful of quarters, and flung them as hard as he could at the guards.

The Tyrarians cried out in surprise, raising their arms to shield their faces from the metal discs.

And the Gold Ranger took off down another corridor.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

In hot pursuit, and moving on their hooves far faster than any human could ever run, the guards gave chase. The hall was narrow, barely wide enough for two grown Tyrarians to walk side by side, so at a full gallop is was necessary to go single-file.

The one in the back screeched to a halt. Something had clicked...how had this one escaped his cell? Surely he'd have left the door open for the others of his kind. This was a distraction! He was leading them away so the others could escape!

Turning on his proverbial heels, the Guard trotted back to the prison block.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tyrarian castles are grown, not built, made entirely from vegetable matter. The floors are nothing but earth that has been tightly packed by countless stamping Tyrarian hooves. Every wall has enormous wide windows, some transparent, some stained glass. These windows are not designed to open; they are simply to ensure that as much sunlight gets in as possible, for the Tyrarians are photosynthetic, dependant on sunlight to survive. The halls are narrow and full of labyrinthine twists and turns, an unusual and, one would think, detrimental feature for a castle inhabited by horselike people. A latticework of decorative vines covers each and every internal wall.

Visitors to Tyrari are very rare, due to the planet's inconvenient habit of negating all technology that comes within several thousand miles of its atmosphere. Consequently, their castles are designed with centaurlike life forms in mind. Had the designers of this castle had humans in mind, and known that humans evolved from tree-climbing animals, it's quite doubtful that they would have made the walls so very climbable.

As soon as he was around the corner, out of his pursuers' line of sight, he grasped the vines clinging to the wall and clambered as quickly as he could into the exposed rafters.

Two of the Tyrarians turned the corner. Two? Hadn't there been three?

Jareth waited for the first guard to gallop past, turning the corner, then dropped from the ceiling down onto the second Tyrarian's back and clamped his hands over the guard's eyes.

Unable to see or stop moving in time, the guard was unable to turn the tight corner and slammed headfirst into the wall, neatly knocking himself out cold.

Since Tyrarians didn't come with seatbelts, Jareth was, of course, thrown against the wall as well.

"Owwww," he said, getting up and dusting himself off. "Well that's one down."

The Gold Ranger started to head off after the other one, but on impulse, turned back to the fallen Tyrarian guard.

A grin crossed his face, and he snatched the black felt fedora-like hat from the unconscious centaur and placed it firmly on his own head.

"Spoils of war, dude."

Hoofbeats announced that the other guard had turned back, probably having heard the THUMP. Jareth ducked and grasped a handful of sand from the floor. Spinning around just as the Guard reached him, spear drawn, the Gold Ranger threw the sand up into his face.

The guard cried out, clutching at his eyes, as Jareth raced past him down the hall.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Wait....weren't there a pair of guards just outside?" Tommy asked as they drew near the open drawbridge.

"Fine time to remember that," Kalen snapped.

"They aren't there now," Electra said.

"How do you kno--never mind. Okay, on three.....one...two...three...lift!"

They had shortly gotten outside the castle and across the bridge. The Black Ranger had been correct; the guards appeared to be off on break.

"Sloppy," Tommy said.

"Not really," Kalen replied.

"What do you mean?"

"The Guards at the gate aren't needed anymore. They did what they were supposed to do. Capture us."

Tommy blinked. "Are you saying this entire rescue mission..."

"Was a trap. For us. Just a theory, mind you, but I think it's a sound one."

Tommy glanced back at the castle. "Okay," he said. "First thing's first. Let's get Terina back to the ship."

"What about the King?" Electra asked.

"We'll leave him at the edge of the forest. That's far enough away from the castle that he probably won't be recaptured, and he should revive if left in the sunlight. Right?"

Electra nodded. "What about Jareth?"

"We'll come back for him, if he hasn't made his own way out by then."

The Rangers hefted the wooden centaur and began dragging him towards the trees.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jareth ran for all he was worth down the hall, finally ducking into a room and slamming shut the elegantly carved door. He leaned against the polished mahogany, catching his breath. A steady stream of galloping hoofbeats stormed past outside.

"Whew. Note to self: Listen to doors before opening them."

_You wandered right into the guards' barracks? Smooth._

Jareth glanced sharply around the room.

"Who speaks?" he asked.

_YOU speak. I think. I just think loudly, is all._

The Gold Ranger blinked, for the first time realizing what an extravagant room he'd found.

The walls were hung with masterfully woven tapestries, a dressing table with a beautifully carved mirror stood against one of the walls, there was a wardrobe, a bed clearly designed to be slept on by a centaur, and, in one corner, a round marble bath set into the floor, numerous bottles and jars on the shelf next to it, all seemingly carved from crystal.

In the center of the room was a dragon.

It was small, perhaps four feet long, with iridescent scales that shimmered pink, purple, and fuchsia. A pair of batlike wings grew from its back, and around its neck was a thick golden collar.

_I'll thank you to stop referring to me as 'It'._

"Sorry. I don't know your gender."

_My gender doesn't quite match up to the ones you know, but 'she' comes closest._

"Ah. That's okay, I have a friend who's the same way. My name is--"

_Jareth David Valentine. I know. I'm Zoeyealykthetes. It's a pleasure to meet you._

"Likewise. Do you mind if I call you Zoey?"

_Zoey? Hmm....Zoey....I like that._

Jareth squinted. The dragon's mouth didn't move when she spoke. And she seemed to know what he was about to say before he said it. Was she--

_Yes. Like your friend outside, I'm telepathic. All dragons are._

Like his friend outside? What did she--

_Oh, come on. You know what I'm talking about. Electra._

Jareth nodded. "I suspected, but I wasn't sure. The way she spoke to the King..."

Zoey nodded. _I tried to send her a message, to let you know what you had to do to help us, but I guess it didn't get through. Or maybe she just didn't understand it. I did send it in verse, _she admitted.

"So what are you doing here?" the Gold Ranger asked.

The dragon drew herself up to her full height, almost three feet tall sitting up.

_I am the Great Dragon of Tyrari, Guardian of the Royal Family._

Jareth shot her a skeptical look. She hung her head.

_Okay, fine. I'm still just a wyrmling, PET of the Royal Family. Happy now?_

"Not really. I need to get out of this castle and help my friends."

_You can help them much more easily by helping us._

"How do you figure?"

_Restore our people's magic, and they can use it to throw that ship of yours back into the sky._

"Great! How do I do that?"

_First thing's first. Set me free._

"Set you...oh." Jareth saw that what he had originally mistaken for a heavy golden collar was actually a restraint. A thick golden chain connected it to a plate set into the floor.

_It's completely fireproof, my claws don't make a scratch, and it's enchanted so that I can't pull it out of the ground. The Stranger has the key._

Jareth glanced at the keyhole set into the metal plate on the floor to which the chain led. He fished Kalen's nailfile out of his pocket.

Zoey caught the thought. She smiled, showing far more teeth that should have been able to fit into a mouth that size.

Jareth was suddenly very glad he and this creature were on good terms.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Terina lay on one of the platforms in the Astro Megaship's medbay. All of the equipment was dead, but it really wasn't needed.....one could tell just by looking at her that she was running out of time. Her veins stood out a deep purple against her skin, which had become so pale it was almost blue. She was covered in a cold sweat, her hair had gone all stringy, and her eyes, when opened and examined, were so bloodshot they were completely red.

Tommy couldn't make out a pulse, but then again, Terina wasn't human. He couldn't be sure he was looking in the right place. She was still breathing, rapidly and shallowly, and every few minutes she would mumble something incomprehensible, as though she were suffering fevered hallucinations.

"A pity we can't morph," Kalen said idly. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

"I don't see how it could help her, even if we could."

"Her Ranger form wouldn't be affected by whatever's killing her."

Tommy blinked. "That's true. We don't have to get off the planet to save her....we just need to get our powers back."

"And Electra said that it was the new arrival at the palace who took away everyone's magic, didn't she?"

"She did. So the key to helping Terina....."

"Is back at the palace," Kalen finished.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I still don't see why they didn't just kill you, if they wanted you out of the way so badly," Jareth said, making conversation as he worked on the lock.

_I'm too valuable,_ Zoey replied, sounding as though she almost regretted that fact.

"How so?"

_Dragons have a lot of magic in them. An ounce of my blood is worth a fortune on the intergalactic black market. One of my eyes could buy you a small planet._

"He was going to dissect you?"

_Oh, no...that implies killing me first. If he killed me, my parts wouldn't stay as fresh. He was just going to cut out the bits he needed, one by one._

"Charming." Jareth frowned. "You do realize that once I pick this, you'll still have to drag the chain around?"

_No, I won't. Take a close look at the collar. No hinges, no seam. It's magical. Open the lock and the whole thing vanishes._

"Ah."

As if to prove her right, something clicked beneath the floor, and the chain and collar disappeared in a shimmer of dancing sparks.

Zoey stretched, rubbing the chafed scales around her neck. _Oh, that feels SO much better. Thank you._

"Welcome. So, now what?"

Zoey cracked her long, sinewy neck, then looked the Gold Ranger in the eyes. _Listen up. This is the tricky part._


	10. The Managerie

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 10: The Menagerie

"Phenomenal," Deacon said, shaking his head sadly. "I've never seen anyone so bad with a sword."

Myk glared at him. "I'm so sorry," he said. "We can't _all_ have twenty different fighting styles downloaded directly into our brains."

"Twenty-three, actually," the Silver Ranger replied smugly.

Early on, the first few Rangers to join had experimented with the possibilities of the direct neural connection to Zord-1 provided by their comchips. It had enabled them download knowledge and skills directly into their own memories from the computer's vast databanks. Unfortunately, the comchips, originally designed for Eltarian biology, proved dangerous to humans when used for this purpose, causing behavioral instabilities, and, eventually, brain damage. For the Rangers' own safety, the function had been disabled long before most members of the current team had joined.

"Look, are you going to help me get the hang of this thing, or not?"

"All right, all right. Try this." Deacon performed an elaborate series of slashes through the air.

Myk blinked. "How'd you do that?"

A chuckle turned both their heads. The Silver and Bronze Rangers faced their audience.

Sitting on one of the benches that lined the edges of the Oasis' combat arena, Stephen looked as though he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Hey, you wanna try this?" Myk asked irritably.

"Me? No. NO." Stephen raised his hands in surrender. "I've never handled a sword in my life."

"Neither have I," Myk said. "That's the problem. But if I'm going to use Dorn in battle, I'm going to have to learn to work one."

"Is THAT what this is all about?" Deacon asked. "I wondered why you wanted me to teach you this."

"Wait," Stephen said. "You don't automatically learn how to use it when you morph?"

"Afraid not," Myk replied. "Sword-using isn't in the Bronze Ranger's repertoire. So I'll just have to add it to mine."

Deacon twirled his practice sword. "Okay, now I'm going to come at you with this. Try to parry."

"That means 'block', Stephen helpfully informed the Bronze Ranger.

"I _know_ what it means," Myk said. "Now," he added quietly.

Deacon's sword flashed.

"Ow!"

Deacon sighed as the practice sword flew from Myk's hands, falling to the sand by Stephen's feet.

"Dude," the Silver Ranger said. "You suck. Give it up."

Stephen slammed his foot down on the edge of the practice sword's handle, causing it to flip up into the air, then deftly caught it by the flat of the blade. He offered it, handle-first to Myk.

Myk blinked. Deacon's eyes narrowed.

"_You_, on the other hand..."

"What?" the White Ranger asked, not seeming to know what they were talking about.

"Stand up. I want to see if you can do this."

"Oh....kay..." Stephen stood, tossing the practice sword up and catching it by the handle this time. The White Ranger held the blade defensively, but before Deacon could begin his assault, the alarms went off overhead, bathing the arena in swirling red lights.

"Problem, Zord-1?" Deacon asked.

"I am afraid so, Rangers," the computer's voice responded. "Please report to the bridge."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Woah," Myk said. "What a zoo."

"They now have a full complement of Zords," the computer replied.

"How many Megazords do you suppose they can make?" Stephen asked.

"Thirteen Zords, three to five Zords a Megazord...Two, maybe three, tops," Deacon replied.

"We've only got the two," Myk said, frowning. "Dragon Battlezord and Predazord."

"Neither of which are available," Zord-1 said. "With the other Rangers still on Tyrari. Although I should point out that, with the addition of a Red Ranger, we now have access to the Dino Megazord as well."

The mechanical doors to the bridge slid open and Lolli strode in.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Where have you been?" Myk asked.

"Working on something."

"What were you worki--"

"Thirteen Zords," Lolli interrupted, looking past Myk at the screen. "Should we call the others back from Tyrari?"

"They have not answered any of my hails, and I'm afraid we are unable to retrieve them ourselves," Zord-1 replied. "They are out of teleportation retrieval range, and the only spaceworthy zord known that could handle such a distance...aside from the Megaship, which they took... is Pyramidas."

"The same Pyramidas that's been sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean for the last three years?" Deacon asked.

"The same," Zord-1 said.

"I guess we'll have to make do with our individual Zords," Lolli said.

"I will contact the other Rangers still on Terra," Zord-1 replied.

Deacon nodded, then twisted his wrist, summoning his morpher. The others followed suit.

**"Elephant!"**

**"Eagle!**

**"Dragonzord!"**

**"Brachiosaurus!"**

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The four Dinozords pulled to a stop, forming a pitiful line of defense between the Psycho Zords and the city that lay before them. Clearly, the Psychos had intended to lure out the Rangers, otherwise they would have simply materialized IN the city, rather than making the trek across the desert.

_Unless they just wanted time to try out their Zords before they start the party_, Deacon thought, sitting in the cockpit of his silver and blue Elephant Zord. For the umpteenth time, he wondered why on Terra he got stuck with an Elephant. It really didn't suit him at all. Not his style. Uh-uh. He liked fast, fierce, agile, something that could streak across the battlefield and inflict lots of damage without ever taking a hit. Instead, he got a tank. Heavy on the armor, heavy on the weaponry, slow as continental drift. Whoopee.

But he could bitch about it later.

Right now, spread across the sand before him and the other Rangers, were thirteen massive, mechanical animals.

There was the Yellow Giraffe, the Red Falcon, the Pink Armadillo. Just like the videos Zord-1 had showed them all of the last time. The Blue Shark, the Black Bison. The Green Gorilla, the White Polar Bear.

Alongside these now stood a Purple Lion, a Silver Tiger, and a Bronze Rhinoceros. A Bear, identical to the Polar Bear in all respects but the color, reared back onto its hind legs and roared, the dying sun glinting off its metallic Gray coat. A Deer pawed nervously at the sand with its hooves, majestic antlers branching out from its head, its hide an odd mix of green, gray, and brown. A Golden Raven hung suspended in midair above them, powerful gusts from its wings creating small tornados of desert sand.

Thirteen against four. Not good.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You're _sure_ we can't form the Megazord without her?" Fox asked angrily over the comlink from the cockpit of her Crocodile Zord. "Wouldn't it just be missing an arm?"

"First of all, a one-armed Megazord wouldn't last long in battle," Angel replied calmly.

Why was he always so calm? It drove Fox crazy in situations like this. You did not discuss battle tactics in the same tone as you would the weather. It was just wrong.

"Second," the Gray Ranger continued, as his Wolf kept pace alongside her, racing across the desert sands. "No. The transformation systems won't even activate unless all the Zords involved are present and accounted for."

Fox let out a curse, then gasped, bringing her Zord to a halt as it crested a high sand dune. A battle spread out before them, and not an even one. Although Troy's Triceratops and Mara's Pterodactyl had joined the fight, they were out numbered and outgunned. And unfortunately, whatever glitch prevented the Psycho Rangers from attacking Rangers other than their own counterparts didn't seem to affect their ability to attack the Zords.

"Oh, look, Red!" a voice crackled over the communications systems. "More!"

"I do believe that's all of them," Psycho Red replied, his twisted voice full of glee. "Shall we show them our new trick?"

A chorus of equally twisted, equally gleeful voices responded in the affirmative.

"Then initiate Psycho Megazord Sequences."

The Psycho Zords all pulled together at one side of the valley that had been carved out of the sand by the motion of the massive zords. The Dinozords did likewise, regrouping.

As the Rangers watched, the Psycho Zords began to rearrange themselves, some parts changing shape, some parts folding out of sight, other parts seeming to appear from nowhere.

The Black Bison became a pair of legs, just as it had before, but then it somehow replicated, almost as if it were projecting a holographic duplicate of itself. The two pairs of legs stood side-by-side, waiting.

The Purple Lion folded in on itself, becoming an angular block with a Lion's head on the front. The Blue Shark attached to the side, forming an arm, its tooth-filled mouth functioning as the hand. The Silver Tiger did likewise, its legs and tail disappearing entirely. The Gold Raven merged from above, its wings enfolding the Lion's mane and its tail rotating to reveal a humanoid head, protected by a crown-like helm. Once it was all connected, this assembly rose into the air and attached to one of the pairs of Bison-legs.

"Psycho King, ready," the distorted voice of Psycho Gold crackled.

The Green Gorilla followed the Lion's example, folding in on itself in such a way as to create a torso, a mechanized green head emerging from the top. The Grizzly and Polar Bears became a pair of large, powerful-looking arms and attached to either side, then the entire thing shot into the air, landing atop the remaining pair of black mechanical legs.

"Psycho Brawler, ready," Psycho Green announced.

The Rhino shifted until it had become an entire lower body; abdomen, legs, and one foot. The Pink Armadillo took the form of the missing foot, filling the small bay at the end of the left leg. The Red Falcon flew down and perched atop this platform, its head folding down into a chest plate and a pair of connection ports extending from the sides. The camouflage Deer Zord folded its legs away, and the Giraffe did likewise, each attaching to one of these ports to form the arms. Finally, a head emerged from the top of the construct. The resulting Megazord was taller than the other two, and seemed designed for nothing but destruction; instead of hands it had the Giraffe's spear-head for one arm and the Deer's clutching Antlers for the other.

"Psycho Isis, ready," Psycho Red sneered.

Unlike the Megazord the Psycho Rangers had used previously, which had appeared somehow off-balance, these Megazords were properly proportioned. It seemed that now that the Psychos had the full set, they could do it right. The three Megazords towered over the small assortment of Dinozords, which now seemed even more pathetic.

"We're screwed," Fox observed.


	11. War Machines

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 11: War Machines

"No....no, we're not," Troy's voice announced over the comlink.

"What?" Fox asked, incredulous.

"Tactical error," the Blue Ranger explained. "They've increased their firepower, but now they're bigger, slower. Our individual zords should be able to run circles around them."

"I hope you're right," Deacon said.

"Yeah," Troy muttered. 'Me, too." And he pulled one of the levers in his cockpit.

Triceratops raised its tail, the grenade launcher on the end firing an explosive charge through the air.

Psycho King reached out and caught it, then playfully tossed the charge to the ground at the Dinozords' feet.

"Scatter!" Deacon yelled.

The Dinozords all scrambled to get out of range as the grenade detonated, knocking most of them off their feet.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dragonzord righted itself, just as the Psycho Brawler stepped up to it.

"And just what are _you_ doing here, Green Ranger?" Psycho Green called over the still-open comlink. "Aren't you supposed to be on Tyrari with the others?"

Lolli squinted. "You arranged that distress call."

A low chuckle sounded over the comlink. "Give the girl a prize."

Psycho Brawler reached forward with its Polar Bear arm and let forth a blast of icy blue light. Dragonzord ducked, the blast flying right over its head, then spun around, striking the Brawler in the torso with it spinning drill-tail. Sparks flew as the powerful drill ruptured the megazord's hull.

Brawler stumbled back a few massive steps, trying to regain its balance in the shifting sand.

Two by two, ten missiles rapidly loaded themselves into Dragonzord's hollow fingers. The colossal green zord reached forward and launched them all, at close range, directly into the Brawler's chestplate. Brawler went down, falling over backwards, what should have been a devastating impact with the ground muffled by the soft desert sand.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Myk soared in circles around the Psycho King's head as the massive construct swung its sword futilely, trying to knock the Eagle Zord from the sky.

"Hold still!" Psycho Gold growled angrily.

"Why do they always say things like that?" Deacon asked, as the Elephant trudged through the desert sand. "Do they actually expect anyone to do it?"

The Triceratops Zord, perfectly at home in the desert, raced across the sand effortlessly, pulling to a stop alongside Elephant.

"You hit him high," Troy suggested. "I'll hit him low." And Triceratops fired its horns. The curved silver spikes closed the distance between Triceratops and Psycho King, each dragging a heavy-duty metal chain behind it. Turning in midair, the horns circled King's feet, chaining them together.

Deacon grinned, raising Elephant's trunk so that it was aimed directly at King's crowned head.

"Hold still," he said. Then he blinked. "Oh, hey. I do it, too."

Myk, perceiving their intention, veered off just as Elephant fired a searing pulse of energy from its trunk, blasting King right upside the head. At the same time, Triceratops reeled in its chains, pulling the megazord's legs out from under it.

Off-balance, Psycho King toppled over, kicking up sand in that very unique way that forty tons of metal falling in the desert tends to do.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Pterodactyl's wing-mounted laser cannons fired blast after blast at Psycho Isis, but the colossal war machine seemed hardly to notice.

"This is getting us nowhere," Mara complained.

"Well, you know what they say," Fox said. "The bigger they are..."

Crocodile spun around, tail-blades extended, aiming to knock Isis' feet out from under it, but the megazord reached down and caught the offending appendage in its deer-claw. Lifting the massive reptile into the air, Isis swung the zord around and slammed it headfirst into the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of sand.

"The more bones they break?" Angel finished, smiling slightly.

"Smart ass," Fox complained, attempting to dig her way out of the sand.

From its position atop a nearby dune, Wolf launched its tail blade. The metal crescent flew through the air faster than the eye could follow....but not fast enough. Psycho Isis thrust forwards its giraffe-spear and knocked the shimmering blade from its path, causing it to bury itself in the sand nearby.

"Strike one," Angel muttered. His fingers flew across the control panel. A new tail appeared in its proper place as Wolf sat back on its haunches and raised its nose towards Isis.

Had there been any, the sound of the Wolf's howl would have shattered every window, set off every car alarm, and utterly deafened every living creature within a mile radius. The sound blasted a furrow through the sand in front of the lupine Zord, cutting straight through to Isis. The sonic blast knocked the massive megazord back, causing it to stumble.

"You wanna warn us next time you're gonna do that?" Fox said angrily, hear ears ringing.

"Sorry."

Angel blinked as the megazord unfolded a huge pair of red wings and, flapping them, steadied itself.

"Strike two," he sighed.

Isis turned its malevolent gaze down to the relatively tiny mechanical Wolf. Taking great strides, it walked forward and seized the zord in its massive pincer. Slowly, Isis began to squeeze, the hull of the Wolf Zord buckling and sparks flying from its joints.

"You're out," Psycho Red growled.

A blast of pink light from above struck the joint of the deer-claw, causing it to spring open, releasing the Wolf, which lay at the megazord's feet, sparking and leaking various mech-fluids.

Isis glared up at the Pterodactyl.

"Uh-oh..." Mara groaned.

The megazord unfurled its wings and did something no forty-ton machine had any business doing: It flew.

"Ohhh, shit. Shitshitshitshitshit." Mara turned tail and flew for her life, rocketing across the sky, Psycho Isis on her tail.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dragonzord's tail-drill whirred rapidly, preparing to slice through Psycho Brawler's hull and tear its internal components to metallic ribbons. Maybe, with a little luck, it'd finish off a few of the Psychos inside as well.

Abruptly, Brawler raised its Grizzly-arm and emitted a blast of devastating heat, fusing the sand around them into glass. Dragonzord feel to its knees, crippled, its tail and most of its legs instantly melted into slag.

"Sucker," Psycho Green giggled. Brawler rose to its feet, staring down at the disabled zord.

Dragonzord lifted an arm, preparing to launch a barrage of finger missiles, but Brawler made a negligent wave of its Polar-arm and fired a small cryo-blast, just enough to encase the offending arm in a thick shell of ice.

Red lights blared in Lolli's cockpit as the missiles, still inside the fingertips, exploded, damaging the arm from the inside-out.

Brawler took a few steps forward, the glass cracking under its feet.

Lolli opened another comlink Channel. "Okay. Now."

Brawler paused. "Now what?" Green asked suspiciously.

There was a large flash of white light from behind the megazord. Brawler spun around, finding itself face-to-face with a massive white Brachiosaurus that towered over it.

"Now, this," Stephen cheerfully answered.

Titanis' tail split in half, then rose up and rotated around, forming a pair of enormous laser cannons that mounted themselves on its shoulders, locking into place with a resounding KA-CHUNK.

Brawler took an involuntary step back.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Psycho King climbed to its feet.

"Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'," Deacon complained.

King reached down and picked up Triceratops, careful to hold it sideways, as both ends were dangerous.

"Hey!" Troy cried. "Put down the hero! _Put_! _Down_! _The hero_!"

Deacon raised his trunk and fired again, this time targeting King's arm, severing it at the shoulder. The Tiger-arm fell to the ground, still clutching Triceratops.

The Blue Dinozord wriggled free from the severed limb's grasp, rolling off and turning to face King.

Suddenly, an explosion resounded across the desert.

Troy froze, wondering whether it had been something he'd done. "What was that?" he asked cautiously.

As if in answer to his question, a massive chunk of scorched metal came careening across the sky. Psycho King turned, just in time for the object to smash into it with a devastating crunch, sending shards of shrapnel everywhere. Both the metal object and Psycho King fell to the ground.

Cautiously, Myk, Deacon, and Troy drew nearer to the megazord. Psycho King was clearly offline.

"What was that thing?" Myk asked.

"Um," Troy replied. "I think it was Psycho Brawler."

"Someone must have called in Titanis," Myk surmised. "Only Zord we have with that kind of firepower."

"Huh. Looks like Stephen's actually good for something," Deacon said. "Who knew?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Pterodactyl did every somersault, roll, and loop it could, dodging blasts from Psycho Isis.

"Rrrrgh!" Mara screeched, frustrated at being unable to shake the megazord from her tail. All of Pterodactyl's weapons faced forwards, so she couldn't counterattack as long as Isis was behind her. Not that it would have done any good, anyway. Isis seemed pretty much invulnerable.

Worse yet, they had left the desert far behind, and were now flying over populated areas. That meant endangerment of innocent life, that meant more random property damage....exactly the sort of bad PR the Power Rangers got far too much of already. She had to turn around and head back out to desert. It was safer, and she still had allies out there....she hoped.

Mara began to bank left, turning around...and the world seemed to explode as one of Isis' blasts caught the small Pink Zord, blasting one of its wings clean off. Pterodactyl went into a spin, spiraling down towards the ground at an increasingly unsafe speed.

Mara took a deep breath, despite not having had to breathe, and ejected from the Zord, materializing in the air outside in a shower of pink sparks.

There was a brief moment of panic before she remembered that she could fly.

As for Pterodactyl, it continued to plummet. Mara desperately scanned the ground below. She had to guide its descent towards somewhere uninhabited, somewhere where it wouldn't cause much...Ah. Perfect.

Grabbing hold of Pterodactyl's tail, Mara steered it towards what appeared to be some kind of junkyard or landfill. Exerting all her lifting power, the Pink Ranger managed to slow the Zords fall to such an extent that...if she were lucky....nothing would explode.

Finally, when she could do no more, she let it fall. The Zord hit the ground with a resounding CRASH, parts of its already damaged frame flying off with the force of the impact...but it was safely on the ground.

"Zord-1?" she asked, opening a channel to the Oasis. "Teleport Pterodactyl to the Zord Bay."

The massive bird vanished in a streak of pink light.

Mara breathed a sigh of relief, wishing she'd thought of teleportation sooner. She might've saved herself all that trouble.

No, she realized, it would have materialized in the Zord Bay still with all its momentum, tearing a hole through the bottom of the ship. That would have been fairly stupid of her.

TSEEW!

Mara ducked as a blast struck one of the mountains of junk behind her, causing garbage to rain down all around. Turning, she saw Isis descending through the air, landing as gracefully as a 500-foot-tall robot can.

Isis suddenly stood stock-still, straightening. Five jets of light shot up from its head, then turned and rained down onto the ground in front of the megazord's feet, solidifying into the five Psycho Rangers who had been piloting it. Other streaks shot down as well, as the other Psychos teleported to stand beside them. Psycho Pink stepped forward, hand on her hip, somehow giving the impression of grinning sadistically.

"Umm...," Mara said into her comlink. "Guys? Little help?"

Almost immediately, the other Rangers materialized at her side.

"You called?" Angel asked calmly.

"Duh. Yes!" Mara said, gesturing at the line of Psychos.

Now that their counterparts were present, the Gray, Silver, Camouflage, Blue, Green, and White Psychos stepped forward as well.

"Firecloud!" Mara cried, bringing her hands forward in the standard 'Hadoken' position. A cloud of acrid pink mist shot forth from her wrists and surrounded the Psycho Rangers. Instantly, spark began flying forth from the demonic Rangers as the acidic cloud began to eat through their armor.

Psycho Pink strode forward, completely unaffected by the Pink Ranger's attack. She manifested her jagged pink bow and nocked an energy arrow, aiming right for the center of Mara's visor.

Mara's eyes widened behind her helmet. She shot up into the air as Psycho Pink fired, the arrow grazing her foot instead of penetrating her skull. The force of the arrow caused her flip end-over-end in midair.

"Woah!" she cried, stabilizing her flight.

Psycho Pink glared up, then rocketed up into the sky after her.

"Remarkable. I didn't know she could fly," Angel said, peering into the sky after Mara.

"She _is _a Pterodactyl," Troy replied, not taking his gaze off the Psychos.

"Umm....if we could focus, people," Deacon said, a hint of anxiety in his voice. "We have a small problem."

Fox laughed weakly. "Several small problems, actually," she said, gesturing at the Psychos.

The Pink cloud had begun to dissipate, and the Psycho Rangers were getting to their feet. The Purple, Red, Black, Yellow, and Gold Psychos simply stood, patiently waiting, but the others began to walk forward, aggression in every step.

"Any ideas?" Troy asked.

"Just the obvious one," Fox replied.

"Run?"

"Yah-huh."

With that, the Rangers turned and scattered through the trash heaps on foot, the Psychos close at their heels.


	12. Pancreas

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 12: Pancreas

As stealthily as he could, Jareth crept down the halls of the palace.

"Which way to the throne room?" he whispered.

_Third hall on the left_, the small irridescent pink-and-purple dragon replied as she walked along beside him. _And don't bother whispering. I can hear your thoughts, remember? We're trying for stealth, here._

Jareth nodded, then continued creeping.

_So what am I looking for?_ he thought.

_A long staff made of blue-white crystal, with a rose carved into the top._ As she spoke....thought?...Zoey projected the image of the staff into the Gold Ranger's mind.

_And this is what--_

_Nullified the Tyrarian's magic? Yes. I was there when he did it. The Stranger just raised the staff over his head, there was a flash, and Whammo! Everything stopped working._

A thought occurred to Jareth, but Zoey answered it before he could ask.

_The staff doesn't affect natural, inherent magic. Only applied magic. Telepathy is a natural talent for dragons. As for your friend, Electra, all I can say is that you people must come from a world with an extremely high magic concentration, for her to be born with a gift like that._

_Lots of people on Terra are born telepaths....well, not lots, but quite a few. I'd say one in every fifty or so,_ Jareth thought.

_Then why hasn't...oh._ Zoey said, once again grasping the answer before it was put into words.

Jareth nodded. _Yes, because of things like that. No one wants to be around someone who knows what they're going to say before they say it, or who knows all their big, dark secrets. Telepaths are pariahs on Terra. They get put on meds to suppress it, and if they don't take them, they get shipped off to islands or camps._ He shrugged. _Methinks I will be keeping yet another Ranger's secret to myself."_

_Keeping a few already, are you? Ah. Yes, you certainly are._

Jareth rolled his eyes. _And you can just keep them to yourself, as well,_ he thought.

_Hey, no problem. You're helping me escape gradual vivisection, remember_? Zoey said. _Anyway....yes, come to think of it, I can sense strong magic coming off of you, too. Your planet must be soaking in it._

_Maybe that's why Medelon hid the Power Coins there,_ Jareth mused. He came to an intersection of hallways and peered around the corners before moving on.

Zoey considered, getting the details of the Power Coins from Jareth's mind.

_I think it's more likely that the magic of the Coins gradually suffused the planet, since they were there so long._

_You'd know better than me,_ the Gold Ranger allowed. _Hey, wait...I have strong magic? You mean my Ranger powers?_

_No, I mean your natural aura._

_So…I have magic? Me? What is it?_

_Beats me,_ Zoey said. _A full-grown dragon would be able to tell, but all I can do is sense that it's there._

_Dragons can do a lot of stuff, it seems._

_Oh, yeah. We're one of the most powerful races in the galaxy. We can sense magic, conjure fire, cast spells, we're telepathic…some of us can even shapeshift. This is the one._

Jareth blinked at that last statement, then realized that the small wyrmling had been referring to the door.

_Any idea where..._ Jareth blinked as a map of the throne room filled his head. The staff was socketed into a plate in the floor, much like the one to which Zoey had been chained.

_Okay, do you know--_

_Nope._

_--how many guard....okay._ Jareth twitched. _Can you be ready to create a distraction?_

_I think setting a few people on fire ought to be distracting enough._

_Good._

Jareth opened the door as wide as he dared and peeked in. It was empty.

Zoey blinked_. I was sure the Stranger, at least, would be there._

Jareth pushed the door open. The room was, indeed, completely empty.

_Well? Grab the staff!_

"I smell a trap," he said. Then, with a shrug, he strode into the throne room. He walked up to the crystal staff and reached for it, not quite touching. Jareth's eyes wandered around the spacious room. "Traaaaptraptraptraptrap...."

_Just_ take it. I don't sense anyone else in the room, Zoey said impatiently from the ground near his feet.

Wish a sigh, the Gold Ranger grabbed the crystal shaft and pulled it from its socket in the floor.

For a moment, nothing happened.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Electra waved to Tommy as he and Kalen emerged from the forest.

"Has he woken up yet?" Tommy asked, glancing at the stiff, frozen form of the Epsilonian King.

"He's twitched a few fingers," Electra replied with a shrug. "I'm not sure how much longer--"

All three Rangers jumped back in surprise as the King suddenly reared back onto his hind legs, forehooves kicking at the air. The centauresque alien turned around and looked down at them.

"Ali Toonaz Ziraquay?"

"He wants to know who we are," Electra translated.

Tommy very much wanted to ask how she understood him, but knew better than to ask.

"Tell him that we're the Power Rangers," he instructed.

Electra shrugged, then looked back up at the King.

"We're the Power Rangers," she said simply.

The King looked surprised for a moment, then nodded his acceptance.

"Sira Noxic Banna Simpo?

"Yes," she answered.

"Inta Hazzith Kinta Rox?"

"Yup."

"Razzith?"

Electra turned to Tommy. "Why did we drag him out of the dungeon again?"

"Because we thought that if we can restore him to his throne, he can command the guards to stop attacking us, and perhaps help us get off the planet," the Red Ranger explained.

Electra simply turned back to the King and gestured to Tommy, as if to say, "What he said."

The King nodded.

"Artax Neema Gigass Nintu." He turned to Tommy. "Rictus erra nimo?"

"He said," Electra translated. "What's the plan?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Ow,_ Zoey complained. _You've knocked one of my scales loose._

Jareth said nothing. His mind was rather preoccupied with the long, sharp iron spikes that had shot up from the ground, one on each side of his head. Had he landed an inch to either side after falling back and tripping over Zoey, he'd have been skewered.

As soon as he'd collected himself, he climbed to his feet and looked around. The spring-loaded metal spines that had emerged from the earth formed a circle, sort of a lethal fence, around the plate where the staff had been.

"Why are YOU complaining?" Jareth asked. "You nearly got me killed. If I hadn't tripped over you.."

_Then those arrows would have hit you._

"What?"

Zoey re-played the scene in Jareth's head as she had seen it from the ground. As soon as Jareth had pulled the staff from the ground, a number of arrows had fired from hidden launchers in the walls, all aimed directly at his head. Had he not stumbled back over the wyrmling, he'd have been killed.

_The only thing I don't get is the point of the spikes,_ Zoey said._ They really don't seem dangerous, unless you happen to be lying on the ground. _As she said this, the wyrmling flapped her batlike wings and flew over them, leaving Jareth to try to squeeze through.

She was right...the spikes really hadn't done much, except to keep him....

A thought occurred to him, and Zoey picked up on it. They both looked towards the ceiling.

The chandelier overhead had fallen about halfway, a number of sharp blades having popped out from it's casing. It had clearly been designed to fall on whoever took the staff, while the spikes kept them from moving out of its path. The mechanism that dropped it appeared to have somehow gotten stuck.

_I think I'm beginning to see what the nature of your magic is,_ Zoey said.

"What? This wasn't magic. This was just--"

_Luck. Dumb luck. Phenomenal luck. You've just...what's the term? 'Dodged the bullet'...at least three times. Doesn't that seem at all remarkable to you?_

Jareth considered. No, it didn't, but that was only because he was used to it. Everything seemed to make sense...whenever something bad had happened to him, it had always managed to stop something worse. Like that time he'd been hit on the head in the desert, instead of getting his soul sucked out by Psycho Gold. Or just now, when he'd tripped over Zoey to keep from taking an arrow to the face.

_Everything does seem to fit, doesn't it?_ Zoey asked, following this train of thought.

"You have no idea," Jareth replied. Then he reconsidered. "I suppose you do, actually. I DO have uber-luck. I remember this one time--"

_Reflect later_, the dragon advised. _We've got to get that staff out of here, before the Stranger comes back and finds a sprung trap without a corpse in it._

"When you're right, you're right," the Gold Ranger said, twirling the staff playfully. "Lead on."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"He says there's an entrance south of--"

"All right, I'm sorry," Tommy said. "But I have to ask. HOW are you doing this?"

Electra sighed. "You want me to just come out and say it? Fine." She took a deep breath. "I'm a telepath."

"You mean he....thinks in English?" Tommy asked, looking confused.

Kalen slapped her forehead.

Electra shook her head. "He thinks in the same language he speaks. But I can see the images and emotions and you know, ideas behind the words."

"The essence of language, as it were," Kalen added helpfully.

Electra nodded. "And I can send those same things back into his mind." She jerked her head at the King, who was standing by patiently.

"So....why are you acting like this is a terrible thing?"

Now Electra looked surprised. "Because it _is_."

"Seems like a handy talent to me....you know, unless you can't shut out other people's thoughts. I can see that getting annoying."

"No, I can do that. Takes a lot of concentration, but it can be done." Electra blinked, tilting her head to the side. "You really don't see the problem? What do they do to telepaths on your world?"

"We don't....really....have any," he said.

"Oh! Well, that explains why you're not freaked." Electra glanced over at Kalen. "But I _am_ wondering why _you_ haven't threatened to blackmail me yet."

"Don't be ridiculous. I wouldn't blackmail you."

Electra narrowed her eyes. "Why not?"

"Because you have nothing I want," Kalen said simply.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Are you insane?_ Zoey silently screamed at him.

"What are you so worried about? They can't--"

_Your magic is LUCK, stupid, not invincibility! Just because things tend to go your way doesn't mean everything always will._

"But everything always _has_...."

_Look. Even if your magic is so strong that everything that can possibly go right for you, will…and I don't think it is… there are still situations you could get into where nothing could possibly go right. And you should do your best to stay out of those situations. _

Jareth paused. He'd been in one of those situations before. "Shouldn't supernatural good luck keep me from getting into those situations in the first place?"

_No. Just the opposite. _Zoey prodded one of the fallen guards thoughtfully. _That's the thing about probability-altering magics. They don't just whistle up good luck out of nowhere. What your aura does is to draw luck IN. Which means you warp the probability of events around you. Sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better, usually just for the weird. Anyway,_ Zoey said, fluttering over the fallen Tyrarian guards. _The one thing luck can't protect you from is the conscious decision to do something stupid._

Jareth stepped around them as well, approaching the small door that led out of the castle.

_Although I must say,_ Zoey chuckled appreciatively. _I've never seen anyone incapacitate three guards with a rubber band before._

"It's a gift." Jareth grinned, pushing against the door. It moved rather more easily than he would have thought. Glancing back to be sure Zoey was still following him, Jareth ducked through the door....and ran headfirst into Tommy.

"What are you doing here?" they both asked.

"Umm....saving you," Tommy answered lamely. "And also trying to get our hands on..."

"This?" Jareth asked, holding up the staff.

"Akka bonaza." The King said, pointing at the staff.

"He said--" Zoey began.

"That's a dragon," Tommy interrupted, staring down at Zoey.

"Good eyes," Kalen said in a deadpan.

"He said, 'That's it'," Electra completed the thought.

_Actually, he said, 'That's the one',_ Zoey corrected. _It helps to actually speak the language,_ she added smugly.

"Guys?" Jareth asked. "Could we discuss this...on the way to the ship?"

Moments later, they were all clambering through the small secret passage.

"How in the world do Tyrarians FIT through there?" Kalen asked as she squeezed through the small opening at the end of the tunnel. "Oh," she said, moments later, as she watched the King emerge. She twitched, blinking. "Nothing should be THAT flexible..." she muttered.

"Nikelia Polepherion."

_His Majesty says that you should return to your ship and tend to restoring the magic while he goes and reclaims his throne,_ Zoey translated.

"My, what an efficient language," Kalen said.

"What about the Stranger?" Jareth asked.

Tommy, who'd been staring at Zoey, turned to face Jareth. "Who's the Stranger?"

"You know, the guy who kicked His Majesty here off the throne."

Zoey ran her hand over her head, as though smoothing back her scales. _The other Nyera won't side with him, now that they know he--_

"Nyera? You mean the Tyrarians?" Electra asked.

The dragon gave her one of those looks designed to make someone feel like an idiot.

"Is everything from Terra called a Terran?" she asked simply.

"Technically, yes," Kalen replied. "Cultures that have made interstellar contact almost always refer to other races by their planet of origin, instead of by species."

Jareth nodded. "It's true. Terina's told me that she thinks of us as Terrans, not humans. And her people were called the Klorai, but everyone still calls her an Eltarian."

_Enough social commentary. Get a move on, people. We can deal with the Stranger, and Terina's on her deathbed._

With that, the wyrmling turned tail and followed the King back into the castle.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"As I see it, there are two ways this could work," Kalen said to the other Rangers that stood gathered around Terina's unmoving body, scrutinizing the staff in her hands carefully.

"And those are?" Tommy asked.

"Possibility the first: This staff is creating the null-magic spell, and the only way to end the spell is to destroy the staff."

She was about to go on, when Tommy asked: "And the other?"

Kalen glared at him. "Did it ever occur to you that I might not be finished?"

"Sorry. Please, continue."

"The other is that since this staff is what created the spell, it may be the only thing that can reverse it, and if we destroy it we'll all be stuck here forever."

"And Terina's good as dead," Electra said, gazing at the form on the medbay's table.

Jareth reached out his hand for the staff, and Kalen handed it to him, seemingly disinterested.

"Well," he said. Then, surprising everyone, he swung the staff in a wide arc, smashing it against the wall. Bits of crystal feel like rain, littering the cold metal floor.

Tommy's mouth hung open. "What did...why....What were you thinking?"

Jareth twisted his wrist. With a flash, his Power Morpher appeared in his hand.

"It worked."

"What if it hadn't? Terina could have died!"

"From the look of things, she would have died anyway before we figured out how to use the staff to reverse the spell," Jareth replied. He looked over at her. "And she may die anyway if we can't get her to morph."

"She can barely breathe," Electra noted. "I don't see how she'll be able to shout 'Saber-toothed Tiger'."

"Oh, the morphing calls aren't necessary to the process," Kalen said calmly. "Morphing is accomplished by willpower and concentration. The calls are just mantras to help us focus."

"So you're saying if she were to focus, she might be able to morph without speaking?" Jareth asked.

Kalen nodded.

"Yeah, that's true. Zord-1 mentioned it a while back. But how do we get her to do that? She's a bit beyond communication at this point," Tommy said.

Jareth glanced at Electra. "Not ALL communication."

Electra nodded resignedly. "Yes," she said. "I'll do it."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The garden would have been beautiful, with its exotic plants and masterfully crafted topiary...if not for the frost. A thin layer of ice covered ever leaf, every flower, and the sky above was a dismal, leaden gray. A light drizzle fell over the garden, every drop as cold as ice.

Electra shivered as she looked around. This was the inside of Terina's mind, she had to be here somewhere. The Black Ranger couldn't help but wonder where this scene had come from. Was this Eltar? The plants were beautiful, but they certainly didn't look like any kind she'd ever seen on earth.

Despite knowing that time was of the essence, Electra couldn't resist a closer look at the foliage. She was surprised to note that the flowers, beneath the frost, seemed to have circuitry printed on them. In fact...

On closer inspection, there wasn't a thing about this garden that was natural. The flowers were made of cybernetic crystal, the few insects that scuttled through the foliage were nothing more than clockwork. When she listened closely, the faint sound of wind blowing through the bushes and birds chirping repeated themselves at regular intervals, like a recording set on loop. A raindrop she caught on her tongue had the sickening flavor of oil. Even the grass beneath her feet had the distinctive crunch of plastic astroturf.

No way was _this_ Eltar. Terina never talked much about her homeworld, but every indication was that Eltar had been a lush paradise. No, this was a world of Terina's invention, something the sick alien's feverish mind must have dreamed up.

Something yellow caught Electra's eye...Terina herself sat in the middle of the garden, on the ground, arms wrapped around her knees, shivering.

"Terina?"

Terina slowly turned her head as Electra walked up to her, also shivering, her fishnet sleeves providing almost no insulation from the bitter cold.

"E-electra?" Terina stammered, shivering furiously. "What are y-you d-doing here?"

"I'm here to help you."

"T-the last time someone t-tried to h-help me, they t-turned me into t-this..." Terina gave a bitter chuckle, then clutched her legs to herself more tightly, shivering even more that she had been.

Electra raised an eyebrow at this. What did she mean? No time to inquire now. "Terina, you have to morph."

"M-Morph?"

"Into your Ranger form."

"I..I d-don't know if I c-c-can..."

"You have to. Go on."

Terina held out her hand, looked at it uncertainly, then gave her wrist a flick. With a flash, her Power Morpher appeared, the golden glow from the coin seeming to dispel a little bit of the cold.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tommy, Jareth and Kalen stood waiting, watching Electra as she stood at the end of the cot, eyes closed, an open hand on either side of Terina's head.

"How long do you think this'll take?" Tommy asked.

"Shh," Jareth shushed him. "Lecca needs to concentrate."

Abruptly, there was a bright flash as Terina's Power Morpher appeared in her open palm.

"Yes!" Jareth whispered. "Halfway there...."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Terina looked at the Morpher in her hand.

"Go on," Electra encouraged gently. "Do it."

"W-why?"

"It'll save you."

"S-so? Someth-thing like this'll j-just happen ag-gain. It always d-does."

"That's no reason to give up. Go on."

"A-all....all right..." Terina held the Morpher out in front of her. **"S-saber...Saber t-toothed tiger!"**

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

With a blinding flash of yellow light, Terina's tiny form was replaced by the armored body of the Yellow Power Ranger. The force provided by the morphing process threw Electra back from the small girl.

"Oww.," Electra complained, sitting up and rubbing her head. She looked up at the table upon which Terina lay.

Terina sat up, looking around cautiously. "Am I back?"

Tommy grinned. "Sure are."

"You had us all worried, Ter," Jareth said, relief in his voice.

"Ahem," Kalen muttered.

"Well, you had most of us worried."

Terina hopped down off the able and helped Electra to her feet.

"Thanks," she said sincerely.

"No problem," Electra replied. Then, she was gone again, back in her own little world.

"So," the Yellow Ranger asked, turning to the others. "What now?"

"Now," Tommy replied. "We figure out how to get off this planet." He turned to Jareth. "And you and I need to talk."

Jareth raised an eyebrow curiously.


	13. Friction, Freedom, and a Stowaway

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 13: Friction, Freedom, and a Stowaway

"Blood rites and Summoning Rituals....No. Hexings and Bindings.....no."

"I'm serious, Jareth. You were out of line."

"Tommy, would you let it go already?" He turned away from the bookshelves towards Tommy. "Yes, I smashed the staff. Yes, I took the risk of killing Terina and trapping us here forever. What's your point?"

"My point is, you had no business doing something like that without consulting the rest of us."

"Time was of the essence, was it not?" Jareth asked, returning his attention to the books. One of the moldy old tomes in the castle Library was bound to contain a spell that could lift the Oasis back into space. All that was left was to find it. Thankfully, a few spot-spells from the Tyrarians had been able to partially restore some of their technology. At the very least, Jareth's contacts were functioning again, enabling him to read the foreign text. A number of Tyrarians, at the command of the King, were also perusing the shelves, searching for the appropriate book.

Tommy, in contrast, was doing nothing productive. He'd offered to come along to search the library, but instead had done nothing but lecture Jareth about breaking the staff.

"Do you even realize what could have happened if--"

"Tommy, there's no bigger waste of time than to worry about what _could have happened_." Jareth pulled a promising-looking book off the shelf and flipped through it. "You can lecture me all you want, it won't change a thing. I already did it."

"I am not lecturing you," Tommy said.

"You are too," Jareth smirked. "You're talking at me in the most condescending way possible, because what I did falls neatly under your definition of 'wrong'."

Tommy ran his hand through his hair. "Look, I've been doing this a lot longer than you."

"How long, exactly?"

"Almost four years."

"I've been a Ranger for three. A year isn't much longer, Tommy."

"Three years? How old were you when you started? Ten? Eleven?"

"That so odd? You said you had a ten-year old Ranger. Justin, wasn't it? And no. I was about fifteen."

Tommy frowned, arms crossed. Jareth didn't look a day over sixteen. Seventeen, tops.

"That would make you...."

"Nineteen, Tommy. That would make me nineteen. Your math teacher would be proud."

"You don't look nineteen."

"Of course not. We all stopped aging when the Power Coins bonded with us." Jareth's eyes widened at the spell in the book. "'To make thine enemies defecate forth the eggs of a kelarian beast, each of which is as large as thine head...' Let's _not_ let Kalen get ahold of any of these books, okay?"

"You're changing the subject."

"Am I?"

"Yes!"

"What was the subject?"

"You! And what you did."

"Are we STILL talking about that?"

"We won't be finished until--"

"We're finished now, Tommy, because I've grown sick of the subject. I did what I did, and I'd do it again. Deal."

"Will you look at me when I'm trying to talk to you?"

"Well, if I did that, then I wouldn't get very far towards finding the spell, would I?"

Tommy reached over and snatched the book from the Gold Ranger's hands.

"Yeah, you're helping," Jareth said, glaring at him.

"You can't keep on _doing_ things like that, Jareth."

"Like what?"

"Like destroying that staff."

"What staff?"

"The staff that..." Tommy glared. "Do you think this is a game?"

"This conversation?" Jareth asked, grinning. "Yes. Yes I do."

"Not the conversation. Being a Ranger. Protecting the world. It's not a game, Jareth. People can get hurt. People can die. Bad things DO happen. You can't just go taking risks like that with other people's lives. Especially those of your teammates."

"Bad things?" Jareth asked. The grin was still on his face, but his eyes were no longer laughing. "Tommy, I don't need anyone to tell _me_ how bad things can get. I am the way I am because of all the bad things that have happened to me. And as for jeopardizing the life of a teammate…well, I stand by what I said. If I hadn't acted, she'd have died anyway." He leaned back against the bookcase. "You know what your problem is?"

"Your attitude?" Tommy ventured, annoyed.

"That's part of it," the Gold ranger admitted. "Your problem is that, _because_ of my attitude, you think I don't understand that my actions have consequences. What _you _don't understand is that I have the attitude I do because I'm ready to deal with whatever consequences my actions may have."

Tommy crossed his arms. "So you're saying that if you had killed Terina by destroying that staff, you'd have taken full responsibility for it?"

"Not _full _responsibility. A lot of it would go to whomever made the thing in the first place. Some of it would be Terina's, too, because nobody _made _her come here. She knows the risks of being a Ranger as much as any of us. But yeah, I'd have taken my share of the blame. Though I think losing Ter would have been punishment enough."

Tommy shook his head. "Then why _are _you so reckless? If you know the risks?"

"Can't care about every damn thing," Jareth replied. "You'd explode. It's a wonder _you _haven't."

"See, there you go again. You don't-"

"You know, I had to sit there and watch while our _last_ Red Ranger died."

Tommy blinked. Or all the trouble he'd been through, no one on any team to which he'd belonged had ever _died_.

"What?"

"Yep. Bled to death in the medbay, right before my eyes. Guy got speared through the chest. Never had a chance."

"Um…Zord-1 said you'd never had a Red Ranger."

"The Red _Power Coin_ never chose anyone before you. But we were using the Zeo power long before we ever found the Coins. We had a Red. He died. Horribly." Jareth shook his head. "Kalen lost her entire family. Myk lost his entire tribe. Terina lost her entire _planet. _We all know what's at stake here, Tommy. Now give me back that book. I've got about forty tons of metal to move."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I'm pretty sure this is the one," Jareth said, as he and Tommy returned to the clearing. "'Motion to the Motionless'."

"Things don't get much more motionless than this," Kalen agreed, looking up at the Megaship.

Zoey had joined them to see them off, and was sunning herself on a rock. _'Motion to the'....that one sounds familiar..._

"You know this one?"

_I think so. Can't remember where from,_ the small dragon replied.

Jareth shrugged, then turned back to the ship. He looked down at the text in the book.

"Ahem," he began. "Incantus Marasque Polymerius Zanadi..."

_No! Stop!_ Zoey suddenly cried.

Too late. "Rhayye," Jareth finished.

There was a stirring in the clearing, almost like a gust of wind, though not a blade of grass twitched.

Zoey had frozen, not due to the spell, but because she trying to ascertain the damage it had done.

_Is everyone still alive?_ she asked.

Everyone looked around.

"Okay, if you're not alive, say so," Jareth quipped.

_I'm serious. That spell doesn't just give Motion to the Motionless, it actually brings inanimate objects to life._

"Mew."

Every head turned. There, across the clearing, sitting on the ground where a small gray rock had been moments before, sat a tiny gray kitten. "Mew," it explained again.

"Aww," Electra said. "Cute."

"Why so worried about that, Zoey?" Tommy asked. "Were you worried it'd create something dangerous?"

_No,_ she answered. _Well, yes, but that's not all. You can't just create a life like that. For that spell to work, it has to strip the life from something else. Usually, a sacrifice of a small animal is prepared beforehand, because if it's not, the spell just rips the life out of whatever happens to be nearby. One of us should have dropped dead._

Jareth shrugged, as obviously no one had. "Maybe...it killed a plant? Or a bug flew by?"

_The creature is a mammal. A mammalian life would have to be lost._"Maybe....it misfired somehow?" Tommy asked.

Kalen said nothing. She seemed to be staring off into the distance, at something no one else could see.

"No," she finally said. "It didn't." She walked swiftly across the clearing and picked up the kitten, cuddling it. The kitten snuggled down into her arms, purring. As soon as it was comfortable, she stormed up to the ship's entrance and entered, muttering.

"I've been dropping like flies since I joined you people..."

Jareth blinked. "What?"

"She cuddled the kitten. She showed emotion for another living creature," Terina said, yellow-gloved hands on her yellow-armored hips. "That is SO out of character for her..."

"Tell me about it," Jareth said, returning his eyes to the book. "Well, that was clearly the wrong spell."

I think you people are going about this the wrong way, Zoey said. _That thing got here under its own power, right? You don't need a spell to move it. You need a spell to make it move itself._

Jareth's eyes widened. 'I think there was...." he flipped rapidly through the book. "Yes," he said, stabbing at a page with his finger. "An enhancement spell."

"You think if you enhance the ship, it can over power the planet's null-tech?" Terina asked.

"No," Jareth replied. "I think if I enhance the null-null-tech spell the Tyrarians-"

_Nyera,_ Zoey corrected.

"Whatever, used on our comlinks and such, then it might be strong enough to reactivate the ship."

"It's worth a shot." Tommy said carefully.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Moments later, the Astro Megaship rose into the air, repulsorjets ablaze. It flew closer to the palace, then landed for a moment so the Rangers could drop off Zoey.

A number of nyera were standing outside the palace. Among them was the King.

"Once again, I thank you, Rangers, for restoring my throne to me."

"It was our pleasure," Tommy said.

"Liar!" Terina coughed. Tommy glared at her.

"If there is anything we can do to repay you..."

"Oh, no, that won't be--"

"Actually," Kalen interrupted. "There is."

Tommy glared at her, too.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Thank you again," the King said. "If there is anything more..."

"I think we're good, thanks," Jareth said, grinning, as he looked back at the pile of gold and jewels that was sitting just inside the Megaship's cargo bay.

"Then I bid you farewell, Rangers." And with that, the King turned around and trotted back across the drawbridge into his castle.

As he turned to board the ship, he noticed with a start that one of the Guards stationed outside the drawbridge was missing his hat. Jareth's hand went automatically to the black felt fedora still perched atop his head. The Guard had spotted him, too, and was smirking at him sardonically.

"Keep it," the Guard said. "I'm keeping these." And the nyera produced a handful of quarters.

Jareth chuckled, strolling onto the Megaship.

As soon as he was on board, the doors closed and the massive blue disc rose up into the sky, quickly vanishing from sight.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Okay," Terina said. "I'm ready."

"Tommy, would you stand behind her, please?" Jareth asked, not bothering to get up, his feet up on the control panel, as he flipped through a moldy-looking book.

Tommy, puzzled but curious, did so.

Terina took a deep breath. "Power down," she said.

There was a bright yellow flash, and suddenly the sparkling yellow armor was replaced with a frail, tiny, sickly-looking girl. Her skin was an unmistakable shade of blue, her veins stood out a deep purple. Her half-open eyes were so bloodshot they were bright red, and she was covered in a cold sweat.

No sooner had she demorphed than she fell backwards into Tommy's waiting arms.

"What happened?" he asked. "I thought when we got her off the planet, she'd be okay."

"She will," Jareth replied. "Our bodies are held in stasis while we're morphed, so she came out of morph in the same condition that she went in. But she should recover quickly now that we're nowhere near the planet."

Sure enough, Terina's color rapidly improved. Her eyes flickered open, and in less than a minute she was her old self again. She stood up, shaking her head, then walked over to a console and sat down, obviously a bit shaken by the experience.

"I still can't believe none of you thought to ask for anything," Kalen said, admiring her reflection in a silver jeweled mirror, various gaudy but quite valuable articles of jewelry draped all over her.

"Who says we didn't?" Jareth grinned from his seat, holding up the book.

"You know, in my world, the Power Rangers aren't allowed to use our powers for personal gain," Tommy said, still looking disgruntled.

"Then why in the world does anyone sign on for the job?" Kalen asked, sounding astounded.

Tommy was about to answer, when a loud sneeze echoed through the bridge of the Megaship. At the same time, a jet of fire lanced out from underneath one of the consoles.

Electra bent over and glanced underneath. "Zoey?"

_Zark,_ the wyrmling swore. _I was hoping we'd be at Terra by the time you found me._

"Zoey, what are you doing here?" Tommy asked.

"Off the top of my head, I'd say stowing away," Kalen said blandly.

_Can't a dragon opt for a change of scenery once in a while?_

"What would the royal family say?" Jareth asked, peering over the top of his book.

_They'd...well.....kill you all_, Zoey admitted.

"Thought so."

The fuchsia dragon hung her head on its long, slender neck. _So, does this mean you're taking me back?_

"Nah."

Zoey's head snapped up. _You're not?_

"We're not?" Tommy echoed.

"No reason to. They don't have space travel, so they can't follow. And if we go back, even to return her, there's a good chance they'd kill us for taking her in the first place."

No one could argue with this logic.

"Zoey?" Electra asked a few moments later.

_Yes?_

"You kept mentioning the Stranger."

_Yeah?_

"Who was he?"

_Well, I don't know exactly, or I wouldn't keep calling him the Stranger. He never told us his name, and for some reason I couldn't read his thoughts._

"Well, what did he look like?" Terina asked.

_I could show you_, Zoey offered somewhat timidly.

"Why so shy? You didn't mind playing with our brains back on Tyrari," Kalen observed.

"Well, we're not on Tyrari anymore," she said. "And I know what you do to Telepaths in your culture."

"That reminds me," Electra said. "I know it probably goes without saying, but I'd appreciate it if no one mentions to anyone that I'm telepathic."

"No problem, Lecca. And Zoey, I don't think anyone'll mind if you use telepathy to talk to us or show us things," Terina said.

"Just as long as you don't go poking around in minds that don't belong to you," Kalen added, glaring at the wyrmling and thinking a thought at her so strongly that she couldn't help but pick it up.

Zoey swallowed nervously. _Heh. Right._

"So, the Stranger?" Electra asked.

An image suddenly appeared in their minds: That of a lupine humanoid, his wolflike features twisted into a vicious snarl, cobalt-blue body armor glinting in the sun. The image vanished.

A name sounded across the bridge, spoken by every Ranger simultaneously.

"Ornyk."


	14. Junkyard Psychowars

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 14: Junkyard Psychowars

"Come out, come out, wherever you are...," Psycho Bronze sang as he stalked through the junk yard, searching between the piles of trash, the scarlet glow from the gradually setting sun casting long shadows on the ground. "Surrender, Bronze Ranger...I promise I'll make your death quick and painless...just one little twist of the neck....come now, you can't hide forever..."

"Here!"

Psycho Bronze spun about to find Myk standing atop one of the more stable trash piles, striking his famous 'hero' pose.

"Ah, there you are, Hero," Bronze sneered. "Ready to play?"

"I wiped the floor of that alley with you last time, Bronze. I can do it again."

"A fluke, I assure you." Psycho Bronze leapt an absurd distance into the air, did several pointless midair flips, and finally landed atop the trash heap next to the one Myk currently occupied.

**"Eagle Nunchuck,"** Myk summoned, the weapon appearing in his hand. He whirled them expertly in a series of complicated motions.

Psycho Bronze summoned his version of the Bronze Power Weapon and did Myk one better, neatly out-chucking him.

Myk glared at the Psycho Ranger and used every trick he knew, putting on the best uncheck-whirling display he could. The act was truly dazzling, and when he finally stopped, he gazed challengingly at Bronze.

Psycho Bronze responded by simply twirling his 'chucks on one finger, making yawning motions with his free hand.

An old shoe flew across the air, smacking the Psycho Ranger upside the head and the weapon fell from his hand. Myk chuckled, dusting off his hands.

"Hey! That's cheating." Bronze glared.

For answer, Myk stashed his weapon back into...wherever it came from...and rose up off the pile into the air, arms folded across his chest, glaring down at Psycho Bronze, who promptly followed suit.

Having reached a suitable altitude, the two Rangers glowered at one another through their jet-black visors. Myk gave a twitch as the Mortal Kombat theme began playing in his head....he never should have allowed Deacon and Jareth to talk him into watching that. Shaking it off, he shot forward through the air, fist-first, Psycho Bronze rocketing to meet him.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Troy raced through the narrow alleys and trails that ran between the massive piles of junk, trying to lose the Psycho Ranger who was tailing him like a bloodhound.

Skidding to a halt, he raised the left gauntlet of his robocop-style armor and pressed the small, recessed yellow panel on top of his forearm. The panel slid back towards his elbow, revealing a cavity within, from out of which emerged a rectangular object far too large to have possibly fit within his arm.

The Blue Ranger removed the object and the door slid closed. Tossing the object idly in his right hand, He cocked his head to the side, listening for the footsteps of his pursuer. When his enhanced hearing caught the unmistakable impact of Psycho Ranger boots hitting the dust, he turns his attention back to the gadget in his gloved hand.

It was rectangular, as long and wide as his hand and about twice as thick. A thick groove ran down the center along its length. He squeezed the object, closing the groove, then relaxed his grip and let it spring back into shape with a "cha-chunk" sound. A red light that hadn't been apparent before started blinking.

The charge having been primed, Troy threw it against the nearby car, where it adhered as if by magnetism to the glass window. Running a bit further, the Blue Ranger ducked behind a pile of trash and, unable to suppress a grin, held his fingers to the places where his ears were covered by his helmet.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So your personality and powers are a mirror of mine?" Angel asked curiously, as he and Psycho Gray slowly circled one another.

"A twisted mirror, but a mirror nonetheless," Gray replied. His voice, while distorted in the manner of a Psycho Ranger, somehow managed to come across as curious and intellectual, while still bloodthirsty and violent. "My powers are designed to be the perfect antithesis to yours. It was part of the spell Zedd cast when he summoned us."

With a flick of his wrist, a dangerous looking instrument appeared in Psycho Gray's hand.

**"Lunar Sickle!"**

With a gray flash, a weapon appeared in Angel's hand; a short stone handle with a crescent-shaped sickle blade at one end and a spearhead on the other. The Gray Ranger held the implement out before him, and at his mental command, it shifted; its shaft extended from just a few inches to nearly six feet, and its sickle blade shifted positions, becoming the handguard of a long stone spear.

The two leapt forward, crossing weapons.

"That my personality is akin to yours was not intentional," Psycho Gray continued, his visor inches from Angel's. "You see, magic follows rules, just as science does--"

"Not to split hairs," Angel interrupted. "But the word 'science' does technically mean 'knowledge', therefore knowledge of magic is just as much science as anything else."

"I stand corrected," Psycho Gray said, spinning and swinging his spear towards Angel's legs. Angel leapt nimbly over the weapon, then struck at Gray's back, But Gray spun about in time and blocked. "For the purposes of this conversation, let us assume 'science' to refer to matters of technology and 'magic' to refer to the arts of the occult. Now, then, Magic has laws, just as does science, though these laws need not always agree."

As he spoke, Psycho Gray continued to attack, though it was evident that the demonic Ranger was more interested in the conversation than in destroying his target....for now. Angel was easily able to block or dodge the half-hearted, almost playful attacks.

"The Laws of science for example, state that like forces must repel one another."

"I suppose the laws of magic state otherwise?"

"Indeed. It is known as the Axiom of Least Contradiction. In accordance with this principal, when Zedd summoned otherworldly beings to take the shape he specified, those beings least unlike the creatures in this world already to have that shape were the ones summoned."

"Interesting," Angel said. "But then, if you are an otherworldly equivalent to myself, why attempt to destroy me? I would imagine that you'd be more eager to destroy Zedd for having ripped you from your world."

"I'm afraid another aspect of Zedd's spell requires me to follow the orders he gave when first he summoned us. It's most annoying, I assure you, but once our task is done his spell will be broken and we will be free to return home....or destroy him. I myself plan on doing both. I daresay he is not aware of this aspect."

"But if you had the choice..."

"Had I the choice, I'd most likely not destroy you. It's not every being can keep up an intelligent conversation. I suppose you've tried with these...humans?"

"Oh, they're not so bad, once you get around their....eccentricities."

"I'll take your word at that," Psycho Gray said, abandoning his fighting stance. He hoisted his weapon onto his shoulder. "The unfortunate fact is that I do NOT have a choice, and the sooner I finish here, the sooner I can move on to bigger and better things. So I think it best that I finish you off now, much as I enjoyed this conversation. I don't suppose you'd simply demorph and surrender?"

"Would you?" Angel asked, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

"No, of course not. But it was worth a try."

"Indeed."

"So long as you understand that this is not to be taken personally." Gray twirled his weapon again, preparing to strike.

"Not at all." Angel raised his right arm to the sky, fist clenched. **"Spirit Wolf!"** he invoked.

At his command, a dozen or so wolves appeared at his side, seemingly formed of liquid smoke, or solid moonlight, or some strange combination of the two. They drew in close to the Gray Ranger, their glowing fangs bared as they snarled at Psycho Gray. Angel snapped his fingers, and the pack darted forward, ghostly spittle flying from their muzzles as they attacked the astonished Psycho Ranger.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Mara darted across the sky, trying to dodge the jagged pink arrows that shot through the air around her. Turning around and flying backwards, the Pink Ranger summoned her own bow and shot a few arrows back, not bothering to aim. She was instantly surprised to see one of her arrows actually strike its target.

Psycho Pink faltered, falling slightly, more out of shock than because of any actual damage the arrow had caused. Regaining her composure, the Psycho Ranger conjured another arrow of pink light and nocked it to her bow, taking careful aim.

"Umm...uhh....Pterodactyl Thunder Whip!" A small pink object appeared in Mara's hand. She thrust it forwards desperately, and a ribbon of pink material shot out of the end, closing the distance between herself and Psycho Pink.

Pink let out a startled cry as the whip wrapped around her bow, and Mara, with a quick tug, jerked the weapon from her grasp.

"And to think, I'd forgotten I had this thing," Mara said, patting the whip handle fondly, the ribbon itself having retracted.

Psycho Pink glanced down at her bow, already fallen halfway to the ground, then glared back up the Pink Ranger. With an angry screech, she shot forward like a bullet and grasped the astonished Pink Ranger by the throat.

"You're really starting to annoy me," the Psycho growled.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Stealth Cutter!"** Answering Fox's call, a black-and-green two-bladed sword appeared in her open hand....a two foot long, polished shaft of contoured wood with jagged blades on either end.

"What say we skip the taunting and cut straight to the ass-kicking, hmm?" Psycho Camo asked, twirling her own twisted version of the weapon.

"Oh, yes, let's."

The two rushed forward, instantly becoming a blur of camouflage cloth and dark green armor, a violent dance of metal.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The explosion was audible throughout the entire junkyard. Troy emerged from his hiding place, letting out a grim chuckle as he dusted himself off.

"Gets 'em every time," he said smugly.

"Not this time, blue boy," a growling voice declared.

Troy spun around and blinked in surprise as Psycho Black....no, it was Psycho Blue, he was just covered in soot....strode forward from between the junk piles.

"Cute little firework, human," he said, drawing a red gun from nowhere.

Troy knelt down and brought forward his right gauntlet, activating his rectangular, transparent-red riot shield.

BLAST!

The Blue Ranger was knocked back, his body cutting into the dirt as he slid.

BLAST!

The force of the shot knocked him back further, and caused sparks to form from his gauntlet as his shield began to overload.

BLAST!

The shield of solid red light shattered entirely, and Troy went flying, only to come crashing to the ground again some twenty feet away.

"Oww."

"Oww? I've barely begun, and you're already saying Oww?" Blue chuckled, stowing the gun nowhere and pulling out his jagged blue lance.

Troy leaned back and leapt to his feet, summoning his own Tricera Lance.

The two circled each other for a moment, twirling their weapons and preparing to attack one another, but then...

WHAM!

A pink-armored, humanoid form plummeted to the ground between them, raising a massive cloud of dust.

Troy blinked. He and Psycho Blue looked down at the ground, then at each other, then back down at the Pink Ranger.

"Mara?" he asked. "You okay?"

"Oh, yeah. Never better." The Pink Ranger dragged herself to her feet and dusted herself off.

A blast of pink light struck the ground at Mara's feet and she jumped back towards Troy with a cry.

"Did you think we were finished?" Psycho Pink asked, soaring down and landing next to Psycho Blue.

"Well, I'd kinda, like, hoped....," the Pink Ranger said weakly.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

With the sharp, scraping sound of metal-on-metal, the Stealth Cutter went flying out of Fox's hand.

"You're loooo-sing," Psycho Camo sang.

**"Toxic Barb!"** With a backward swipe of her hand, Fox sent a barrage of shrapnel flying towards Psycho Camouflage. Whatever material the barbs happened to hit, be it the dusty ground or the rusted hulks of the surrounding cars, immediately began to dissolve as the toxic chemicals caused its molecular structure to degenerate....but those that struck Psycho Camo simply glanced off, not leaving a scratch on her demonic armor.

Psycho Camo managed to convey an expression that was clearly "Oh, please." Hefting her sword, she thrust it forward, the blade piercing Fox's breastplate and emerging from her back. As the blade sank in up to the handle, Psycho Camo continued her forward motion, pushing the Camouflage Ranger back against one of the rusted cars.

Fox flinched, the pain dampened by her Ranger form, but still present. There was an emerald green spark as her armor began trying to heal itself around the blade. She reached forward to try to pull it free, but the metal pierced not only her, but the car behind her, effectively nailing her in place.

Smiling, or seeming to, Camo twisted the handle of the sword. Fox gritted her teeth, expecting more pain, but the blade that penetrated her armor never moved. Instead, the Psycho Ranger's two-bladed sword separated halfway down the handle, half of it coming free in Psycho Camo's hand.

The Psycho Ranger tossed the weapon into the air, catching it deftly, then raised it and prepared to stab Fox directly through her faceplate.

"Sayonara," she said simply.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Myk reeled as the force of his impact with Psycho Bronze sent him flying back through the air. Righting himself, Myk floated, watching as Psycho Bronze recovered from the impact and hurtled at him again. Myk narrowed his eyes, but remained motionless.....until the last possible moment, when he jetted up about three feet. As the Psycho Ranger passed beneath him, he descended, delivering a sharp, talon-booted kick to Bronze's back.

The Psycho Ranger let out a strangled cry as he was knocked off course and went crashing headfirst into one of the junk piles.

Myk neatly landed on the ground next to the pile and chuckled as Psycho Bronze disentangled himself from the garbage, muttering and cursing the entire time.

"You'll pay for that, Ranger."

"How? You were already planning to kill me."

"Yes, but my offer to make it swift and painless is now withdrawn."

Psycho Bronze drew the Crystal Saber that hung at his hip....evidently they had been repaired...and leapt forward.

There was a flash of white light in Myk's hand, and suddenly, he was holding Dorn. The blade rose, bringing Myk's gauntleted hand with it, parrying the Psycho Ranger's weapon perfectly.

Psycho Bronze jumped back, keeping a wary distance of the blade that had defeated him last time. The Psycho Ranger seemed to deflate somehow, to become smaller, less of a threat, when the weapon was in Myk's hand.

"You shouldn't have that," Bronze accused, almost petulantly. ""It isn't part of your powers, or I'd have a weapon to counter it. Where did it come from, Ranger?"

Myk grinned beneath his helmet. "That's not important right now." The blade flashed through the air in a clean, horizontal swipe. Psycho Bronze rose his own saber to try to block it, and the unmistakable sound of metal slicing through metal sang through the air. A moment later, half of the Crystal Saber's blade fell to the ground. Myk raised the shining white sword above his head, preparing to smite the demonic ranger.

"This is not a fair fight!" Bronze cried. His nunchuckus appeared in his hand and he held them up, one in each hand, chain stretched above him to block the blade.

Myk paused as Psycho Bronze's words struck home. This _wasn't_ fair. It was unfair to use a weapon this powerful to destroy something that was relatively defenseless. Myk prepared to return the blade to its pocket, to pull out his normal Power Weapon and finish this fight fairly.

As if sensing his hesitation, the blade moved, still dragging his hands along with it. Dorn sliced cleanly down, severing the chain of Psycho Bronze's weapon with a bright spark, then stabbed forward, neatly impaling the Psycho Ranger through the heart....or through where his heart should have been.

Myk's eyes widened in surprise, and he was about to pull the blade free when it began to shine an even brighter white than normal. A course of static vibrated up his arms as Psycho Bronze let out a piercing, inhuman scream. The brilliant glow of the blade began to shine through all the joints of the Psycho Ranger's armor, the cracks where his upper arms met his torso, where his thighs met his pelvis, where his helmet met his neck met his body, between his knees and elbows. It shone through the minute cracks between the joints of his fingers, it shone through his wrists and ankles. The louder the Psycho Ranger's scream became, the stronger became the vibration of the sword in his grasp, almost as if the divine blade were feeding off of this demonic being's pain. The glow grew so bright that Myk had to avert his eyes, even with the filtering his visor provided, and the shock the handle of the sword was sending into his arms was too much even for his Ranger strength....but his fingers couldn't seem to let go.

Suddenly, it stopped, the blade once more seemingly nothing more than a length of cold, inanimate metal. After so much noise and light and vibration, Myk felt as though his senses had suddenly been turned off. He shook his head to clear it.

The motion of his head ran through his body, and as the blade of his sword was still embedded in Psycho Gold, this jarred the armored form in front of him. The slight motion was all it took to make the body fall apart.

Myk started in astonishment down at the pile of twisted bronze armor lying in the dirt before him, now full of nothing but crumbled black ash. After a moment, he turned and gaped at the sword in his hand. As he did, Ikaika's words rang out in his head.

_You're welcome._

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Freeze!" Troy commanded, aiming his fingertips at Psycho Blue. A stream of crystal-blue liquid ice emanated from his hands, slicing cleanly through the air. But when it struck Psycho Blue, is sluiced off of him as if it were nothing more than water.

Psycho Pink cried out as some of the cryonic energy splashing off Blue struck her right shoulder. Almost instantly, the liquid ice spread, crawling across her armor until her entire arm was sealed within a chunk of crystal-clear ice.

"I'm beginning to notice a trend here," Troy muttered, as Psycho Pink flexed her arm, breaking the ice.

"You mean how our powers totally don't affect our own colors? Yeah, that occurred to me, too," Mara said.

"So you take Blue, and leave Pink to me," Troy said.

Mara nodded, then rocketed up into the air. Psycho Pink leapt into the air to follow.

Troy reached up with his right gauntlet and launched a small ring of metal from his wrist. It flew through the air, dragging a thin silver chain behind it. The metal ring opened as it neared Psycho Pink, clamping shut around her ankle. Troy braced himself for the upward jolt as the chain reached its full length, bringing Psycho Pink to a halt.

Pink glanced down sharply, her face seeming to convey a look of surprise despite never actually changing. "What?!" she demanded.

Gritting his teeth, Troy grabbed up a handful of the chain and yanked it down, dragging Psycho Pink to the dirt with a sickening THUD!

Psycho Blue couldn't quite comprehend what was going on, but he shook off everything else and focused on his mission: destroy the Blue Ranger. He started forward...and a shining pink arrow embedded itself in the ground at his feet. More arrows rained down, and in less than a second he was encircled by them, the shining shafts of pink light forming three wide, concentric circles around the spot where he stood.. Glancing up, he saw the Pink Ranger floating above him, bow in hand, arrow nocked. What was she doing?

Even though no one could see it, Mara winked behind her helmet as she released her shimmering pink bowstring. The arrow flew straight and true, striking Psycho Blue right in the middle of the visor, emerging out through the metal of the back of his helmet. Minute cracks spiderwebbed out around the arrow as he fell, collapsing on his back in the dirt.

"Bullseye," Mara smirked.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The last time she'd done battle with Psycho Green, Lolli had been enhanced by the Gold Ranger's newly discovered power: a strange, annoyingly chipper song that had boosted the powers of his fellow Rangers. This time, however, she had no such boost. Psycho Green's attacks flew hard and fast, and it was all she could do to parry, Blade Blaster in one hand and Dragon Dagger in the other.

Leaping back to avoid taking a dagger to the face, Lolli felt something...or someone...against her back.

"You again?" she asked, spinning around to see Stephen, who seemed equally surprised to have run into her. "Why must I always get paired up with you?"

"Just lucky, I suppose," the White Ranger replied.

Behind Stephen, Psycho White raised his scimitar to strike. Stephen was still looking back at Lolli, but his arm flew up, seemingly by itself, the blow deflected by Saba's blade.

Stephen spun back around. "Whew, thanks Saba. Missed that one."

"Do _try_ to be more careful, White Ranger," the pompous weapon reprimanded.

"A simple 'You're welcome' would have sufficed," the White Ranger muttered, returning his full attention to the fight.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Something flew, faster than the eye could follow, and Psycho Camouflage let out a cry, clutching at her hand. She glanced at the source of the missile that had knocked away her weapon.

"Am I late?" Deacon asked, one of his twin short swords still in hand.

"Quit showing off and kill it," Fox growled, still trying to remove the blade that kept her nailed to the rusty old car.

Deacon leapt down from his spot halfway up the junkpile, then jumped up, flipping over Psycho Camo's head, landing at the spot where his other sword had landed. Picking it up, he turned and took a few steps towards Psycho Camo, who seemed thoroughly confused.

"Sorry," he said, twirling his swords. "But one Camo Ranger really is all I can stand."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A crackle of static sounded over the comlink, followed by Troy's voice.

"Guys, we've worked out how to beat them!" The Blue Ranger's voice cried, sounding elated. "Just don't fight your own color!"

Lolli exchanged an exasperated look with Stephen, then tapped the side of her helmet, activating her own comlink. "Yeah, thanks Troy," she said.

The Green Ranger looked down to where the two utterly fried husks of armor lay on the dusty ground of the junkyard. Both were covered with carbon-scoring from numerous laser blasts, and the white one still had the Dragon Dagger embedded in his chest. Her gaze fell on Stephen, who was determinedly hacking at Psycho Green with Saba, just to make sure she was good and dead.

"We'll keep that in mind," she added with a sigh, closing her comlink.

"So," Stephen said, wiping his forehead, even though it was contained within a helmet, and Rangers didn't sweat anyway. "Wanna get some pizza?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Took you long enough," Fox grumbled, as Deacon strode away from the smoking wreckage of Psycho Camo.

"What, no Thank You?"

"I'll thank you when you pull this thing out of me," Fox retorted.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Deacon quipped, grinning.

Fox glared at him and gave him the finger, grateful that her helmet concealed the blush she felt climbing up her face.

The Silver Ranger reached over and grabbed the handle of the blade that pinned Fox to the ruined vehicle, and, between them, they managed to pull it free.

"Thank you," Fox said, true to her word, dusting herself off.

"De nada. Now, what do I get for taking care of Psycho Camo for you?"

"Ahem," Fox said, pointing.

Deacon turned to see what she was indicating. There, where Psycho Camo's ruined form had been lying, was now nothing but a deep gouge in the dirt. Scrapes in the sand headed off in a definite direction....the exact sort of marks left by an injured, armored form dragging itself away.

"Well, how was I supposed to know she was still alive?" Deacon asked defensively. "It's not as if you can check a Ranger for a pulse."

A shrill whistle drew both rangers' attention, their helmeted heads whipping around to see Psycho Silver, standing atop a nearby trash pile. He pointed at Deacon, then beckoned.

"You," he rasped. "Let's play."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Troy crouched down, poking at Psycho Blue with his lance in an effort to ascertain how dead he was.

"So now what do we do?" Mara asked.

"Mara?" a familiar voice called from somewhere amidst the junk. "Troy? Is that you?"

"Angel? Over here!" Mara called.

After a moment, the Gray Ranger's helmeted head emerged from behind one of the junk piles, followed shortly thereafter by the rest of him.

"We killed ours," Troy said proudly. 'Where's yours?"

"Do you know what happens to a Psycho Ranger who's attacked by a wild pack of spectral wolves?" Angel asked in response.

"Let me guess," Troy replied, rolling his eyes. "The same thing that happens to everything else?"

"Umm....I'm thinking not," Mara disagreed, pointing.

Angel spun around, and there behind him stood Psycho Gray, looking none the worse for wear.

"I did mention, didn't I, that I designed to be able to counter ALL of your powers?" Psycho Gray inquired.

"Yes, you did, now that you mention it." Angel took a few steps back.

Psycho Gray summoned his weapon, and swung it over his head, but before he could use it, the weapon was knocked from his grasp by a sparkling pink arrow.

Troy stepped forward, Blade Blaster in hand. Without saying a word, the Blue Ranger walked right up to Psycho Gray and shot him, point-blank, in the face. The Psycho Ranger crumbled to the ground.

"Are you sure that did it?" Angel asked curiously.

"Yep," Troy replied. "He's a pushover for everyone but you."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Deacon's swords were nothing but a blur of metal as he swung them deftly through the air, but Psycho Silver's were faster still, blocking every thrust and making some that Deacon couldn't hope to parry in time.

A short cry of pain from the Silver Ranger filled the air as one of his swords, his hand still clutching it by the handle, went tumbling across the sand. Deacon cradled the stump of his severed right wrist as he continued to fight as best he could with his left...which turned out to be a bad idea, as his left arm was suddenly cut off at the elbow.

"What's wrong, Silver Ranger? Not a Monty Python fan? Oh, well."

Deacon ducked a horizontal swipe from one of Psycho Silver's swords, only to catch a thrust from the other one in the ribs. Silver twisted the blade, then pulled it out, leaving Deacon to fall to the ground on his butt, clutching handlessly at the gaping hole in his armor.

Psycho Silver chuckled, nonchalantly twirling one of his swords while keeping the other one pointed at Deacon's head. He took a few steps forward, forcing the Silver Ranger to scoot backwards or be impaled.

Deacon winced as he felt his back press against the rusted-out husk of one of the cars littering the junkyard. Even through the filters that came with being morphed, the pain was crippling, but he gritted his teeth against it and tried to take stock of the situation.

The hole in his armor was healing, but slowly, much too slowly. As far as he knew, Ranger forms couldn't regenerate limbs, and even if they could, it would take much too long to do him any good. His only hope of winning this fight was to demorph and remorph, but that meant reverting to his human form, which would have been suicide.

Psycho Silver raised his swords, but before he could strike a cry rang out.

**"Toxic Barb!"**

Psycho Silver spun around to face this new voice....only to receive a faceful of glowing green shrapnel, each piece dripping with corrosive poison. An inhuman scream escaped his throat as he clutched at his visor, trying to remove the shards of metal from his 'eyes' before they started dissolving.

His sharp demonic ears registered footsteps in the sand, and he swung blindly at them, trying valiantly to score a hit on whoever had done this.

Fox spun her two-bladed sword, blocking Psycho Silver's ill-aimed swipes, then made a swipe of her own. Her blade sang through the air, neatly severing Silver's head and causing it to fly up through the air, falling to the ground a few feet away.

His body paused for a moment, as if uncertain how to react to this turn of events, then decided to follow standard protocol and collapse, twitching, to the ground. Not many things could kill a Ranger, Psycho or otherwise, but it seemed decapitation was one of them.

Fox and Deacon both looked at the twitching silver-armored corpse for a moment, then turned to each other.

Fox grinned beneath her helmet. "You know, you really shouldn't let yourself be disarmed like that."

"Oh, you're a scream," Deacon replied acidly. "Are you gonna help me up, or not?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

With a flash of blue-black flame, a humanoid, wolflike creature wearing cobalt-blue armor appeared. Dusting himself off, he turned to the row of Psycho Rangers that stood at the edge of the junkyard. Black, Gold, Yellow, Red, and Purple.

"So? How goes it?" he asked.

No response.

Ornyk let out a sigh. "That's right, you only react to your targets. What a depressingly stupid system." Reaching into his belt, the Zornian pulled out a scroll of paper, and, unrolling it, examined the moving, glowing figures that swam across its surface.

"Half of you dead. There's a shock. Ahh....what's this?" Glancing from the paper to the edge of the nearest junkpile, Ornyk saw the remains of Psycho Camouflage, dragging herself to where the other Psychos stood.

"Well, don't we look nice? Hmm...looks like the Silver Ranger's handiwork." With another sigh, Ornyk narrowed his eyes down at Psycho Camo. As he did, his normally yellow eyes began to glow an eerie blue-white. The light shone forth from his eyes, falling down on the ruined form below.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly at first, then faster, the burns and gashes in Psycho Camo's body began to heal. Within moments, all evidence of her battle with Deacon had been erased, and she took her place alongside the other Psychos.

"You're welcome," Ornyk growled. He looked at his scroll again. "I see Psycho Silver's out of the game." He considered for a moment. "Well, why not....Tengas!"

The Zornian snapped his fingers, and there was a flurry of filthy black feathers as a flock of Tenga warriors.... humanoid crows... appeared before him.

"Give the Silver Ranger my regards."

The Tengas fluttered off, eager to obey.

"That'll teach him to waste my magic. As for the rest of you..." Ornyk smiled, baring a fearsome number of teeth. "Time to call it a day. But don't worry," Ornyk grinned, glancing at the golden ring on his furry finger. He held it up, admiring how the black, rough-hewn gem set into it glinted in the fading light.

"The trip wasn't a total loss."


	15. Peanut Butter

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 15: Peanut Butter

"Power down," Deacon said. With a burst of energy, his mangled Ranger form was replaced by his human body.

"Ah. That's better," he said, flexing his fingers and examining his hands.

"Don't get too comfy," Fox cautioned, pointing.

Deacon looked. A swarm of Tenga Warriors was flapping its way towards them, soaring between the mountains of junk.

"Oooh....birdies."

"Just morph."

"All right, all right. **Elephant!**"

Another flash, and Deacon was once again the Silver Ranger, his scratched armor good as new, both hands intact.

"Mind if I borrow this?" Deacon reached over and pulled Fox's Blade Blaster from its sheath. Conjuring his own....for all Rangers _had_ Blade Blasters, though not all wore them at their sides....he proceeded to empty the charge in both guns by firing a blizzard of laser bolts into the swarm of Tengas. Black feathers and tar-like blood flew and ear-splitting squawks filled the air as the birdlike foot soldiers fell to the ground, most of them dead and a few merely wishing that they were. When the firearms ran out of juice and were capable of shooting nothing more than feeble sparks, Deacon finally lowered his arms.

There was a pause.

"Yes," Fox said, snatching the scarlet gun from the Silver Ranger's hand. "I do."

"Sorry," Deacon said sheepishly. "Ow! Don't hit!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Honey, we're hoooome!" Jareth called as he, Tommy and Terina strode through the automatic doors onto the bridge.

"This dragon followed us home," Terina added, grinning. "Can we keep it?"

"Greetings, Rangers," Zord-1 intoned, his deep voice echoing across the bridge. "It is good to see that you are unharmed."

"Some of us nearly weren't," Terina said, shivering. The small pink-and-purple dragon nuzzled her leg comfortingly.

"Ornyk was there," Tommy reported. "On Tyrari. We're pretty sure he arranged for the distress call."

There was a split second while Zord-1 processed this. "Yes, that does seem likely. My scans of communication logs from various parts of space indicate that the distress call's range was limited to reach only this planet."

"Why didn't you do that in the first place?" Tommy asked.

"There was no reason to. If you desire, I shall run such checks on all calls we may receive in the future. I should warn you, however, that many computer systems do not approve of such slicing."

"Slicing?" Tommy asked.

Lolli glanced up from the terminal she was working at. "Slicing. You know, unauthorized accessing of restricted computer files."

"Oh," he said. "On my world, we call that hacking."

"Hacking?" Lolli snorted. "Yeah, there's a _lot_ of finesse implied in the word 'hacking'...." The Green Ranger let out a yawn.

"You seem pretty wiped," Jareth said. "Something up?"

"We just survived a fairly intense battle. Angel and I have to do a lot of repair work on our Zords. And Mara's. Gonna be a long night."

"Mara's Zord got trashed? Is she okay?"

"She's fine."

"Damn," Jareth said. "Oh, well. I guess she could still get mauled by a cougar on the way home."

"Ah, brotherly love," Terina smirked.

"Isn't it Drone's job to repair the damaged Zords?" Tommy asked.

"Technically, yes, but we'll need these Zords online as soon as possible. Most of the Psychos were destroyed in that last fight, but not all of them."

"I estimate that even with Angel and Lolli's considerable assistance, the Wolf, Pterodactyl, and Dragon zords will not be operation again for at least 81 hours," Zord-1 offered.

Terina let out a low whistle. "That's a lot of damage."

Lolli hit one final key on the console, and a circular, transparent green disk emerged from the console. Taking a small, handheld device from her pocket, she slid the disk into a slot at the back.

"There we go. Well, I'm off to go reconstruct some complex alien technology."

"Have fun!" Terina said.

"Yeah, knock yourself out," Jareth added as Lolli wandered out the door, waving absently.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So what are you going to call her?" Electra asked.

Kalen stopped cuddling the tiny ball of gray kitten long enough to hold it up and look into its little kitten face. She stopped walking for a moment.

"Mew?" the Kitten inquired, as if to say, "Well?"

"Naylack," the Purple Ranger finally answered, resuming her progress down the hall towards her room.

"Naylack?" Electra repeated. "Interesting choice. Is Naylack a boy or a girl?"

"No, I don't think so," Kalen answered.

Electra paused, blinking as she mentally digested that statement. Well, Naylack wasn't exactly an actual cat so much as an animate rock.....not that the small ball of fluff displayed any actual rocklike attributes.....so it sort of made sense for it not to have a gender. Rocks didn't, after all.

Kalen waved absently as she reached her room and entered, the purple door automatically opening and closing for her.

With a shrug, Electra turned and wandered aimlessly back down the corridor.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Power down." For the second time that night, Deacon's Ranger form vanished, replaced by his human body. This time, Fox joined him, The emerald green armored scales beneath her combat fatigues replaced by a simple black t-shirt, her burgundy hair held back in a ponytail by a thick burgundy scrunchie.

"Well, that was fun," Deacon said, cracking his neck and feeling his vertebrae pop loudly as they unkinked.

"You know, that's actually bad for you," Fox said. "You're going to wind up with arthritis when you're an old man."

"Why Kimberly Foxtooth, that almost sounded like you actually cared."

Fox stuck her tongue out at him.

"None of that. Not unless you intend to use it."

"Hmph."

"And anyway, what are the odds I'll live long enough to be an old man?"

"That's a damn good point," Fox conceded. "Especially since if Zedd doesn't kill you, I probably will."

"Is that any way to talk to someone who just saved your life?"

"You know perfectly well that I could have beaten those Tengas on my own."

"I was talking about Psycho Camo."

"We're even for that!" Fox said indignantly. "I killed Psycho Silver for you."

"Yeah..."

"If anything, you owe me. _My_ Psycho is still alive."

"Well, maybe if I hadn't had to make sure YOU were all right, I might have been able to finish her off." Deacon stated haughtily, poking the shorter, camo-clad girl in the arm.

"Maybe if you weren't so reckless, you'd have finished her off faster." Fox replied testily, giving him a slight shove back.

"Who are you calling reckless? I'm not the one who got myself impaled."

"That's right, YOU're the one who got your arms sliced off."

There was a moment's pause as the two glared at each other, their faces inches apart.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

With a WOOSH!, the jumptube ejected Electra into the ship's lounge.

"Hey, Lecca," Jareth said. The Gold Ranger was crashed on the luxurious black leather sofa, his feet up on the table and the remote to the massive television set in his hand. "What are you still doing up?"

"It's the middle of the day on my end of the planet," Electra replied. "So our sleep cycles match up."

"Ah."

"What's on?" the Black Ranger asked.

"Reruns, reruns, and more reruns." Jareth clicked off the TV in disgust. "Hey, I've got an idea. Care to--"

"Sure. Movie sounds good."

Jareth twitched. "You know, just because I'm okay with you being a telepath doesn't mean it's not annoying."

Electra chuckled. "Heh. Sorry."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Stephen wandered aimlessly into the Zord Bay, ducking one of the flying repair drones that whizzed past. One entire wall of the huge chamber was covered with compartments, each of which housed an individual Zord. Running within the walls that separated them were cables, umbilicals, and elevator shafts. From the ceiling hung numerous, huge fluorescent lights, as well as massive cranes and claws designed for carrying the war machines.

Three Zords were outside their compartments, sitting on the floor of the bay: Wolf, Pterodactyl, and Dragonzord. Pterodactyl had a number of the small flying drones whizzing around it, sparks from their built-in arc welders flying as they repaired the damage the Zord had suffered. In addition to the small hovering drones was Drone himself, the small, barrel-shaped robot with a domed head. The construct bristled with mechanical arms and high-tech tools, all of which were busy welding, sparking, and shaping Pterodactyl's hull.

Wolf was lying down, just like an organic wolf, its mechanical eyelids half-closed. Angel stood on the ground in front of it, assembling some sort of massive mechanical apparatus.

Next to Wolf was Dragonzord....or the upper half of it. From the waist down, the large green-and-black, godzilla-style dragon was simply gone. It was being supported by a metal framework that held it at about its normal height.

"What did you do with the rest of it?" Stephen asked, arms crossed, looking up at Dragonzord.

"Well, it wasn't much good anymore, seeing as it had been melted into slag and fused with a large chunk of glass that was once desert sand," the Gray Ranger replied. "So we teleported it into the center of the sun."

"Oh."

"Incidentally, I wouldn't stand there," Angel advised, not taking his eyes off the task in front of him.

"What? Why not?"

A bright flash of light illuminated the bay as a massive metal object materialized just above and behind the White Ranger. It fell the last few feet to the floor with an earsplitting crash, missing him by inches.

Stephen warily eyed the chunk of metal that had nearly squashed him. "What IS it?" he asked.

"One of Dragonzord's new legs," Lolli said, climbing up out of the Wolf's cockpit. Smiling widely, she sat down on the top of the wolf's head, dangling her legs over the side. The Green Ranger appeared to be in her element, although Stephen had never thought her the type to be running around in grease-smeared, green overalls. She whipped a compupad out of her pocket and began pressing keys.

"We have to rebuild the entire lower chassis from scratch. Zord-1 is assembling them outside the ship by using high-res tractor beams to draw together stray atoms and shape them into parts, then compressing them and beaming them right where you're standing."

"Thus the advice about not standing here, huh?"

"Can't get anything past you," Lolli muttered.

"How's Wolf coming?" Stephen asked.

"I recalibrated the gyros in the cockpit, boosted the power to the optic lasers, reconnected all the severed hydraulic cables, and I even managed to adjust the sonic weapon so that it only blasts what's right in front of it, instead of everything within three miles."

"What about the massive hole in the side?" Stephen asked wryly.

"We're still working on that part," Angel replied matter-of-factly.

Stephen eyes the large mechanical component tat Angel was currently repairing. "And what are you doing there?"

"I'm just fixing the…er, this….you now, I don't really even know what this thing is," the Gray Ranger admitted.

"What brings you here, anyway?" Lolli asked.

"Hmm? Oh, I was looking for Kalen."

"What made you think Kalen would be here?" Angel asked, shooting the White Ranger an odd look.

"Well, I've checked everywhere else."

"Have you checked her room?" Lolli asked.

Stephen blinked. Without a word, he strode over to the door and exited the Zord Bay.

Angel glanced up at the Green Ranger "Guess not."

"How long do you think it'll be before he finally gets the message that she's not only disinterested, but actively despises him?"

Angel considered. "How long has it been so far?"

"Just over two years."

"Then I give it another three, at least."

Lolli smirked, then returned to her compupad.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Well," Jareth said, as he and Electra exited the theater. "That didn't suck."

"I've seen worse," the Black Ranger agreed, munching from the popcorn bag still in her hand.

"That song's going to be playing in my head for the rest of eternity, though." Jareth grinned and began singing. "Scotty doesn't know, that Fiona and me, do it in my van every...."

The song faltered when he saw the look the Black Ranger was giving him.

"What? You've got to admit, it's a catchy tune."

"Uh-huh."

"Uh-oh...it looks like our pleasant evening is over," Jareth grumbled, pointing.

Two streaks of light, one a violent dark gold and the other a black so dark it put the night sky to shame, came rocketing down at them. As they struck the sidewalk in front of Jareth and Electra, they solidified into Psycho Black and Psycho Gold.

"Hello again, Rangers," Psycho Gold said, his jagged scythe resting on his shoulder.

"Miss us?" Black asked in a sickeningly sweet voice, cracking her knuckles loudly.

Immediately, panic broke out amongst everyone else who happened to be on the sidewalks.

"Power Rangers!"

"It's an attack!"

"Run!"

Psycho Gold glanced at the people on the sidewalks as they scrambled for shelter.

"Woah, look at 'em scramble," he said. Tossing his scythe to his left hand, he pointed at the panicked crowed. A bolt of gold fire flew from his fingertip. One of the people in the crowd fell to the floor, a steaming hole where his chest used to be. The screams rose to an even higher pitch.

Both Psycho Rangers cackled with glee.

The real ones, however, grimaced.

Electra turned to Jareth. "We're going to get blamed for this, aren't we?"

The Gold Ranger shook his head. "See, this is _exactly_ why I never leave the ship."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lolli glanced up her adjustments to Dragonzord's primary plasma injector as the doors to the Zord Bay slid open again, and Kalen walked in, Stephen positively clinging to her arm. The Purple Ranger's expression was absolutely disgusted. Finally, after trying for a good five minutes to get her to kiss him goodbye, he settled for planting a kiss on her cheek and wandered off.

"You and Stephen?" Lolli asked incredulously.

"NO." Kalen said resolutely. "Delusional freak. He thinks we're dating."

"How did he get that idea?"

"I have no idea," Kalen replied. "He asked me if I would go out with him on Freyday, and I replied, quote, 'Thanks, Stephen, but I would rather stay home and pull a live, struggling squid through my nostrils.' Evidently," Kalen added, glaring at the door through which Stephen had exited, "He took it as a come-on."

Lolli let out a chuckle.

"Am I to understand," Kalen said threateningly, "That it was the two of you who suggested to....THAT....where it might locate me?"

"Yes," Angel said simply.

"Angel, toss me the neospanner?" Lolli requested.

Angel fished the designated tool out of the toolbox near his feet and tossed it up to the Green Ranger, who caught it deftly and returned to her work.

"May I ask WHY you felt it necessary to inflict this on me? Have I done something particularly horrible to you lately?"

"Not that I recall," Angel replied, looking up to Lolli for confirmation.

"Not lately, no," she agreed.

"Then why?"

"Better you than us," Lolli answered simply.

Kalen opened her mouth to retort....and closed it again.

"Hmph," she said finally. Then, turning on her heel, she stormed out of the Zord bay.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Mastodon!"**

**"Lion!"**

With a rippling surge of energy, the two humans were instantly transfigured into their Ranger forms; the Gold Ranger with his long mane and coat, and the Black Ranger with her leather-wrapped limbs and metal spikes and studs.

"Ah, so you're going to put up a fight," Psycho Gold surmised. "And here I thought you'd learned your lesson."

"I've learned that I shouldn't have left home without a can of silly string," Jareth replied. "Does that count?"

Chuckling, Gold twirled his scythe.

Jareth reached down and removed what appeared to be a black sword-hilt from his belt. As he held it up, a long shaft popped out of the end, then a curved golden blade sprang out at a right angle to the shaft, forming the Lyonscythe.

"Hmm? Oh, no. Him again," the lion's head at the end of the hilt said.

"You're instilling me with a lot of confidence, Kyra."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As Jareth pulled out his scythe, Electra faded into stealth mode. When this power was activated, she was completely invisible, save for a slight ripple when she moved, like the air above the concrete in summertime. Her entire body surface became completely frictionless, meaning that not only would no one be able to feel her should she brush against them, but she was also almost impossible to actually injure.

Psycho Black hadn't contributed at all to the banter that Jareth was keeping up with Psycho Gold. Well, no surprise there; the Psychos seemed to mimic the personalities of their Rangers, to a degree, and Electra wasn't exactly the talkative type.

As Electra sidled off to the side, though, Psycho Black's helmet turned to follow her. It was almost as if...

The jagged black shuriken that cut through the air confirmed the thought: Psycho Black could see her. Electra leaned over backwards, letting the projectile fly over her, then straightened and conjured her Arctic Axe.

Psycho Black leapt forward, an axe in her own hand. The two black axes met in a shower of sparks, the force of the impact numbing Electra's arms despite being morphed. Psycho Black swung again, this time aiming lower, and her axe, evidently not caring that Electra was supposedly frictionless, cut a deep slash across her torso.

The Black Ranger doubled over, holding her arms protectively over the already healing gash, and Psycho Black raised her axe into the air, prepared to bring it down on the back of the Black Ranger's head.

Electra glanced upwards, and as the Psycho Ranger's blade fell, she leapt over in a backflip onto her hands, her axe conveniently disappearing, then landed several feet away in a crouch. Psycho Black's axe embedded itself uselessly in the pavement. The Psycho Ranger let out a growl of frustration and struggled to free her blade from the street.

"Ahem."

Psycho Black glanced up at Electra. The Black Ranger was still crouching on the ground, and she'd turned off the useless stealth mode. Grinning beneath her helmet, she held up her hands, the sharp silver shurikens between her fingers gleaming in the glare from the streetlights.

Flinging her arms wide, Electra sent a blizzard of sharp metal sailing right at the demonic Ranger.

At the last possible moment, Psycho Black faded from sight...but if the spark she saw and the sound of metal against metal meant what she thought it did, at least one of the stars had found its mark.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

With a savage roar, Psycho Gold threw the Gold Ranger into the arrangement of picnic tables outside one of the nearby sidewalk cafes.

The Gold Ranger shook his mane, pushing one of the flimsy plastic tables aside that had fallen on him. When he opened his eyes, he found someone else's staring back up at him.

"Aww, nuts," Jareth said. Crouching on the sidewalk was a small child, no older than five or six. He had obviously been hiding beneath the table. Eyes wide with terror, he gazed into the Gold Ranger's jet-black visor. Jareth couldn't blame him for being scared...his helmet _did_ look like a roaring lion, after all.

"Oooh....looky what I found," Psycho Gold chuckled. He raised his hand, and with a crackle, a ball of golden flames appeared in his clawlike grip. Cackling maniacally, he threw it at the child.

Jareth leaped into the fireball's path, taking the blow intended for the boy. The golden flames scorched his armor-plated torso, and the force knocked him onto his back.

"Aww.....how heroic."

"Heroic?" Jareth asked, raising his head and looking up at Gold. "I'm wearing magical armor. If I'd taken the blast naked, _that_ would have been heroic."

"That would have been ineffective," Psycho Gold pointed out.

"Yeah, okay, that too."

Moving with phenomenal, ninja-like speed, a black streak zipped across the pavement, scooped up the boy, and leapt up onto the roof of one of the nearby buildings. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Electra quickly carried the human a safe distance from the fight, setting him down.

"You....you saved me," the child said, his face a mask of bewilderment. "But....I thought..."

"Yeah, I can guess what you thought. Believe it or not," Electra said. "The Power Rangers are the good guys."

"Oh....but what about those two Power Rangers?" the small boy asked, obviously referring to Psycho Black and Gold.

"Those are fake Rangers. They're the bad guys."

"Oh. So they're the ones that broke all those buildings in New York last month?"

"Uhh.....Yeah, sure." Electra looked back down at the fight still going on below. "Look, I need you to wait here where it's safe, okay? Don't come back down until the fighting's over."

"Okay," the boy replied.

Turning, the Black Ranger leapt back down off the roof.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

In a flash, Electra was at Jareth's side...and just as well, as the Gold Ranger hadn't been faring too well against Psycho Gold. Numerous gashes from Gold's serrated scythe marred Jareth armor, and he seemed to be smoking in several places.

Before she could offer any assistance, however, Psycho Black reappeared, hacking at her with her black battleaxe, a shuriken still embedded in her shoulder. Electra jumped back, avoiding the blow, then retaliated, her back to Jareth's as the two fought their respective Psychos.

Electra swung her axe in a horizontal arc, aiming to sever Black's head, but the Psycho Ranger was too fast, ducking the blow. The force of Electra's swing carried her around. At the same time, Psycho Gold made a swipe at Jareth. As the Gold Ranger leaned back to avoid the blade of the twisted scythe, Psycho Gold deftly twisted its shaft, knocking Jareth's legs out from under him and causing him to fall to the pavement.

Sparks flew as Electra's axe passed right over Jareth's head and caught Psycho Gold in the face, carving a deep gouge in the front of his helmet.

Both Psycho Rangers immediately abandoned their fighting stances and backed off, one clutching his face in pain, the other with her head cocked to one side, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"Woah," Jareth said, climbing to his feet. "Catch that?"

Electra nodded.

"Switch!"

Still back-to-back, the two reversed positions, Back facing Gold and Gold facing Black.

Electra stowed her axe and drew the ninja-to from its sheath at her back. With a single, effortless swipe, she removed Psycho Gold's head from his shoulders.

As Gold's body fell to the ground, twitching, Jareth eyed Psycho Black. He took a step back, his foot falling onto a nearby manhole cover.

A grin spread across his face behind his helmet as he took note of the metal beneath his boot. Lifting his foot, he slammed it down on the edge of the cover, sending the metal disk spinning end-over-end into the air. Deftly catching it, he threw it like a Frisbee, neatly severing Black's head. As her head went rolling to the ground, the manhole cover neatly embedded itself in the wall of the nearby café.

There was a pause, during which the only motion made was that of the Gold Ranger nudging Black's body with his toe.

The two Rangers glanced at one another, then down at their headless counterparts.

"So. Pizza?"

"Nah," Jareth replied. "Pizza yesterday. Chinese?"

"Never liked it. Burgers then."

"You're on."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Back on the Oasis, Jareth recounted the story of the fight to Tommy, Terina, and Diskette, all of whom he'd discovered chatting on the bridge upon his return to the ship. Electra had wandered off to bed at some point, stating that she'd already heard the ending to this story, but the others seemed eager to listen, and Jareth loved an audience.

"...and then Lecca fished the kid off the roof and sent him on his way, and we went for McDonalds," the Gold Ranger finished.

"So two more down?" Terina asked.

"Yup. No more Black or Gold," Jareth confirmed, leaning back in his chair and resting his feet on the console.

"I'm surprised you managed to take them down on your own," Tommy chimed in.

"I'm surprised _you're_ still awake," Jareth retorted. "It's 4 AM."

"Eh, no one else seems to be getting much sleep tonight. Why should I?"

A flash of green and brown lights illuminated the room, and Fox stood before them. Her burgundy hair was disshelved, and she looked somewhat upset.

"Fox?" Terina asked. "You okay?"

Fox's eyes fell on the Eltarian. "You. Talk. Now."

"Umm...okay...woah!" Terina cried as Fox grabbed her by the hand and dragged her from the room.

"What was _that_ all about?" Diskette asked.

Jareth stared at the door in curious bewilderment. "I have NO idea."

The doors to the Eltarian starship's bridge slid open again, and Lolli and Angel entered, both looking rather exhausted.

"What was her hurry?" Angel asked, glancing back down the hall.

Jareth shrugged.

"Done so soon?" Diskette asked, whirling on her repulsorjets to face them as Lolli collapsed into one of the cushiony chairs provided.

"Nowhere near," Lolli replied. "But we've done enough for one day. I'm heading off to bed." The Green Ranger got up and stumbled off towards one of the exits.

"One wonders why she bothered sitting down," Angel mused.

A streak of Silver light appeared, solidifying into Deacon. The Silver Ranger appeared in much the same state of disarray as Fox had, but he had a ridiculous goofy grin on his face as opposed to her disconcerted one.

"Hey," Jareth said. "Where have you been?"

"Umm....the junkyard," Deacon said, grinning.

Jareth narrowed his eyes. "Why are you grinning like that?"

"No reason."

Jareth's face broke into a smirk. "Deacon? Where has _Fox_ been?"

"Umm....the Junkyard."

"In the junkyard." Jareth rolled his eyes. "Okay, I can see the back seat, I can see the living room couch, I'll even give you the broom closet, but the _junkyard_? Have you no control?"

Deacon shrugged. "Apparently not. Where have _you _been?" he asked.

Jumping at the chance to tell yet another exciting story, Jareth recounted everything that had happened on Tyrari...with minimal embellishments.

"With a rubber band?" Deacon asked, incredulous, when he had finished.

The Gold Ranger nodded, grinning.

"A planet that nullifies technology," Angel mused. "It's a good thing you didn't drive the Oasis there."

"Yeah," Deacon said. "Zord-1 would have been fried."

"Actually, I would have survived. For a time," Zord-1 intoned. "My base computational core is wetware."

"Wetware?" Tommy asked.

"Organic technology." Zord-1 explained. The doors opened and Terina and Fox re-entered the room, Terina looking exasperated and Fox looking pointedly at anything that wasn't Deacon.

"Long ago," Zord-1 continued, "Engineers discovered that the most effective substance for processing electrical impulses and storing data was neural tissue. During the early stages of wetware development, scientists harvested the nerve tissue of small animals. However, this material, while far superior to any synthetic substance, was inadequate to the construction of--"

"Hold it. Are you saying the central nervous systems of higher life forms went into building you?" Tommy asked, looking slightly ill.

"Yes...and no. The Eltarians were opposed to such practices, thus rather than harvesting the nerve tissue of others, they simply cloned the tissue they needed. Over time, they perfected the process through genetic engineering, creating the ideal superconductor."

"Oh."

"Yes. Thus, being partially organic in nature, I would not have been immediately destroyed by the null-tech field of Epsilonia. Of course, the systems which sustain my semiorganic components would have failed, and my core would have begun to deteriorate over time."

"So....you're a cyborg?" Deacon asked.

"'Synthorg' was the term the Eltarians used, a contraction of 'Synthetic Organics'."

Tommy cast his gaze around the room, to see how the other Rangers in the room were reacting to this information. Terina, he noted, seemed more than a little uncomfortable with the topic. Well, Tommy supposed, if it had been HIS people who'd violated living creatures and stolen their nervous systems to make computers, he'd be a bit uncomfortable, too.

"Well," the Red Ranger finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "I'm headed to bed now."

A chorus of 'Me, too' and similar statements followed, and most of the Rangers present filed out the door, heading to their respective rooms.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ornyk shivered, not actually affected by the brutal cold or lack of atmosphere on the moon's surface, but still acutely aware of them. "You're lucky, you know," the wolflike Zornian said to Psycho Purple, knowing full well that she couldn't hear him. "We weren't able to salvage any of the others."

As he spoke, the massive Purple Lion Zord took its place alongside the other surviving Psycho Zords. The Red Falcon, Yellow Giraffe, and Camouflage Deer were the only Psycho Zords remaining. The Pink Armadillo, Gold Raven, Black Bison and Bronze Rhinoceros had suffered a spontaneous total existence failure when their corresponding Rangers had been slain, and the rest had been damaged beyond repair in the desert.

"We're fresh out of Megazords," Ornyk said. "If Black hadn't run off and, pardon the pun, lost her head, we could have use Bison as the legs and created a new combination." He let out an exaggerated sigh. "At least the Rangers are out of Megazords, themselves."

"Not completely out."

Ornyk spun around, surprised. Not many could manage to sneak up on him, not even in the soundless vacuum that encompassed this desolate rock.

A lone humanoid figure stood before him. He....or she, it was impossible to tell....was shrouded in a thick cloak of dark fabric, the hood drawn up, casting impenetrable shadows over the creature's face. Something about the way the hood rested on the being's head suggested that it had horns, but other than that no features were discernable. Its voice was low and growling, not unlike Ornyk's own, and there seemed to be a quiet, underlying malice behind each word it spoke.

The creature turned its head towards the Psychos, who stood in a straight row as they always did.

"Perceive me," the creature said, waving a hand negligently in their direction.

At once, all the Psycho Rangers gave a jolt.

The Psycho Rangers were designed with one goal in mind: To destroy the Power Rangers. So well were they designed for this task that they had virtually no capacity for anything else. Among those things lost was social skills; the Psycho Rangers were literally unable to interact with anyone or anything other than their respective counterparts, or each other. Any other object was simply viewed as scenery, as the Psycho Rangers were incapable of perceiving it as anything more.

And now, suddenly, they saw this creature.

"Who are you?" Psycho Red growled.

"I have numerous names. None of them are important."

Ornyk raised an eyebrow. "What brings you here?"

"My own business."

"Which would be....?" Psycho Camo asked.

"None of your concern, construct. Suffice to say that, for the time being, our goals coincide."

"You hinted that the Rangers have Megazords remaining?" Ornyk prompted.

"I did. They have the Astro Megazord and the Turbo Megazord--"

"Both of which are technological in nature, and no match for out magically-powered Zords," Psycho Purple interrupted, hands on her hips.

"They have another in their possession, though I daresay they do not yet know of it. It is quite capable of reducing your individual Psycho Zords to dust, I assure you."

"And I suppose you can help us?" Yellow asked skeptically.

"I can." The cowled creature raised its arm, and in a bright flash of light, a strange-looking scepter appeared in its hand.

"That's a fragment of the Trifornian Power Staff," Ornyk said.

The hooded being shifted its gaze back to Ornyk. "It is indeed. You are…observant."

Ornyk smirked.

"Now. If I am not mistaken," the strange alien continued. "The Giraffe becomes an arm, as does the Stag. The bird becomes the head and torso. All you need is a pair of legs."

"What's your point?" Red growled.

"So impatient." The creature gave a sigh. "I realize it's not made for much but slaughtering the Red Ranger, but do TRY to use your head. You need one more component, and, as it happens, you have one Zord remaining."

"Lion is too small to serve as a pair of legs," Camo observed.

"Not for long." There was a hint of amusement in the creature's voice as he turned towards the Lion and raised his staff.

"Behold, the Power of Triforia."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, than a ray of light lanced out from the orb atop the staff, illuminating the Purple Lion Zord. With a sudden lurch, the Zord began to expand, growing faster and faster until it was more than twice its original size.

The stranger let the staff fall to his side, then snapped his fingers. A brief nimbus of light surrounded the other three Psycho Zords and they assumed their Megazord configurations, the Giraffe and Deer folding away their legs and becoming arms, the Falcon contorting into a winged torso. The three mechanical beasts assembled into a mechanized upper body, then snapped onto the Lion's massive back. The whole thing resembled something in the manner of a winged, well armed centaur.

"I give you the Psycho Pegasus," the alien stated, then turned and began to walk away.

Psycho Rangers immediately teleported aboard and began familiarizing themselves with the new controls. Psycho Pegasus began galloping across the lunar surface, only rarely tripping over its own feet.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Ahem."

The stranger turned slowly, looking back towards Ornyk.

"Did you know that my species can see quite clearly in the dark?" the wolflike prince asked conversationally.

The alien being crossed its arms. "Meaning, I suppose, that you can see my face beneath the shadows of my hood."

"That I can. And I must confess, I am quite surprised to see YOU, of all people, here helping us."

"I am not quite what I seem," the creature said. It turned to leave, then paused. It glanced back at Ornyk. "I have other places I must be.....but you are a worthwhile individual. What say you to....an alliance?"

"I would have to hear more. About you, and your goals."

"Then I shall be in touch," the creature said. Then, melting into a streak of fiery molten light, it shot across the sky, and was gone.


	16. Station's Salvation

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 16: Station's Salvation

Alarms blared across the Oasis, causing nearly every living creature on board to flinch in protest of the horrible, earsplitting sound. From their respective positions on the ship, they all headed towards the Bridge, where those who essentially spent their lives on board found those who did not already waiting.

As soon as all thirteen Rangers were present, the sentient computer who controlled the vessel began to speak from the multitude of speakers set into the ceiling.

"We have been constructing a planet-based headquarters, in the event that the Oasis should ever be absent from its Terran orbit," Zord-1 began. "The base is located within a mountain on the western coast of North Atlantis."

The large screen at the front of the bridge lit up with a map of North America, then zoomed in to show the exact location of the new base. Tommy gave an almost imperceptible twitch; he still hadn't quite gotten used to the fact that on Terra, America was called Atlantis.

"This location was chosen because it is a place where ocean, forest, mountain and desert meet. Spots such as these where natural forces coincide are--"

"Magical hotspots," Jareth interrupted. "Places that act as focusing lenses for magical energy."

"Correct," Zord-1 said.

"That's it," Angel said. "I'm borrowing those books."

"The station, which is, incidentally, named Station," the computer continued, "came online yesterday. It currently houses the Turbo Zords and the Astro Megazord, along with the experimental Mega-V zords, and is the construction site for various other new projects."

"Mega-V zords?" Mara asked. "What does the V stand for?"

"Voyager," Lolli answered. "Which is kind of ironic, since they're just planet-hoppers. Could never handle interstellar distances."

"Unfortunately, being based on Terra has its liabilities," Zord-1 said.

"Such as...?" Angel asked.

"Such as the fact that it surprisingly vulnerable to attack," Zord-1 replied. The image on the screen changed, this time displaying a huge mechanical construct that was busily hacking its way through the forest.

"Is that Psycho Isis?" Tommy asked, squinting.

"Mostly," Lolli replied. "Instead of Rhinoceros and Armadillo, this Megazord uses the Purple Lion Zord as legs. Who knows how it got to be that big."

"They can make monsters grow," Troy said reasonably. "Why not Zords?"

The Green Ranger shrugged, looking sour. "All I know is, I've been working my ass off to get Station online, and now those Psychos have gone and wrecked my Grand Unveiling."

"You were the one who brought the base online before I had the opportunity to install the cloaking devices or shield generators," Zord-1 reminded her. "Even after I cautioned you that this sort of thing might happen. You have no one to blame but yourself, Green Ranger."

"How about the Psychos? Can I blame _them_?" Lolli muttered.

"Rangers," the computer intoned, once again addressing the entire room. "Station must be defended. I have determined that the Psycho Zords are magical in nature. It is therefore unlikely that any of our technology-based Megazords will be able to defeat them. However, as Wolf, Pterodactyl, and Dragonzord are still offline, none of our other Megazords are currently available. Therefore..."

"Therefore, we'll _have_ to use the Tech Zords," Fox surmised.

"I am afraid we have few options," Zord-1 agreed. "Our best course of action would be for Tommy, Lolli, Terina, Troy, and Mara to call upon the Turbo Megazord, while the rest of you operate the Astro Megazord. This gives us a 52% chance of victory, since the battle will be two against one."

"Those aren't great odds," Stephen frowned, crossing his arms.

"Nonetheless, it is our best chance."

The concealed lights in the ceiling popped down and began to flash again, but the computer shut them down before the siren could begin blaring.

"What now?" Mara asked.

"It appears that the Psycho Rangers have sent ahead a forward guard," Zord-1 replied. The screen that took up the front wall flickered, now displaying a close-up of the mountain's base. A number of humanoid creatures in gray-and-bronze armor were attempting to pry the rust-brown rocks apart, to force their way into Station. Fishlike fins adorned the sides of their heads, and they spouted a constant stream of burbling sounds.

"Heartless?" Jareth ventured.

"Piranhatrons," Tommy identified.

"Is that what they are called?," the computer inquired. "They are attempting to force their way inside. Once they penetrate the outer wall and make their way into the bowels of the mountain, there is no telling what damage they might wreak."

"Wreak," Jareth mused. "There's a word you don't hear often enough."

"The best course of action now is for the Turbo Rangers to attempt to hold back the new Psycho Megazord while the others deal with these 'Piranhatrons'. Once the Piranhatron have been eliminated, the others should then summon the Astro Megazord and assist the Turbo Rangers in defeating the Psycho Zord."

There was a pause.

"This doesn't look promising," Kalen said, sounding bored as always.

"There is one other aspect. A trump card, if you will. It shall be brought into play if necessary."

"Ah. Well, I feel better now."

Tommy, Mara, Terina, Troy and Lolli stepped forward, acting as one in the annoyingly creepy way Power Rangers tended to do.

"Shift into Turbo!" Tommy yelled. In a flash of crimson light, his Turbo Morpher appeared on his left wrist and a small key in his right hand. Pressing the button on the key, Tommy caused the jagged teeth to spring forth from their casing, then whirled his hands in a series of complex movements before inserting the key into its slot on the morpher. With a twist and a flash, his human form was replaced by the armored body of the Red Turbo Ranger.

Tommy paused, realizing that no one else had morphed. He turned to see the others all giving him strange looks.

"What?" he asked.

"'Shift into Turbo?'" Troy asked, eyebrow raised incredulously.

"And how'd you do that thing with your hands?" Terina asked, trying to mime the motions with her own morpher and failing miserably.

Tommy felt warmth crawl up his face and was grateful for his helmet, sure that he was turning almost as red as his armor. "It's what the Turbo Rangers do on my world," he muttered.

"I guess it's no lamer than Jareth's 'It's showtime!'," Stephen said, shooting a sidelong glance at the Gold Ranger.

"What's wrong with my 'It's showtime'? I like my 'It's showtime'."

"You would," Kalen quipped.

"Rangers,"" the computer said. "Could we?"

A chorus of "Sorry, Zord-1"s filled the Bridge.

Four flashes later, and the other Turbo Rangers stood next to the Red one. None of them had bothered with any sayings or fancy movements, they'd just stuck the key into the slot.

The Turbo Rangers wasted no time teleporting away.

"I guess it's our turn," Fox said.

There was an expectant pause.

"Well?" Stephen finally asked.

"What? Oh," Jareth said. "Right. Sorry. Ahem." Gold smoke spiraled down his arm and into his open hand, forming his Power Morpher. "It's showtime!"

**"Brachiosaurus!"**

**"Mastodon!"**

**"Hammerhead!"**

**"Wolf!"**

**"Crocodile!"**

**"Lion!"**

**"Elephant!"**

**"Eagle!"**

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As the sea of red light faded and his vision cleared, Tommy found himself inside some sort of control room overlooking...

The Turbo Garage.

"It's just like the one from my world," he breathed.

"Of course it is," Lolli said. "Zord-1 said he based the schematics on your memories of what the Turbo Garage in your world looked like."

Tommy tilted his head to the side, looking across the room at the Green Ranger.

"Zord-1 can read my mind?"

"Of course. Via your comchip. Memories are nothing but electrical impulses, after all. I'm a bit surprised you didn't block that function. Most of us have."

"I didn't know," Tommy muttered.

"Well, worry about it later." Lolli strode over to a free-standing console and typed away at it. With an expressive SHUNK! sound, the overhead lights came on, one by one, illuminating the five high-tech vehicles.

Red Lightning, the sleek crimson race car. Wind Chaser, the stylish Pink sports car. Mountain Blaster, the bulky blue pickup truck. Desert Thunder and Dune Star, the twin Green and Yellow SUVs. Each one no bigger than a normal car, each occupying its own compartment. The two smaller cars, Wind Chaser and Red Lightning, were stacked above the other three. Tommy noted that several compartments were empty, compartments that the Turbo Garage in his world didn't have.

Before he could comment, the Zords on the bottom rolled forward, then ramps extended for the other two to roll down, which they did, until all five vehicles were sitting in a row, engines purring.

A series of wooshing sounds drew his attention, and he abruptly realized that he was the only one left in the control room. Looking around in surprise, he saw that five large panels in the alls had opened, each one lined with glowing ranger-colored lights. As he watched, all of them but the red slid closed again.

"Tommy? You coming?" Mara's voice inquired over the control room's speakers.

Tommy glanced down at the Turbo garage, spying the other four Rangers approaching their cars below.

"Um, yeah. On my way," Tommy said, approaching what was apparently his door. He grabbed the horizontal metal bar mounted above it. "Here goes," he muttered, jumping and swinging himself in, feetfirst.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Saddle up," Terina said, opening Dune Star's door and climbing in.

Tommy clambered into Red Lightning, inserting his key into the ignition.

"So you're my driver. Nice to finally meet you."

Tommy jumped. The voice had come from the dashboard. "You talk?"

"No, this is your conscience speaking," Red Lightning replied sarcastically. "Of course I talk. What's your name, Captain Obvious?"

"Tommy."

"I'm--"

"Red Lightning?"

"Ah, so you're NOT a total idiot," the car said happily. "Good, I was worried. I'd hate to get stuck with a stupid driver."

Tommy ignored the potential insult. "How is it you can talk?"

"AI chip," Red Lightning replied proudly. "Top of the line. Every Turbo Zord has one. But we can talk later," the Zord added, as the other four cars began to pull forward. "Don't want to be left behind. I'll drive 'till we get outside, it's easier that way."

With a shrug, Tommy took his hands off the wheel and leaned back, crossing them behind his head, watching as the car pulled forward on its own.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Wow," Angel said. "That's a lot of Piranhatrons."

The Gray Ranger spoke true, there had to be at least three dozen of then clambering over the rocky surface.

"How are we supposed to take them all down before any break in?" Fox asked.

"I've got an idea," Jareth said next to her. "Follow my lead."

Fox nodded.

"Hey Fox!" he yelled, loudly enough to be heard by all the Piranhatron over the racket they were making. "What do you call a Piranhatron with half a brain?!"

The Piranhatron paused their scuttling, turning to look at the multicolored pack of Rangers behind them.

"I don't know, Jareth!" Fox played along, "What do you call a Piranhatron with half a brain?!"

Jareth grinned and brought his hands to his mouth, answering in a singsong voice. "_Gifted_!"

The Piranhatron looked at each other briefly, bile rising as they slowly realized that they were being insulted.

"Hey, cool," the Gold Ranger said, as the fishlike footsoldiers abandoned the mountain's surface and began to rush at the Rangers. "It worked."

Deacon smiled. "And now the fun begins."

In a series of flashes that began at one end of the line and worked its way neatly to the other, the Rangers summoned their weapons.

The creatures were still about thirty feet away, however, when a loud rumbling began to fill the air. The Piranhatron paused, looking around, confused.

Suddenly, a great crack appeared in the rocky face of the mountain as the hidden doors slid open and five multicolored vehicles came flying out at top speed.

Fox's eyes widened behind her helmet and she dived out of the way, as did the other Rangers, leaping clear of the Turbo Zords' path.

The Piranhatron weren't as lucky, however. Had they been natural creatures, they'd have been completely mowed down by the tons of speeding metal that rushed past. As it was, sparks flew from the Turbo Zords' bumpers and Piranhatron either went flying or were rolled over, buried halfway in the sand.

Not all of them were hit, however. A few near the back had been standing off to the side, and had consequently been missed by the speeding metal. These turned, saw the great doors standing open, and rushed inside.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Uh oh," Fox said, as she saw the Piranhatron disappearing into the blackness of Station's dark interior. Climbing to her feet, she raced into the darkness after them, trusting the others to make sure that no more followed. Her worries on that front were soon ended as she heard the great doors slam shut behind her with a resonating THUD. Good. Now all she had to do was...

Footsteps. Behind her. Had more of them gotten in?

Fox leaned against the wall and blended, her armor taking on the exact same color and texture as the rock. It was already dark in the hallway, but who knew how good the night vision of a Pirhannatron was?

Fox narrowed her eyes and prepared to unleash a barrage of acidic shrapnel as the footsteps came closer...closer...

"Yaa!"

"Ahh!"

Fox stopped short. "Stephen?"

"Fox! Don't do that!" The White Ranger lowered his sword.

"We nearly took your head off, Kimberly," Saba said from his upside-down position in the White Ranger's hand.

"Sorry guys," Fox said. "And Saba, please don't call me that."

"How many do you think got in?" Stephen asked.

"Four or five, I think. I'm not sure."

"Oh, dear," Saba said. "We must exterminate them before they damage the delicate materials that are stored here!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Did you know Piranhatron had swords?" Jareth asked, as he parried a blow from the finlike blade using his scythe.

"Nope," Deacon replied. "And I don't even want to think about where they were keeping them. He spun his twin short swords in a series of flashy but pointless motions, blocking a number of slashes effortlessly.

Jareth twitched, then jumped aside, avoiding another vicious slash.

Electra raised her left arm towards the mountain, and a grappling hook shot off from her gauntlet, dragging a thin tether behind it. As soon as the hook anchored itself, the tether retracted, hauling the Black Ranger up to the rocks. Clinging to the mountain with one hand, she unleashed a small blizzard of throwing knives, mowing down a number of Piranhatron.

The Piranhatron let out shrieks of outrage and began to climb the rocky surface in pursuit.

"Hey! Electra!" Deacon yelled. "We're supposed to be keeping them AWAY from the mountain!"

Oops. Electra nodded, conjured her axe, and began climbing down, hacking down every fishlike footsoldier that happened to be clinging to the rocks.

Angel twisted the strange, rodlike contraption that was the Lunar Cue, converting it from melee-mode to blaster-mode. Spinning, he fired a volley of energy bolts that mowed down several of the gray-clad fish-men.

"There are more of these than there were when we started," The Gray Ranger observed.

Myk looked around in surprise. There did, indeed, appear to be more Piranhatron taking part in the fight than there had been when the Rangers had first arrived on the scene.

"Are they multiplying somehow?" he asked. "Or are more just showing up?"

The Pirhannatron who currently engaged the Bronze Ranger's attention stepped back, crossed his arms, and let fly with a pair of laser bolts from his eyes, striking Myk full in the face. The Bronze Ranger was knocked onto his back, clutching at his cracked visor.

Instantly, the Piranhatron were on him like....well, like piranha.

"Should we help him?" Jareth asked of the Silver Ranger, jerking his head towards Myk.

"Yeah, I guess so," Deacon replied. "He's our friend, whether we like him or not."

**"Ray of Hope!"** Jareth invoked, holstering Kyra and aiming his hands at the encircling footsoldiers, wrists together. A blast of gold sparks emerged, growing wider the farther it emanated from his hands and engulfing the Piranhatron.

The fishlike warriors screeched in pain, raising their finned arms to try to shield themselves from the blast.

As soon as they were off-guard, a flash of crimson and bronze rocketed up from the circle, somersaulted through the air overhead, and came to rest alongside Jareth and Deacon.

"Thank you," Myk said, brushing desert sand off of his scarlet cape, the last of the cracks in his visor healing.

"He did it," Deacon said, pointing at Jareth, who shrugged.

The Piranhatron, meanwhile, were recovering, rubbing their eyes to clear the flash of golden-yellow light that had been burned into their retinas…or whatever Piranhatron had.

Deacon glared at them...and out of the corner of his eye, caught a glimpse of Kalen, calmly sitting cross-legged on a nearby rock, watching the battle as though it was all going on purely for her entertainment.

"You wanna give us a hand, here?" he asked bitterly.

"I thought you were coping admirably," she replied. "But if you insist..."

The Purple Ranger got up, dusted herself off nonchalantly, then aimed both hands towards the Piranhatron, fingers outstretched as though both hands were lying flat on an imaginary table.

Instantly, arclets of purple electricity leapt from her fingers, striking the nearest Pirhannatron, and from there leaping to the nearest two, and so forth, until ripples of violet lightning danced over the entire crowd.

Evidently, this was more than the Piranhatron had signed on for. They vanished into the ground with a splash, which was peculiar, as there was no water anywhere.

Kalen dusted off her hands. "Can we go home now?" she asked plaintively.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Saba's eyebeams lanced out, neatly severing the head of one of the Piranhatron, which then fell to the floor, twitching.

Fox winced, seeing the pencil-thin beams pass right through the aquatic creature's flesh and carve trails in the wall behind it.

"Stephen!" she yelled. "Knock it off!"

The beams cut off abruptly, seeming to retract back into the tiger-headed sword's eyes.

"Oh, dear! I am terribly sorry," Saba said.

Stephen walked over to the wall and examined the deep grooves he'd caused. "We're going to have to be careful," he said. "or we'll wind up doing their job for them."

"'We'?" Fox asked scathingly.

"Just keep your eyes open for the rest," Stephen sighed.

Fox turned and scanned the room. After emerging from the long hallway, they'd arrived in what she could only assume was the Turbo garage, a massive room with a large number of car-sized compartments. The room was illuminated only by a few overhead lights, all of which shone directly down on the compartments, leaving the edges of the room shrouded in deep shadows.

"Is there a light switch around here?" Fox asked.

"I'll go check." Stephen wandered off into the shadows.

Fox stood alone in the circle of light. Her own cautious footsteps echoing back at her.

"No, this isn't too creepy..."

Something moved in the shadows behind her.

"Stephen? That you?" With a flash, the Stealth Cutter appeared in her hand. She twirled it, enjoying the comforting weight in her hands.

Duh, she thought to herself, clicking on her comlink. "Stephen, where are you?"

"Some kind of control room," the White Ranger's voice replied.

"So, you're not, say, still in THIS room?"

"No. Why?"

There was a sudden outbreak of burbling as a Pirhannatron leapt out of the shadows, sword drawn. Fox jumped back, dodging the blow, then began spinning her own two-bladed sword. The Pirhannatron was able to deflect the first strike, but the second caught it in the small of the back, slicing through its armor into its back. Watery blue blood splashed to the floor, and the footsoldier's legs went out from under it, its spinal cord severed.

The Pirhannatron pulled itself forward, trying to drag itself to where its sword had fallen, fishlike eyes glaring balefully up at the Camouflage Ranger.

Fox blinked down at it, shrugged, and brought her blade down, removing its head.

"Fox?" Stephen's voice still sounded over the comlink. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh...no reason."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Pull the lever."

"Which lever?" Tommy asked.

A small red light next to one of the levers on the dashboard began to blink. "That lever," Red Lightning answered. "It shifts me from compact-mode to full-size-mode."

"Ah." Tommy grabbed the specified lever and pulled it down.

As he did, a massive cloud of scarlet smoke enveloped the small red race car, and when it cleared, the Zord was easily two stories tall.

"Ah, that's better," Red Lightning said. "I always feel so cramped."

The other four Turbo Zords did likewise, plumes of Blue, Pink, Yellow, and Green smoke appearing amidst the clouds of desert dust the Zord's wheels were kicking up.

"Well, we've got some time before we get there. Care to listen to the radio?"

"Umm, no thanks," Tommy said.

"Okay, we can just have a conversation, then. Say, did you know that 'race car' is a palindrome? Spelled the same backwards as forwards. Neat, huh?"

"Uhh...sure."

"So....umm...what's your favorite color?"

Tommy looked strangely at the dashboard. "Red," he said, as thought it were the most obvious thing in the world...which, in all fairness, it kind of was.

"Hey, mine, too!"

Tommy rolled his eyes.

"We should reach the edge of the forest is approximately 47.623 seconds," the car told him. "We should probably be in Megazord formation before then. I'm not built for rolling over trees."

Tommy opened his comlink to the other Zords.

"Ready to make the Megazord, guys?"

"Manual or automatic?" Troy asked.

"Automatic," Lolli replied. "Tommy, that's everyone but you. There's no Auto-Megazord system in Red Lightning, because your part's the easiest. Just drive up Mountain Blaster's ramp."

As she spoke, the other Turbozords were locking into position. Dune Star and Desert Thunder spun around and began driving backwards, their front bumpers locking onto Mountain Blaster's. Wind Chaser split in half, half of it locking onto the Blue Turbo Zord's left side and the other onto its right.

Tommy had just enough time to wonder which half of the pink Turbozord Mara was actually in, before the ramp that led up into the back of Mountain Blaster lowered itself.

As Tommy eased forward, pulling his Red Lightning into position, the steering wheel, made of alternating thick and thin rods of curving metal, suddenly became more like a pilot's twin-joystick as the thin pieces retracted counter-clockwise into the thicker ones. As soon as the Red Turbozord was locked into place, he braced himself for the familiar screeching of brakes and jolt forward.

It never came. Instead of relying on forward motion and a sudden stop to push itself upward, a number of small jets on the underside of the assembly fired, lifting the entire thing up into the air.

Gears ground, gyros whirred, parts snapped into position. A pair of hands emerged from the two halves of Wind Chaser. The rear section of each SUV extended up, forming a pair of feet. The halogen lights atop Mountain Blaster snapped down, then back, and the rear half of Red Lightning folded back as well, revealing a head.

NOW, the thing leaned forward, the fully functional Megazord doing a somersault in midair and landing on its feet as the jets cut off, the massive impact muffled by the soft desert sand.

Tommy found himself in the Turbo Megazord's cockpit, overlooking the very edge of the forest. They had stopped just in time.

And, to judge from the way the birds were abandoning the branches in the distance, they wouldn't have to wait much longer.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What now?" Jareth asked.

"I guess we board the Megaship and go back up the Turbos," Deacon said. He raised his hand to the side of his helmet to open a comlink, but before he could say a word the sands in front of them rippled, and a massive school of Piranhatron splashed into existence.

Jareth shook his head. "Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water..."

"Guess we're not done here," Deacon said, twirling his swords.

Electra turned her axe around, converting it into a blaster, then fired a few laser pulses into the crowd of fishlike warriors. She shook her head, her dyed blue hair falling over her shoulders. "This isn't working."

Stashing her axe back into wherever it had come from, she raised her arms towards the army.

**"Gravity Pulse!"**

A wave of black light flashed through the ground, beginning at the Black Ranger's feet and pulsing out beyond the army of Piranhatron, who abruptly found their boots held fast to the sand. Their burbling sounds grew in intensity as they struggled to lift their feet, a few even attempting to use their sword to pry themselves from the sand.

"Cool," Jareth said. "How long can you hold them there?"

"Umm...I dunno. Long enough."

Angel leapt forward, his outline burring as he soared through the air as his body shifted into the form of a massive gray wolf, which clamped its jaws onto the throat of the Pirhannatron that was his opponent. The Pirhannatron scrambled, clutching at the Gray Ranger's lupine head, but with a quick jerk of his neck, Angel tore out the unfortunate soldier's throat, leaving him to collapse to the ground, leaking a torrent of thin, watery-blue blood that was quickly swallowed up by the desert sands.

Angel reared back onto his hind legs, reverting to his Ranger form.

"Way to go, man," Jareth said. "One down, about six dozen more to go."

"A wall is built brick by brick," Angel said.

"What?"

Angel shrugged. "I was trying to sound..."

"Like a fortune cookie?'

"Well....yes."

"You've succeeded."

"Thank you."

Abruptly, a barrage of laser bolts filled the air as the Piranhatron opened fire, spraying lethal blasts of light from their eyes.

"Yes!" Deacon cried. "They're shooting at us!"

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Kalen asked incredulously.

"Yeah, this is kind of an odd thing to get excited about," the Gold Ranger added.

"Just stand back."

Curious but cautious, his fellow Rangers all took several steps back.

"Further than that," the Silver Ranger said. "This is going to be big."

As the other backed up still farther, Deacon grinned, standing still and closing his eyes. As the energy blasts flew through the air around him, the silver, vest-like shield he wore began to glow.

Abruptly, the blasts began to bend, changing course midair, being drawn towards the shield. As they struck the metal, the blasts of solid light were absorbed into it, the delicate engravings that etched the shield's surface glowing with stolen energy.

The Piranhatron stopped firing, puzzled, as the glowing lines of light rapidly drained from the engravings into the diamond on the center of Deacon's chest, the stylized elephant's head in the center shining like a miniature sun.

Deacon closed his eyes slightly, feeling the energy course through his limbs. He curled into a ball, the power actually lifting him up into the air, then flung his arms and legs wide, a massive, spherical nova of silver fire erupting from his body.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Heeheehee....," Deacon said moments later, rising to his feet and dusting himself off. "Boom. BIG budda boom."

The other Rangers walked over and glanced down at him, standing at the edge of the neat, half-spherical crater he'd made in the ground.

"What completely insane deity," the Gold Ranger asked. "was abysmally stupid enough to give _you_, of all Rangers, _that_ particular power?"

Deacon just stood at the bottom of the crater chuckling, and occasionally muttering the word 'boom'.

With a rumble, the rocky doors opened and Fox and Stephen exited, arguing loudly.

"I am NOT taking the blame for that," the White Ranger growled. "YOU were the one who threw it."

"You weren't supposed to blast it!"

"You threw it at _me_! Of course I blasted it!"

"And the wall, and the table, and the control console..."

"And my fellow Power Ranger...," Stephen grumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing..."

"Uh-oh," Fox said, spying the large crater and running over to stand alongside the others. "He did the budda-boom thing, didn't he?"

"And how," Angel replied.

"It's a good thing he wasn't standing any closer to the mountain, that's all I'm saying," Electra remarked.

Deacon glared up at her, then crossed his arms and leapt up out of the crater, landing softly on his feet.

"Is that all of them this time?" Jareth asked.

"Let's hope," Kalen replied. She turned to Fox and Stephen. "Did you get all the ones that got inside?"

"Yup," Fox confirmed.

"Then it's time," Angel said. He brought his hand to the side of his helmet. "Zord-1, if you would. The Astro Megaship, please."

About halfway up the mountain, a massive stone door slid open horizontally, and the large blue disc that was the Astro Megaship appeared, hurtling out into the open air. It descended to a reasonable altitude for the Rangers to beam aboard, which they quickly did.

"Okay. Jareth? Care to pilot us to..." Angel paused, looking around curiously.

"Hey...where's Jareth?" Electra asked.

"Deacon's gone too. And Myk," Fox said.

"No time to hunt for them now." Stephen jumped forward and took the helm. The ship wavered considerably more than it did when Jareth drove.

"Careful. This thing can move faster than light. Wouldn't want to overshoot," Angel cautioned.

Stephen nodded, nudging the ship forward, steering the ship towards the forest where the Turbo Megazord was, in theory, already locked in epic battle.


	17. New Toys

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 17: New Toys

"Deacon, please report to the Oasis."

Deacon tilted his head, wondering why the computer wanted him to beam back instead of joining the others, but he figured the easiest way to find out would be to do as he was asked. Touching the gold coin embedded in his belt, he melted into a streak of silver light and shot up into the sky.

Moments later he materialized on the Bridge. Myk and Jareth were there as well; presumably Zord-1 had summoned them in the same manner he had Deacon.

Jareth pulled off his helmet and looked down at the pulsating orb embedded in the nearest console. "What's up?"

"Yeah, why aren't we helping the others?" Myk inquired.

As if in answer to his question, one of the nearby control panels swiveled around, revealing a panel of exquisite black velvet. Set into the fabric were three small devices. Each was rectangular, about the size of a morpher, an inset with a number of small buttons. Attached to the top of each was what appeared to be a Power coin, albeit a badly scratched and mangled one.

"What are they?" Deacon asked.

"These are your new Spirit Summoners," the computer answered. Melting into streaks of energy and moving almost faster than the eye could follow, the devices shot across the room and fastened themselves to the left bracer, glove, or gauntlet of their respective Rangers, melting into the metallic surface as if they'd been a part of the armor all along.

Myk shivered slightly as a thrill of inexplicable triumph coursed through him, as though he'd just gotten something he'd been waiting for a very long time. He gave the Summoner on his arm a puzzled frown.

"What do they...do?" Jareth asked, poking his.

"These devices were created from the last remnants of the three power coins that were destroyed long ago. Though they no longer possess sufficient power to enable anyone to Morph, they will enable you to summon the reconstituted Zords of those three lost Rangers. They have other functions as well, but there will be time enough for that later."

"You said Medelon only made thirteen Power Coins," Deacon said accusingly.

"I never said 'only'," the computer clarified. "I said that he made thirteen coins, and he did. I simply did not mention the other three."

"Nice," the Gold Ranger said, grinning. "I love technicalities."

The screen at the front of the room came to life once more, this time displaying three large mechanical beasts, presumably the new Zords.

"Myk, you will command the Sawfish Zord of the fallen Copper Ranger."

Myk nodded.

"Deacon, yours is the Leopard Zord that once belonged to the Platinum Ranger."

"I get a feline? I get a feline! YES!"

"And Jareth, you will control the Bull Zord of the ------- Ranger."

"Eh....the which?" Jareth asked, for the word Zord-1 had used was neither pronounceable nor comprehensible.

"------ was a rare metal found only on Eltar, and as such there is no word for it in the Terran language. It may interest you to know that it comprises the majority of this ship's support structure. ------ was extremely durable. In fact, it was thought to be indestructible."

"Then how did they shape it?" Myk asked.

"------ formed near the core of the planet, in liquid form. So long as it remained liquid, it could be shaped. It was only after it cooled and hardened that it became unalterable."

"Like adamantium," Deacon said brightly.

There was a split second as Zord-1 referenced the word. "Yes," he said. "Exactly like adamantium. In fact, as I doubt you can successfully pronounce ------, adamantium is probably as good a name for it as any."

"So....the Adamantium Bull?"

"Yes. I suggest that you return to the planet now, and use these new Zords to assist the others. Oh, and be warned," the computer added. "These zords, and your own, were the prototypes, the first six Zords ever constructed. They may lack some of the refinements that came later to Zord technology."

"Such as...?" Deacon asked.

"I daresay you will find out soon enough," Zord-1 replied, a hint of amusement in his synthesized voice.

The three metallic Rangers exchanged slightly concerned glances, then, in a burst of light that briefly illuminated the bridge, were gone.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

With a flash of energy, a shield appeared in the Turbo Megazord's hand, the silver disc in the center of the tire-shaped shield proudly displaying the Turbo insignia, a stylized, triangular letter 'C'. (Tommy had never been able to figure out what the C stood for…his best guess was 'Car', but it was just as likely the initial of some Eltarian engineer who'd worked on the Turbozord project.)

The defensive device appeared not a moment too soon, as Psycho Pegasus unleashed a fearsome strike with its Giraffe-spear. The shield absorbed most of the blow, but was shattered, along with part of Turbo Megazord's left arm.

"Woah!" Mara cried. "Did you see that?"

"It's impressive," Troy said. "That thing has us severely outgunned."

"What have we got on it?" Tommy asked.

"I'd say maneuverability," the Blue Ranger replied. "That Megazord has to keep track of four legs. We should take the fight deeper into the forest, where they'll get tangled in the trees. It'll hinder us, too, but not as badly."

Tommy nodded, turning the wheel. Turbo Megazord walked circled Pegasus, keeping its face to the Psycho Megazord.

Pegasus turned, glaring down at the smaller construct. It reached forward with its Deer-pincer, attempting to grab the Turbo Megazord, but Turbo leapt into the air, allowing the antlers to close on nothing but the foliage below. The Psycho Megazord's Deer-arm was pressed almost to the ground as Turbo landed on top of it, then spun, using the arm as a springboard to deliver a sharp kick to Pegasus' face.

Pegasus reeled as Turbo landed, the forty-odd tons of metal striking the ground with earthshaking force. As the Psycho Megazord fell back, it stumbled, its lion's feet tangling in the branches, just as the Blue Ranger had predicted.

Tommy slammed his hand down on a large button to his right, and a massive sword appeared in the Turbo Megazord's robotic hand.

"We can't use the Spin Out attack here," Terina said. "We'd trip over the trees."

"We've got other attacks," Lolli said, her fingers flying across her dashboard.

Lasers lanced out from the row of headlights that stood out across the Turbo Megazord's chest. Pegasus brought its wings forward, and, folding them over its torso, neatly blocking the blast, the beams of white-hot light deflecting off the crimson shields and setting a few nearby trees ablaze.

"We're going to start a fire," Mara said.

"Too green," Terina replied. "It won't catch. But we can expect to be chewed out by Angel later for killing innocent trees."

Psycho Isis unfurled its wings again and reared back onto its hind legs, preparing to strike, but just then something blue rocketed past overhead, creating a massive sonic boom that nearly knocked both Megazords to the ground.

"Woah!" Terina cried, adjusting the controls and trying to get the Turbo Megazord to regain its footing. Psycho Pegasus fell back onto all four legs, regaining its balance more quickly than Turbo. Rather than capitalizing on an opportunity to strike, however, Pegasus stared off into the sky in the direction that the blue streak had disappeared.

There was a pause.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" Mara asked.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Stephen?" Kalen asked, as the Rangers aboard the Astro Megaship stared up at the beautiful, dazzling array of stars and planets that was displayed on the viewscreen at the front of the Bridge.

"Yes," Stephen said in a resigned voice.

"I do believe you may have overshot. Just a tad," the Purple Ranger said contemptuously.

The White Ranger grumbled, turning the ship around.

"Well?" he asked. "Any idea which one of those stars is Terra?"

"None of them," Angel replied calmly. "Terra's not a star."

"Any idea," Stephen amended through clenched teeth, "Which one of those stars I should be aiming for?"

Angel strode up to the smaller Ranger and leaned over his shoulder, examining the instruments on the control panel. "That one," the Gray Ranger finally replied. "Second to the right."

"And straight on 'till morning?" Electra asked, raising an eyebrow beneath her helmet.

"Hopefully, this won't take that long," Fox said.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Deacon blinked as the bright desert sun stung his eyes, raising his hand to block the glare as his visor automatically darkened.

"So now what?" Jareth asked, irritably shaking desert dust from his mane. "Do we call them like our regular Zords? What's the command?"

Myk raised his arm and peered at the Summoner attached to his left arm. Unlike the others, who had metal bracers, Myk's forearms were covered by crimson, superhero-style gloves that rose nearly to his elbows. It was somewhat odd to see how the metal device had fused with the cloth. Experimentally, he pressed one of the buttons on the surface of the Summoner.

A peal of thunder drew his attention skyward. Dark clouds had begun coalescing in the air, centering on the tall, pointed mountain ahead of them that housed Station.

Lightning blasted down from the sky, striking the rugged peak. As the Rangers watched, the jagged spike of rock that was the mountain's peak split down the middle, the two halves falling to the sides, their flat inner faces forming an enormous platform. More lightning poured down from the heavens above, striking this platform, flowing like liquid metal into three massive forms, the jagged currents of electricity slowing and solidifying.

To the left of the platform, a massive fish appeared, its dazzling copper fins gleaming in the bright afternoon sun, its snout extending well beyond its face as a serrated, saw-like appendage. Opening its wide mouth to reveal multiple rows of jagged, tearing teeth, the fish let out a hiss, the sound somewhere between a sharp release of steam and the sound of water striking rocks. Rising up off the platform, it began to weave its way down the mountain, swimming through the air.

To the right, a colossal feline materialized, dark spots standing out in sharp contrast to its brilliant fur, the metallic silver gleaming with undertones of mother-of-pearl. Letting out a fearsome roar, the cat knelt down and pounced forward, leaping from rock to rock down the jagged face of the mountain, as graceful as any cat made of flesh.

And between them, in the center, there came into being a titanic mechanical bull, the metallic coat of which was an almost indescribable combination of brown and dull leaden gray. With a toss of its head, the bovine snorted, lowered its long, wicked horns, and charged ahead, knocking aside the massive boulders in its path as though they were made of styrofoam.

"Nice," Deacon said.

"I'll say," Jareth agreed, the peak of the mountain closed, re-sealing itself so that it was impossible to tell by looking that it was designed to open.

"Let's just hope they're as powerful as Zord-1 says they are," the Bronze Ranger said pragmatically. He raised his left arm, aiming the disc from his Spirit Summoner up at the metal fish that was winding its way toward him. The disc flashed, though whether it did so on its own or simply reflected the sunlight was unclear.

"Copper Sawfish! Forward!"

Jareth and Deacon exchanged a glance, then followed suit, raising the devices on their arms to the sky. Two more flashes appeared.

"Platinum Leopard!" Deacon yelled.

"Adamantium Bull!" Jareth chimed in.

Then together, "Forward!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Clutching the Turbo saber in its Deer-claw, Psycho Pegasus stabbed its Giraffe-spear forward with devastating speed, tearing right through the Turbo Megazord's torso. A shower of sparks fell down onto the trees below, igniting the fuel that gushed out from dozens of ruptured tubes and hoses.

"Woah!" Terina yelled, picking up her feet as the floor of the cockpit was torn away by the massive spear. The lights overhead began to flicker, all the gauges dropping to zero as the Megazord lost power.

"You guys nee-nee-need to bail," came a weak voice from Tommy's console, Red Lightning's words stuttering and repeating as his AI systems began to fail.

"What about you?" Tommy asked.

"I can be-be repa-pa-paired. Station's computer-er has all my mem-mem-memories backed up."

"We'll be fi-fi-fine," came another voice, this one from Troy's console. While Red Lightning sounded like a somewhat perky, know-it-all-ish teenager, Mountain Blaster sounded more like the sort of person you'd rather not meet in a dark alley. Even despite the stuttering malfunction, the Blue Turbo Zord's voice was tough. "Go!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Psycho Pegasus twisted its spear sideways, then pulled it free, tearing out still more vital machinery. Raising its spear, the megazord prepared to deliver a final, devastating strike.

Five streaks of light...Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, and Pink...shot out from the Turbo Megazord and rocketed up into the sky, as Psycho Pegasus thrust forward, this time stabbing completely through the shattered Megazord's torso, shards of shrapnel showering the flaming trees behind it. Too many ruptured fuel lines met too many sparking circuits, and the colossal war machine exploded, gigantic flaming car parts flying in every direction. Only its abdomen and legs remained intact, and these fell over backwards, crushing what trees remained standing behind them.

Psycho Pegasus flapped its wings, rearing back onto its hind leonine legs, spear raised into the air, a chorus of mammalian voices roaring in triumph.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Damn, that was fun!" Psycho Red cackled inside the Psycho Pegasus' cockpit. "Do you think they've got another of those lying around somewhere?"

Right on cue, the huge blue disc that was the Astro Megaship appeared in the sky overhead.

"Ask," Psycho Purple said, as the front of the disc opened and disgorged a small, white shuttlecraft, "and ye shall receive."

The Psycho Rangers waited patiently as the Astro Megazord assembled itself, the disc reassembling into a body and the shuttlecraft locking into place as its head. A sword and shield appeared in its hands, starting as a digital wireframe and then becoming solid.

Psycho Camo rubbed her hands together in anticipation. "Let the games begin,"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey. Mine's broken," Jareth said, fiddling with the buttons on his Spirit Summoner. "I can't beam aboard."

"Mine, too," Deacon agreed. "I think they're just remote controlled."

"Well. Let's hop into our own Zords and give them a hand," the Bronze Ranger said.

"But....none of our Zords have hands," Jareth said, smirking.

Myk glared at him, then raised a hand to the side of his head. "Eagle Dinozord, online."

An avian screech filled the air as the great Bronze Eagle appeared in the sky above them. Myk melted into a streak of bronze light and shot aboard.

"We've GOT to stop letting him take the lead like that," Deacon said, summoning his own DinoZord.

Jareth followed suit, and the two teleported aboard their assault vehicles.

"Hey, Dea?" the Gold Ranger asked from Lion's cockpit.

"Yeah?"

"Why do they call these DinoZords? There can't be more than six of them that are actually dinosaurs."

"Is that REALLY important right now?"

"Yes! It's been driving me nuts for years."

"Just join the fight already."

"Fine."

The massive jump jets on Lion's back roared to life, adding extra distance to the golden cat's leap. Running alongside the feline, Elephant stampeded forward across the sands of the small desert that stretched between Station and the edge of the forest. Eagle let out a deafening screech overhead, the downdraft from its wings sending up massive clouds of sand.

The two groups of three met, merging into a menagerie of six swimming, soaring, leaping and stampeding metallic zords.

Deacon blinked as an array of controls he'd never noticed before came to life, lighting up to his right.

"Umm...," he said.

"Oh, it happened to you, too?" the Gold Ranger's voice called. "Good, I was afraid I'd broken something."

Myk examined the newly activated systems. "These look like..."

"Megazord controls," Deacon finished, grinning.

"No," Jareth said, disbelieving but hopeful. "Really? We finally get our own Megazord?"

Deacon's hand hovered over the controls. "Do we dare?" he asked.

"Oh, I think we do," Jareth replied. "Myk?"

"I'm ready."

"On three then?" Deacon asked. "One..."

"Three!" Jareth cried, punching the controls.

There was the sound of machinery powering up as the other two Metal Rangers activated their own systems.

Nothing happened. The Zords continued on their course, heading for the forest.

"Aww....it's broken," Jareth said, pouting.

Myk felt a pang of disappointment that he couldn't quite explain.

"No time to figure it out now," Deacon said, as the zords reached the forest. "We're there."

Psycho Pegasus was surprisingly large up close. It towered overhead, glaring balefully down at them. The shattered husk of the Astro Megazord lay nearby. Not far apart from it was a pile of shattered wreckage that one had to assume had once been the Turbo Megazord.

"Ouch," Jareth said. "Hope the others got out okay."

"Hope later," Deacon said, raising Elephant's trunk at Pegasus. "Fight now."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

With a sickening crack of space-age metal, Psycho Pegasus lifted the Astro Megazord and brought it down onto one of its leonine knees, snapping the stellar zord nearly in half. Sparks flew as electrical connections were severed, the sparks igniting various fuels and fluids that spilled from ruptured hoses. Wildfire began to spread like, well, wildfire through the dense brush that still remained at the Megazord's feet.

Cackling, Psycho Red manipulated the controls, directing the Megazord to toss the broken machine aside, which it did, trees snapping beneath the Astro Megazord's weight.

"Now. Back to business." Turning, Psycho Pegasus resumed cutting a swath through the forest, continuing on its path to reach Station.

As it broke the edge of the trees, Psycho Pegasus paused, rearing back briefly onto its hind legs.

Red blinked, then turned to face Yellow, who had stopped the Zord.

"What's your problem?"

Yellow pointed off into the sky, beyond the sandy plain ahead, towards the mountain that was their goal. "Do you see those?"

Red turned and glared at the shiny specs in the distance Yellow had indicated. "Zords?"

Camo laughed. "Individual Zords. They don't have a prayer, but they're trying anyway. Those Rangers never disappoint."

Purple glared ahead in concentration. One of those Zords almost reminded her of Kalen's Hammerhead, but no....it was the wrong color, its head was the wrong shape.

"I don't recognize those Zords. They must be new."

"Look pretty old to me," Camo disagreed.

"It doesn't matter," Red said. "New or old, they'll be scrap soon enough."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Flapping its wings and tucking its lion's legs in close to its body, Psycho Pegasus rose from the forest and soared forward out over the desert, making a beeline for the pack of antique-looking mechanical beasts that were stampeding its way.

And still the forest burned.


	18. Animus Unveiled

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 18: Animus Unveiled

"I'm beginning to think you're a bit of a jinx, Tommy," Terina said, demorphing from her Yellow Turbo Ranger form. "We've never gone through Zords like this before."

Tommy opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again, realizing that he couldn't quite argue. After all, how long had the Dinozords and Thunderzords been around on his world? Centuries, maybe more…and they were all gone, just a few years after he showed up. He really WAS a jinx.

"I was kidding, Tommy," the Yellow Rangers said, most of the grin dropping from her face. "Relax. You look like you were just smacked with a fish."

Tommy chuckled.

"Ouch," Troy said, flinching. "It'll take more than a coat of paint to fix THAT."

At the Blue Ranger's words, the gazes of everyone in the room turned towards the viewscreen.

On the large screen at the front of the Bridge of the Oasis, the Rangers watched as the Astro Megazord was demolished, flaming shards of blue metal showering the forest.

"I am really getting sick of fixing that thing," Lolli grumbled.

"Amen to that," Angel agreed.

A multicolored flash illuminated the bridge briefly, and five rather bruised and disorderly Rangers appeared in midair, falling the last few feet to the ground, clearly having been automatically teleported away from battle in mid-fall.

"Are you all okay?" Tommy asked.

"I do NOT get paid enough for this," Kalen said coldly, getting up and brushing herself off.

"We don't get paid at all," Stephen reminded her.

"Was that meant to be an argument?" the Purple Ranger asked, glaring at him.

"Where did those Zords come from?" Electra asked, squinting at the screen, which now displayed all of the metallic Zords rushing across the desert.

"Eltar, originally," Zord-1 replied. "More recently, they came from the reconstituted remains of three destroyed Power Coins."

"Ha! Take that," Terina said, grinning as the large mechanical Bull rammed its horns into Pegasus, nearly knocking the massive Megazord over.

"We should go down there and help them," Tommy said. "Those of us who still have working Zords, anyway."

"It would be best if you remained here, Tommy," Zord-1 said. There was an uncharacteristic tone of authority in the computer's voice.

Tommy frowned. "We can't just stay here and do nothing while- -"

"There is an alternative," Zord-1 replied. "I have been reluctant to mention the matter, but it had to be tended to eventually."

"Another mission?" Troy asked.

"Indeed. Someone must travel to Terra's moon, infiltrate Zedd's palace, locate the means by which he created the Psycho Rangers, and destroy it."

Angel let out a low whistle.

"I'll go," Lecca said. "I'm the stealthiest."

"I guess I'm in, too, then," Fox said.

"No," Zord-1 said. "Zedd's palace is warded against intruders. Only a being of evil can safely pass its threshold."

All eyes turned towards Kalen, who sighed.

"Well, yes," she said. "I'm a given. Who's going with me?"

"Mara and Stephen, please accompany Kalen," the computer declared.

"I'm not evil!" Mara cried indignantly.

"Nor am I," Stephen glared.

There was a whirring, grinding noise from one of the nearby consoles, then it swiveled around, revealing a panel of rich black velvet. Set into the velvet were a pair of amulets, one pink and one white.

"Wear these. While you are wearing them, you will be able to safely pass the wards on Zedd's palace."

Both faces cleared instantly.

"Oh, okay. Gotcha," Mara said, grabbing hers and pulling it over her head. "And these things will only work for the two of us?"

"No other Rangers would be able to pass the wards wearing these amulets," the computer confirmed.

Kalen smirked, as though amused by a joke that no one else had gotten, then summoned her morpher, as did the other two.

"**Pterodactyl!"**

**"Brachiosaurus!"**

**"Hammerhead!"**

And, with a flash of pink, white, and purple light, they were gone.

Tommy frowned at the pulsating orb that represented Zord-1. "How come those amulets will only work for those two?"

"The amulets are meaningless," Zord-1 replied. "I created them just now; they are nothing more than glass and metal. Mara and Stephen are as evil as Kalen is, in their own ways. The only difference is that Kalen harbors no delusions about what she is."

"Oh."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Eagle flew circles around Pegasus, blasting away uselessly with its eye-lasers against the Megazord's wings, which it had wrapped around its torso protectively like a shield.

"This is getting us nowhere," Myk complained.

Letting out a fearsome roar, the Lion leapt through the air, the jets on its back flaring to life and propelling it directly at Pegasus' face, scratching and clawing. Pegasus stumbled back, then made a fearsome backhanded swipe with its claw-arm, swatting away the golden zord like a fly.

The Lion was flung through the air, narrowly missing Eagle and burying itself, upside-down, deep within the sand.

"J? You okay?" Deacon's voice asked over the comm system.

"I'm fine," the Gold Ranger said, sounding a bit loopy. "Once I work out which way is up, I'll be right with you…"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Sure you've got the plan straight?" Troy asked, peering out from behind the lunar rocks.

Terina nodded, her petite Yellow-armored form crouched next to the Blue Ranger. "Yup. One big noisy distraction, coming right up."

Tommy frowned beneath his helmet. "Are you sure this plan'll work, Troy? Isn't Zedd smart enough to know that we'd never actually try a frontal assault on his palace?"

Troy and Terina stared at Tommy, clearly giving him 'duh' looks, though their faces weren't visible.

Tommy sighed. "Yeah. You're right." He took a deep breath, not bothering to wonder why or how, since he had no lungs and there was no air. "Okay….go!"

The three Rangers leapt out from behind the rock and began firing their Blade Blasters at the Tengas guarding the door.

The filthy birds immediately let out anguished squawks of surprise and pain, feathers flying as they broke their back-and-forth marching pattern and scattered, taking refuge behind the jagged rocks that littered the lunar surface.

"Heehee…this is fun," Terina grinned. "Hey, Troy! Stop hitting so many of them! We're supposed to just be killing time and making noise, remember?"

"Oh, right," Troy said. "Forgot."

"You forgot? This distraction was YOUR idea."

Troy raised his blaster and took aim at a Tenga, then, with a great deal of effort, moved his gun an inch to the left and fired, the laser blast passing over the greasy avian's shoulder instead of right between its eyes.

The Blue Ranger shuddered. "Troy Harper, deliberately missing a target. What's next? A plague of locusts?"

With a clanking sound that shouldn't have been possible without an atmosphere to carry it, the iron portcullis of the palace rose, and a regiment of Putties marched out in twelve orderly rows of five.

"I think we've got their attention," Tommy said. "Give the signal, Troy."

Troy reached up to the side of his helmet, clicking on his comlink. "Okay guys. You're on."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"We could really use a Megazord right about now," Myk muttered.

_Perhaps I can help_, Ikaika's voice echoed throughout Myk's psyche.

"How?"

_Your mind is linked to your zords through the power. By means of this link, I can attempt to find the reason for the system failure_.

"Go for it."

Myk felt a strange sensation in his head, as though his brain had connected to something that was pouring static into his head. It lasted only a moment, then stopped.

_I have found the problem. You activated the assembly systems in your own zords, but not those in the Spirit Zords._

"Well, how do we do that?"

_You cannot. The devices made by the mind that controls your ship are imperfect. They are not connected to the Power. The broken coins are connected to their Zords, but not to you._

The Bronze Ranger bit his tongue, guiding Eagle through a series of loops. "Yeah?"

_But perhaps, from my unique position, I can make that necessary connection. Normally, a Power Coin would not permit such tampering…it would be dangerous, potentially deadly for a being of pure spirit such as myself, but…_

"But?"

_But I believe these coins essentially consider themselves already dead, and will not act against me should I try._

"Uh-huh. And what about my Power Coin? The Eagle? Will it allow you to do connect it to a dead coin?"

_Yes, _Ikaika replied. _That is, if you will it do so, and can make it understand your will._

Myk bit his lip, considering. A lucky shot scored his wing, rocking his zord and finalizing his decision.

"Do it."

_For this to work, I will have to do the same for all three Spirit Zords_, Ikaika informed him. _You will have to convince your colleagues to relax their guard for me as well._

"I'll try."

Myk switched on his communicator. "Guys, I think I know how to get the Megazord working."

"How did you figure _that_ out?" Deacon demanded.

"Yeah, did you get an owner's manual that we didn't?"

"Look, all I need you guys to do is concentrate. Focus on letting your powers be connected to the new Zords."

"Maybe you didn't notice, Hero, but we're in the middle of a firefight here," Deacon informed him. 'We don't have time to stop and _meditate_."

There was a sickening crunch of metal as Psycho Pegasus lifted the Adamantium Bull with it's Deer-claw and threw it facefirst into the Leopard

"Um. Actually, I don't think we can afford _not_ to try," the Gold Ranger commented.

"Deacon?" Myk asked.

"Dea, we're _losing_," Jareth pointed out.

There was a pause, then a sigh.

"Fine," the Silver Ranger finally said, resignedly.

_Ikaika? _Myk thought. _You're on._

_It is done, _Ikaika said, after a split-second's pause.

A rush of energy swept across the desert, stirring up powerful winds and kicking the golden sands up into small tornados. Psycho Pegasus, stumbled backwards on its four legs as the sand shifted, raising its spear-arm as if to protect its eyes from the sand.

The Adamantium Bull let out a bellow, then twisted and contorted into massive pair of legs, the body splitting into two thick columns and the head becoming a bizarre belt-buckle. Roaring loudly, the Platinum leopard rose into the air, it's tail retracting into its body and it's legs folding themselves away, forming an unmistakable arm. Letting out its trademark hiss, the Copper Sawfish swam down and floated serenely next to the leopard, folding its fins away and becoming the other arm, both of which hovered in place on either side of the legs.

"Whoo!" Jareth cheered. "It worked."

"I guess it's our turn," Myk said.

"Me first! Me!" Running headlong towards the assembled parts, Jareth slammed his hand down on the Megazord controls in his cockpit.

Immediately, the Golden Lion zord lifted up into the air, neatly contorting itself into a block-shaped component that floated forward, spun around and locked into position atop the legs, forming the torso, the jump jets on the Lion's back shifting sideways to become a pair of connection ports. With the sound of heavy machinery sliding into place, both of the floating arms locked onto the sides of the torso.

Myk's Bronze Eagle soared down into place, landing atop the forming Megazord. Wrapping its wings around the Lion's mane, the Eagle raised its tail, which rotated around revealing a large mechanical head, the long metal tailfeathers of the avian zord becoming a pair of slender horns on either side of the Megazord's helmet.

Deacon, watching this, tilted his head to the side. "Well, what's left for me to become?"

"Hit the button," Jareth replied. 'And we'll all find out."

With a shrug, Deacon complied.

The Silver Elephant zord trumpeted, then split in half around its midsection, its legs retracting and its trunk straightening. As the Megazord stowed the blade of its Sawfish-saw-sword that it held, the Elephant separated completely, its head and broad ears forming an enormous shield, and its trunk, attached to the hindquarters, becoming a massive swordlike weapon, both of which rose into the air and attached to the Megazord's fists.

The three metallic Rangers found themselves in an antique-looking cockpit. The seats were comfortable, finely-stitched black leather, the dashboards and control panels were all of polished mahogany. All of the switches and dials were of polished brass, and the chamber was lit by what appeared to be actual oil-lamps set into the walls.

"Nice," Jareth said, looking around. The Gold Ranger's seat was down in the front, to the right. To the far left sat Myk, and behind a raised platform in the center of the cockpit sat Deacon. "Very steampunk."

"I'll say," the Silver Ranger said.

"Animus Megazord, online," Myk said, as the link between the Rangers and the Megazord opened fully and information began pouring into their heads.

"All right, then," Deacon said, lightly resting his hands on the control panel before him. "Let's—"

He got no further.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Why are they just standing there?" Fox asked, gesturing at the monitor in frustration.

"The Psychos? Or our guys?" Electra asked.

"I dunno. Either."

"The Psycho's seem to be enjoying this," Lolli said. "They also waited for the Astro Megazord to form. I think they want a challenge." She sighed. 'No idea what's wrong with our guys."

"I believe they may be having some difficulty….adjusting…to their new Megazord," Zord-1 replied. "Fox, perhaps it would be best if you and Crocodile tried to keep the Psychos busy until Animus is battle-ready."

Lolli glanced at Angel. "I suppose you and I should get back to work on getting our Zords online again."

"And salvaging the Turbo Zords?" Angel asked.

Lolli nodded. "And the Megaship." She sighed. "I blame you for this, Oliver."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Do you think it's steam-powered? Or clockwork?" Psycho Purple asked, seeming to smirk at the antique Animus Megazord.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to work very well," Camo replied. "They're just standing there."

"Let's fix that, then, shall we?" Red sneered.

Psycho Pegasus had barely taken one step forward, however, when the crocodile Dinozord appeared before it in a bright flash of green light.

Pegasus glanced down at the zord. Crocodile was among the larger Dinozords, but it wide and long, not tall. The mechanical reptile barely rose past Pegasus' knees.

"You MUST be kidding," Psycho Purple said.

"Laugh it up," Fox said. "While you can."

Pegasus reared back onto its hind legs, raising its spear-arm, them fell back as it thrust downwards, its weight adding velocity to its strike….only to have the arm be seized by Crocodile's powerful jaws as the smaller zord lurched forward, snapping.

Fox grinned beneath her helmet, them brought her hand down on one of the buttons before her. Crocodile's head gave a wrenching twist, the spear-arm in its jaws snapping in half.

Pegasus turned its metal head, staring stupidly at the severed stump of its giraffe-arm, then turned to look back down at Crocodile.

Fox grinned. "Don't seem so small now, do I?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Is there any particular reason, Zord-1, why Fox was asked to hold off Pegasus and not me?" Electra asked, arms crossed.

"Actually, yes," the computer replied. The screen at the front of the room displayed the image of the burning forest. "You…and Mastadon…have other matters to which you should attend."

"Ah."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Okay, guys," Troy's voice sounded over the comlink. "You're on."

Mara nodded at Stephen, who firmly grasped the iron grating over the end of the pipe that emerged from the side of the palace. Giving a yank, he ripped the metal free from its moorings.

"And, we're in."

"Knowing our luck, this will lead straight into Zedd's septic tank," Kalen grumbled, following the other two as they entered the pipe.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

He was…..who was he? All his memories were running together…._their_ memories….he was three different people, he was sure of it. If he looked around with one head, he saw two others; that was proof enough that he had at least three different bodies. It took some effort and some time, but eventually he worked out which memories went with which head.

"Okay," said the head on the right. "That was"

"Weird. I wonder why," the middle head continued.

"That happened. Okay, and whatever this thing is we're doing now," the head on the left picked up.

"Has _got_ to stop," the middle head finished.

The three looked at each other for a moment, putting still more effort into defining where one ended and the next began.

"Okay," Jareth finally said. "I think I'm me. Are you guys you?"

"I think so," Deacon said, shaking his head. "But I am very much in need of Tylenol."

"I guess this was what Zord-1 was talking about when he said…" Jareth stopped the sentence there, because there was no point in continuing. The others were aware of his thought, and he was aware that they were aware.

The thought, of course, was that one of the 'refinements' this prototype Megazord lacked was whatever the other Megazords had that filtered the thoughts shared by those driving it. It was well known that all Megazords came with a mental link; with anywhere from three to five pilots, it was necessary to coordinate the things' movement. But no one had ever mentioned anything like…._this_.

They were all shaken by the brief experience, but Myk was completely speechless. Deacon's mind was at least somewhat comprehensible…there was still right and wrong, reasons for doing what he did, though it didn't always agree with what Myk himself believed. Jareth's mind, on the other hand, had no such thing. There was no right, there was no wrong, there was no reason for anything. The world may as well not exist. How could anyone live with a mind like that? Why bother even getting out of bed?

All this Myk thought, as he sat gaping across the cockpit.

Jareth, aware of every nuance of this, sighed. "Yeah. I get that a lot."

"But…I don't…how could….why?"

"You're in my head, you know the answer to that," Jareth replied.

"Why not," Myk muttered, shaking his head. "I always thought you were just being facetious when you said that was your reason for everything."

"Just because it's true doesn't mean I wasn't being facetious," Jareth said smugly.

Deacon gazed down at his friend. "Yeah, your brain is a bit…unsettling. But I was-"

"More or less expecting it, having known me so long," Jareth finished. "This finishing each other's sentences this is-"

"Going to get real old, real fast," Myk finished, a rueful smile on his face.

"It already has," Deacon grumbled.

"This going to take some getting used to, but- -" Jareth began.

"We don't have time, you're right," Myk said.

"No, Deacon's right," Jareth corrected. "That was his thought, I'm sure of it."

"It was?" Deacon asked, surprised. He shrugged, facing forward and trying to keep his more embarrassing thoughts suppressed. This was frustrating, as focusing on them in order to suppress them had the exact opposite effect.

"Dude," Jareth said, his tone one of mixed admiration and disgust. "She let you DO that? That's….just wow. And….ew. I really don't want to think about her like that."

"Then don't," Deacon grumbled, no more happy about sharing those memories than Jareth was.

"I'm not! You are! Get our mind out of the gutter and back on the battle where it belongs!"

Turning back to task at hand, the three noticed that Pegasus seemed to be preoccupied. In its Deer-claw, it held the crocodile zord, keeping the machine at arm's length to avoid being shredded by the reptile's tail-blades, which it was thrashing around in agitation. Unfurling its wings, Pegasus spread its feathers to reveal an enormous eye on the underside of each wing. This air of eyes began to glow, building up a charge of energy to be directed at the large Crocodile in its grip.

Fox flinched as the eyes flashed, a focused pulse of energy lancing forward…only to be sucked out of the air, the blasts never reaching her.

Pegasus glared up angrily after the flashes of energy, hoping to see what had interrupted its attack…and it was not disappointed.

Animus had finally started moving. Before it, it held up its Elephant-shield, the silver metal glowing with stolen power, having absorbed Pegasus' energy out of the very air in mid-flight.

"Oh, look!" Psycho Yellow said. "It CAN move!"

Pegasus seemed to smile wickedly as it tossed the Crocodile zord over its shoulder, discarding it as if it were an empty soda bottle. Fox's wail was clearly audible over the comlink.

Unfortunately, that particular sound brought to mind a whole new set of mental images.

Jareth clapped his hands over his visor, as though shielding his eyes. "Deacon!"

"I'm sorry! I can't help it!"

"Well, _try_!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Stupid…Eltarian….magitech…," Lolli grumbled, tinkering the components within one of Dragonzord's legs. "You know I've been working on these things for years and I STILL can't find a power source in any of them?"

"Yes, I noticed that as well," Angel replied. "I think-"

"I mean, a machine this large and this powerful would have to have a power source in it somewhere. But there's no battery, no fuel tank, nothing."

"Lolli, did it ever occur to you that maybe the Ranger _is _the power source?"

Lolli's mouth fell open, then immediately snapped shut. The Green Ranger thrust her head deeper into the Dragonzord's casing, hiding her from sight, not at all happy at having been outsmarted, even by Angel.

A few moment passed in silence, the only sounds being the occasional clicking of parts or the muffled request for a tool to be passed.

Lolli froze. "Wait a minute."

Angel tilted his head curiously, not stopping with what he was doing. 'Yes?"

"If the Rangers, or more accurately, the Power Coins, are the driving force…if they're that closely linked to the Zords…then…"

Angel turned to face the Green Ranger, comprehension dawning on his face. "You think?"

"It should work." Lolli climbed down to the ground, resting her back against the scaffolding that supported the Dragonzord and pulling her compupad from her back pocket. "But it might take a better knowledge of magic than I have."

"Jareth's books can help us there. If we can find the right one. But are you sure you know what you're-"

"Question not my brilliance," the Green Ranger quipped, her fingers flying across the miniature keys faster than the eye could follow. "By the way, any idea what time it is? I lost my wristwatch ages ago."

"Can't help you," Angel replied, crossing his arms. "My pocketwatch was one among the items that _mysteriously_ vanished a few months ago, remember?"

Lolli stopped typing, rolling her eyes towards the high ceiling of the Zord Bay. "For the last time, it wasn't me! Sheesh. A few expensive items go missing and everyone blames the thief."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Mastadon raised its trunk, spraying a wide sheet of ice over the forest, the heat of the flames muffled and smothered by the bitter cold.

"Everyone else gets to save the world," Lecca said, "And I'm playing fire extinguisher."

Finally, the last of the flames was extinguished.

Leaping out of the enormous metal pachyderm, the Black Ranger surveyed the frozen forest, checking for any areas where the fire still burned.

_Well_, she thought. _When the squirrels thaw out, they'll thank me._

Electra jumped as something crashed into the ashes and fallen, burned branches off to her left. When she moved closer to try and see what it was, however, there was nothing but the scorched forest, the air still shimmering with smoky fumes. Perhaps it had simply been a branch falling?

"Hmm…"

With a bleep, her comlink came to life.

"Electra, if you have finished, would you care to join the others on the moon? The distraction is going as planned, and by all accounts, it has proven to be quite the…enjoyable…activity. Fox has already gone to join them."

Zord-1's voice carried a note of amusement, and Electra could only imagine the fun the others were having. She grinned.

"I'm there." In a streak of black light, the Black Ranger rocketed up into the sky.

Moments after she left, there was a bright flash, and an armored form fell to the forest floor, fallen branches snapping with the impact.

"Oog," the form groaned.

"You okay?" asked a voice from the air nearby.

"Yeah," the one that had just fallen replied.

The air shimmered and another form appeared next to him.

"I think we're in trouble," she said, reaching down and helping her friend to his feet.

"Why?" the male asked, brushing soot from the blue metal of his armor.

. "Where are we?"

"Not where," the girl replied, looking up into the sky where the Black Ranger had just vanished. "When."


	19. Moonlight Melee

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 19: Moonlight Melee

A streak of black light shot down from above, barely visible against the inky, star covered sky. As the light struck the rocky surface of the moon, it assumed the form of the Black Power Ranger.

Dusting herself off, she glanced at the chaos that surrounded her. Everywhere lay the shattered husks of putties, splotches of tarlike blood, and scorched black feathers.

"Am I late?" Electra asked.

"Lecca! Nice of you to join us," Tommy said, holstering this sword in its sheath at his back.

"You didn't save any for me," Electra said accusingly, crossing her arms and glowering at Tommy.

"Relax," Troy said, yanking the blade of his lance free from a Tenga corpse with some effort. He eyed the gooey black blood on the weapon with distaste. "They'll be more." There was a jarring noise as the rusty portcullis raised again, and out poured ranks of Quantrons.

"See? Told you."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Nothing in here but some kind of clay," Stephen reported, emerging from one of the storerooms of the lower levels of the palace.

"I believe that's Putty Clay," Saba explained. "When correctly assembled and enchanted, it is used to create Putty Warriors."

"Huh. Always wondered what those were made of." Mara's pink-helmeted head stuck out from the door across the hall. "This room's full of birdseed. Tenga feed, maybe?"

"I guess."

Kalen strutted out from yet another storeroom, her boots cutting furrows in the thick layer of dust on the ground. "Quantron armor," she said, sounding bored as always.

"Do you guys think it's at all strange that we haven't actually run into anyone yet?"

Stephen asked. "I mean here we are, in the heart of Zedd's palace, and we haven't run into a single soldier or anything."

"You think it's, like, a trap, maybe?" Mara asked.

"This isn't the heart of the palace," Kalen pointed out. "It's the intestines."

"We ARE still in Zedd's 'basement', if you will," the enchanted sword agreed. "I sincerely doubt he'd waste his soldiers guarding Tenga feed, especially since he doesn't believe that any creature of Good could possibly enter here."

Stephen grinned, touching the pendant that hung around his neck. "Bet he didn't count on these," the White Ranger said smugly.

Saba wisely said nothing.

"Hmm...Now what have we here?" Kalen asked curiously, approaching a door that, unlike all the others, had some manner of arcane symbol carved into it. "Someone's been in here fairly recently," Stephen pointed out, indicating the marks left behind in the carpet of moon dust that led up to the door.

"Probably another broom closet," Mara grumbled. "I have never seen so many brooms in my life." The Pink Ranger followed the other two into the room. "Why does he have all of them, anyway? He clearly never cleans this place."

"If I were an intergalactic demon lord, I don't imagine I'd ever pick up a broom, either," Stephen said.

"So put a Putty or two on janitorial duty! If they can fight, they can hold a mop."

"But they _can't _fight."

"Mmm. Good point."

The room they had found was a large, circular chamber, in the very center of which stood a wrought-iron pedestal that held within its clawlike grip a large, glowing ruby. On the floor, which was completely free of moon dust, was painted and intricate runic circle, its lines woven and interwoven to an insanely complicated degree. Thirteen points emerged from the circle, and at each of these thirteen points, a small object lay on the ground. Kalen walked sideways as she entered the room, skirting the circle that took up nearly the entire floor.

"I am NOT stepping onto that."

"Probably a smart move," Stephen agreed.

"It appears to be some manner of summoning circle," Saba said, detaching himself from the White Ranger's belt and floating out over it. The white scimitar floated in circles around the large ruby, examining it closely. The gem was easily the size of one's fist, and was worth a fortune even ignoring the obvious magic it held.

"This gem appears to be the focus. I believe we've found what we're looking for, Stephen. This is likely the very room where Zedd summoned the Psycho Rangers. If we appropriate or destroy this gem, he will be quite unable to do so aga-"

"Hey!" Mara cried, her eyes on one of the thirteen points of the rune circle. "That's mine!" Bending down, she picked up a clearly expensive hairbrush made of pink coral. "I've been looking everywhere for this!"

"It makes sense that Zedd would have required an object belonging to you in order to properly attune the Psycho Rangers," Saba said. "We should probably take those with us when we leave, as well, just in case Zedd is capable of using them in other spells against you."

"And then there's the simple fact that we'd want our things back," Kalen added, picking up a silver spoon from one of the points. "This is part of the silverware set my mother left me," the Purple Ranger said, turning the spoon so that the light glinted off the Starrose family crest engraved at the end of the handle.

"How did he get all this stuff, anyway?" Mara mumbled.

A glint on the floor caught Kalen's eye, and she scooped up a pendant composed of a single gold coin on a thin leather strap. The image of a phoenix was engraved on one side of the coin, the image of the sun on the other.

"That's Jareth's," Mara said. "He was turning the ship upside down looking for it when it went missing. It used to be Dad's."

Kalen smirked and placed it around her own neck.

"Is it safe to step onto the circle?" she asked of the floating sword.

"Should be," Saba replied.

Striding towards the Ruby, the Purple Ranger plucked it from the pedestal as the other two finished picking up all of the other Rangers' possessions.

"Well, at least it's easy to tell what's whose," Stephen muttered. "Everything's color-coded."

"Stealing the Phantom Ruby? Well, THAT isn't going to go over well." All the Rangers jumped, spinning towards the childish female voice that called out from the entrance.

Leaning against the doorframe was a female figure, apparently human. She looked to be no older than fifteen, and the style of her clothing and makeup (if it WAS makeup) brought to mind a demented playing card, a patchwork of red and black. Her hair was done up in braided pigtails, and she was grinning insanely.

Stephen held out his hand and Saba leapt through the air, the handle of the enchanted sword slapping into his palm. He held the blade defensively. In twin flashes of pink and purple light, the other two Rangers summoned their weapons, Mara nocking an arrow of pink light and Kalen twirling her staff slowly.

"Who are you?" the White Ranger asked.

"Oooh...Nice trick. What else can that thing do?" the girl asked, ignoring the question, her eyes on Saba.

Saba glared, upside-down, at the girl, not at all pleased at having been called a thing. "Come a bit closer and find out," the sword challenged.

"Oooh...it talks!" The girl jumped away from the doorframe, hopping into the room, only to clasp her hands behind her back and lean forward to examine Saba more closely, ignoring the way Stephen and Mara jumped back at her sudden movement. "Neat."

"Who ARE you?" Stephen asked again.

"Hmm? Didn't you ask that already?"

"Yes," Kalen agreed. "But you didn't answer."

"I didn't?"

"Nope."

"Ah. Sorry."

There was a pause.

"Well?" Mara asked.

"Well what?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm me. Who are you?"

"I'm-" Mara shook her head, glaring. "I don't think I like you. You remind me entirely too much of my brother."

Kalen snickered.

"Oh, fine." The girl stretched her arms towards the ceiling, spinning in place a few times. "My name is Panika." Panika paused, abruptly looking at Stephen as though seeing him for the first time. A seductive smile appeared on her face, and she eyed him up and down like he was on the menu. "And you are?"

"Taken," Stephen replied immediately, sounding terrified.

"No he's not," Kalen added, just as quickly. "His name is Stephen Saberhagen, he's a Scorpio, he enjoys light jazz and long moonlit walks along the beach. Please, take him."

"Mmm. Don't mind if I do."

"What are you doing?" Stephen demanded of the Purple Ranger. "She's a loony! And I'm a Taurus," he added as an afterthought. "Just FYI."

"Can I shoot her?" Mara asked. "Please?"

"I think we can just leave," Kalen replied. "She doesn't seem terribly interested in turning us in."

"Now, there's where we run into a little snag," Panika said, coming full-circle back to the entrance and standing on her head in the doorway...if levitating upside-down can be called standing on one's head. "Zedd's going to be hopping mad when he finds out that the Phantom Ruby is gone. Well, I use the term figuratively, he never hops. I think if he hopped more, he'd be happier. Hopping's quite therapeutic, you know. The question is, who am I more interested in seeing get into trouble? You three, or my brother?"

"Your brother?" Stephen asked, as this was pretty much the only part of her speech he'd grasped.

"Ornyk. I'm sure you've met him. Gray fur, blur armor, stands about yay big...oops, I mean yay big," Panika said, first holding her hand a foot or so above her head, then remembering she was upside-down and holding it at about her waist.

"Ornyk's your brother?" Mara asked. "You look nothing like him."

"Do you and your brother look exactly alike?" Panika replied.

"Um. We _are_ twins."

"Oh. Well, Ornyk didn't bother changing when we came here, but I figured, when in orbit around Terra, look somewhat like the Terrans do....or something like that...I'm not certain I was in my right mind at the time. But my wrong mind fits me so much better. You understand." Panika twisted so that she was lying on her back, then crossed her hands behind her head and began kicking her feet midair, swimming around the room.

"Sadly, I think I do," Mara replied, shaking her head. She looked at the other two Rangers. "Can we go now, before she reminds me any more just how crazy Jareth has made me over the years?"

"Yeah, go ahead," Panika said, shifting so that she was sitting cross-legged on nothing. "I can't _wait _to see the look on Zedd's face when he finds out the Ruby's been stolen. It'll be a sight to turn a panda's liver inside-out." She giggled. "And I don't think you have to worry about getting caught. Ornyk's off attending some sort of diplomatic thingy with the leaders of the Machine Empire. See ya." Panika leapt straight up through the ceiling, the stone rippling like water as she passed through it.

"Well. That was...," Stephen began

"Weird," Mara finished.

Kalen sighed. "Can we go home now?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Psycho Pegasus took several strides forward, raising its broken spear arm. There was a bright flash of orange light, and the giraffe-spear was whole again.

"Hey, how'd they do that? How come we can't do that?" Jareth asked.

Animus took a step forward, raising its weapons.

"Do you really think you can stop us in that antiquated piece of tin?" Psycho Red's voice echoed from Pegasus.

"All of the metals here, and he guesses 'tin'," Deacon muttered.

Animus raised its sword, slashing down at Pegasus, but Pegasus grabbed the blade in its deer-claw, twisting the weapon and Animus' arm to the point that the metal began to groan.

"Ow!" Each of the Rangers within Animus clutched his right arm in pain.

"I think we've found another design flaw," Jareth said, in the strangely calm-yet-neurotic voice he always used when in pain.

"You don't say," Myk hissed.

Deacon manipulated the controls in front of him, and Animus slammed its elephant-shield into Pegasus' torso, knocking the massive machine back, forcing it to release its grip on Animus' sword-arm.

"Ah," Myk said, flexing his suddenly pain-free arm. "Much better."

"You're welcome," Deacon replied.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"**Dragonzord!"**

"**Wolf!"**

A bright flash illuminated the Zord bay as the two morphed into their Ranger forms.

"All set. Now, you're sure this will work?"

"Of course!" Lolli said. "Well. Pretty sure."

"Good. You realize that if it doesn't, I'm blaming you."

"Yaya."

"All right then," Angel said, rubbing his hands together. "Here goes."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey, quick question," Myk asked. "Why do parts of my mind feel…numb?"

"Yeah, I get that, too," Deacon agreed.

Jareth paused. Through their link, he was able to sense what the others were talking about, but through his own awareness, he didn't even notice.

"Huh. Must mean that it's me. I guess I'm just used to it."

"Repressed memories?" Deacon guessed. "Or maybe it's the part of your brain that got damaged by the biodownloading incident."

"Probably both," Jareth muttered, as Animus parried yet another thrust by Pegasus' spear.

Abruptly, the torches that lit Animus' cockpit went out, plunging the small room into darkness. In the dim light that filtered in through the massive viewport at the front, all of the dials dropped to zero.

"What just happened?"

"Dunno. We lost power."

"Well, find it!"

There was a random typing of keys and pulling of levers.

"No good. Everything's dead."

"Um. Not everything."

A finger pointed out the viewport at the Pegasus Megazord, which was still functioning perfectly.

Pegasus reared back, flapping its wings, then made a sideways swipe, tearing a gouge across Animus' chest with the edge of its spear, inflicting yet another surge of pain on the Megazord's occupants. Sparks flew, and Animus, lacking any sort of mobility, slowly began to tip backwards.

"Brace yourselves!"

"I hate gravity!"

The impact was tremendous. The antique Megazord flopped to the ground on its back, kicking up an absurdly large cloud of sand.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox and Electra fought back to back, hacking apart any Quantron foolish enough to attack them, their fearsome blades slicing through the high tech armor as though it were crepe paper.

"Didn't someone say something about NOT killing them all?" Electra asked.

"Yeah, but there were so many of them, we decided it didn't really matter," Fox brought up her two-bladed sword, held it in both hands, and then brought the center of the contoured wooden handle down on her knee, snapping the weapon in half. There was a green-brown flash and a ripple of magic, and the Stealth Cutter became a pair of jagged combat knives, each one with a serrated blade nearly as long as Fox's forearms.

"Hey," Electra said, glancing back at the Camo Ranger. "Neat trick."

"Thanks," Fox replied, spinning the long blades and shredding more of the disposable soldiers.

"You know, this fighting in low gravity thing is kinda weird. Every time I jump I feel like I'm going to fly right up into space."

Fox glanced skyward. "Um. I'm pretty sure we _could_. Might wanna watch that."

Electra nodded. She was about to hack a Quantron's head from its shoulders when something caught her eye: Terina, and one of the Quantrons sneaking up behind her, ready to shove its blade through her torso.

Turning her axe around, Electra converted it into its laser cannon mode and blasted the offending footsoldier, the laser pulse catching it in the exact center of its face. Terina jumped at the flash of light and heat, saw the blasted Quantron, then glanced up at the source. Electra waved happily at her, then returned to her hacking.

Terina smiled ruefully, then turned back to the task at hand. The Yellow Ranger twirled her daggers on her fingers, then threw one off to her right, and the other to her left. She tilted her head and gazed up at the Quantron, arms crossed across her chest.

The Quantron in front of her paused, confused as to why the tiny Yellow Ranger should throw her weapons away whilst staring an enemy in the face. Shaking its armored head, it took a step forward, raising its jagged blade.

_SLASH_! With a shower of yellow sparks, something flew past the Quantron, carving a deep gouge in its helmet and spinning it around. _SLASH_! From the other direction, with an identical surge of yellow energy, another came, knocking the weapon from its hands and spinning it the rest of the way, so that it was facing Terina again.

The Yellow Ranger grinned beneath her helmet, then reached up and effortlessly caught her daggers, one by one, as they flew past her in opposite directions, each one having flown full-circle and returned to her grasp.

The Quantron stood for a moment, dazed, then collapsed to the rocky lunar surface.

Terina dusted off her hands, then ran off to find something else to beat up.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Thank the gods," Kalen said, as the torn open grating through which they'd entered came into view. "I thought we'd never get out of there."

"You know," Mara began, "There's really only one Go-"

"Rangers! So good of you to come," a growling voice echoed through the narrow hall. A large, powerful figure stepped into view from outside the grating, resembling a gray-furred, humanoid wolf in cobalt-blue armor.

"Ornyk, I presume," Stephen said, drawing Saba from his sheath.

"You presume correctly, Ranger...Hello, Kalen."

Kalen nodded. "Ornyk."

Mara glanced back and forth between the Purple Ranger and the monster at then end of the hall. "How…what...do you.."

"We've met on a previous occasion," Ornyk replied. "She stole something of no small value from me."

"And you from me," Kalen replied. "On the same occasion, no less."

Ornyk nodded. "And there's no sense pretending the rest of the encounter wasn't... enjoyable. But even calling it even, that still leaves the trespass of the three of you wandering with impunity through my house...and stealing Lord Zedd's property," the lupine creature growled, spotting the Phantom Ruby in the Purple Ranger's hand. He snapped his clawlike fingers.

Instantly, all three Rangers were seized from behind, each one's arms held fast by a pair of powerful mechanical limbs.

Mara and Stephen both struggled against the iron grip (both, especially Stephen, grateful for an excuse not to think about what Ornyk might have meant by 'enjoyable'). Kalen managed to twist her arm enough to close her hand around one of the metal arms.

Purple lightning snaked down her arm, through her hand and into the metal ones that held her, then leapt to the other two mechanized assailants. Both the Pink and White Rangers let out screams of pain as the electricity coursed through them, but the metal men were seemingly unaffected.

"Were they equipped with personalities, my new toys might thank you for the recharge," Ornyk said, smiling and showing off a fearsome number of very pointy teeth. "Do you like them? They're called 'COGS' ...Computerized Omniphasic General-purpose Soldiers. A little token of friendship from Prince Gasket of the Machine Empire."

Ornyk's smile vanished. He snapped his fingers again, and the Phantom Ruby flew out of Kalen's hand, soaring directly into Ornyk's open claw.

"Now, then...what to do with..." Ornyk's voice trailed off as his sharp eyes caught a strange glimmer reflecting off the walls of the narrow tunnel. Turning, he saw that it came from three snakelike tendrils of light that were winding their way, seemingly aimlessly, down the hall; One White, one Pink, and One Purple.

"What in Creoa's name..." Ornyk reached out to touch one of the beams, but his hand simply ghosted though it, not affecting the wandering coil in any way. The coils continued their slow meander until they got within about three feet of the Rangers that were still held in the grip of the COGS. Once within range, they suddenly changed direction and shot towards the golden coins contained in their morphers: White to White, Pink to Pink, Purple to Purple. The beams struck the coins, and the morphers began to glow, shining more and more brightly until everyone's shadows were clearly visible on the smooth stone walls.

Ornyk's eyes widened....then everything went black.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tommy held up his left arm, using his wide, flat left gauntlet as a shield to block the blade of one of the Quantrons. With his right hand, he made a horizontal slash with his short sword, drawing forth a shower of sparks and nearly slicing the soldier in half. Brushing some of the moon dust off of the green-and-white diamond pattern on his otherwise bright red armor, Tommy stopped for a moment to survey the battle.

Everyone seemed to holding their own. Troy was firing his Blade Blaster from behind the safety of his rectangular, glowing-red energy shield. Terina was conjuring what looked like thin yellow eggs and throwing them to the ground, an act which puzzled Tommy until he saw one break open, rooting itself into the dusty white soil and sending up shoots of greenish-yellow vines, which quickly entangled large groups of the enemy. Fox seemed to be having the time of her life, slicing her way through the Quantrons like a combine harvester. Electra was nowhere in sight, meaning she had probably chosen to go invisible.

And a large group of Quantrons were heading his way, evidently thinking they'd have better luck if the ganged up on him.

Tommy grinned, then brought his hands forward, palms together. "**Pyrosphere!"** he called. A surge of magic coursed down his arms, into his hands...but no flame came forth.

Tommy stared at his red-armored hands. Was there something wrong with his powers? He'd be in big trouble if they failed him now...if he demorphed here, he'd suffoca-

Tommy felt like smacking himself. He let out a groan. Of course it hadn't worked. He was on the moon. No air, no fire.

Grateful at least that no one had seen that, Tommy raised his shield-gauntlet, making a fist. With a loud '_SNIKT_!' of metal against metal, a pair of curved, bladed hooks emerged, each as long as his forearm. Drawing the short sword from its sheath at his back once again, he leapt into the small pack of Quantrons, hacking and slashing, not wasting a single motion.

Troy lowered his shield just enough to aim his Blaster. Taking aim, he squeezed the trigger...and had the weapon blasted out from his grip. The red gun/sword went spinning, finally falling to the dust, still smoking.

The Quantrons parted, making way for the one that had fired, distinct only by the slightly darker coloration of his armor and by the respect the others seemed to give it. In his hand was a complex, high-tech blaster, which it brought up to where its lips should have been, as if to blow the smoke from its barrel.

Troy glared, standing up and deactivating his light-shield.

"**Tricera Lance!"**

The Quantron made a few of the discordant, mechanical noises that served as its speech, its blaster digitizing into nothingness and one of the serrated Quantron signature blades appearing in its grip.

"There won't be enough left of you to make a food processor," the Blue Ranger said, grinning with anticipation. He swung his lance, and the Quantron its blade, but before either could strike, both were distracted by a strange glimmer that came over the battlefield.

A number of tentacles, seemingly made of nothing but light, were descending onto the lunar surface, aimlessly snaking their way through the void, their rainbow-colored glow casting strange patterns of light across the bright white dust, easily overpowering the natural glow of the moon, yet somehow managing to not be at all painful to look at. As they drew nearer, they seemed to develop some sort of sense of direction, though still not a very good one. Instead of winding around at random, each one seemed drawn to the Ranger that matched its color. The blue one, of course, headed for Troy. Both Ranger and Quantron froze, gazes locked on the strange, swirling beam of blue light that swam through the air around them. Seeming to finally get its bearings, the snaking coil of light suddenly changed course, lancing straight through the (lack of) air and flying directly into Troy's Power Coin.

A strange surge of energy rushed through the Blue Ranger's body, bringing with it an eerie feeling of strength, and of being...whole. Strange, Troy thought, he'd never realized he was in any way less than whole before...

The Morpher that was Troy's belt buckle continued to glow, the blue light shining more and more brightly, until a powerful surge of blue energy blasted out from it, completely and utterly incinerating not only the Quantron he'd been fighting, but several others nearby as well.

Similar flashes from around the battlefield, but in different colors, suggested that whatever had just happened to him had happened to the other Rangers as well. In just a few moments, the seven Rangers that stood on the moon's surface were doing so over a battlefield of scorched shrapnel.

Fox was the first to find her voice.

"What in the _hells_ was that?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What the Hell was _that_?" Mara asked, brushing herself off where the COGS has held her.

"Don't know," Kalen replied, bending down and picking up the Phantom Ruby from where Ornyk had let it drop before falling unconscious. "Don't care. I'm leaving now, before anything else happens." And Kalen stormed out through the torn grating.

The other two stood for a moment, looking down at Ornyk.

"You don't...think she REALLY..."

Stephen clapped his hands to the side of his helmet and walked towards the exit, singing loudly.

Mara spared one more glance at the wolflike alien, suppressed a shudder, and followed.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Ow," Jareth said. "Ow, ow, ow."

"Yeah, right there with you," Deacon agreed, standing up on the back wall of Animus' cockpit. The bright desert sun shone down through the window at the front of the room, which happened to be above their heads.

"We need to figure out what happened," Myk said. "Before..."

The room darkened as an enormous mechanical lion's paw covered the window above them, the walls beginning to creak with the strain of Psycho Pegasus' weight. All three Rangers doubled over as the pressure on the Megazord's midsection translated through their mental link as a blinding pain in the torso.

"That's getting real old, real fast," Jareth complained.

"Um. Is it me...or is it getting brighter in here?" Deacon asked.

The Silver Ranger wasn't wrong. The walls themselves were beginning to glow.

"This thing's just full of surprises," Jareth muttered.

Three swirling, snakelike beams of light appeared, swimming through the air around them.

"Um...I think it's looking at me," The Gold Ranger said, backing slowly away from the amber tendril that was winding its way through the air towards him, until his back pressed up against the wall.

There was a sudden, blinding flash as the three beams abruptly changed direction, shooting into the Power coins that were embedded in the Rangers' belts. With a rush of magical energy, the lamps that lined the wall of Animus' cockpit flared back to life.

Myk looked up at the controls, which were active again. "I think we're back in business."

Deacon vaulted up towards the floor, clambering back into his seat.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Psycho Red seemed to grin widely as Pegasus pressed its weight down onto Animus, raising its giraffe-spear in preparation to drive it through the fallen Megazord's head.

Animus suddenly moved, plunging its sword sideways through the lion's leg that was pinned against its chest. Pegasus reared back, its wings opening behind it, sparks flying from the shattered husk of its nearly severed limb.

"Still going!" came an amplified voice from Animus as it got to its feet. "Nothing

outlasts the-"

Pegasus made a savage thrust with its spear, trying to impale Animus while keeping its front half supported on only one leg. Animus brought up its shield, deflecting the blow, then crouched down and spun, one leg extended, knocking Pegasus' remaining front leg out from under it, causing the Psycho Megazord to fall onto its face in the sand.

Animus stomped down on Pegasus' back, between its wings, crushing the Megazord down into the sand.

"Not much fun, is it?" Deacon's voice called, enjoyment obvious in his voice, Animus grinding its heel into Pegasus' back.

Pegasus angrily flapped its enormous metal wings, knocking Animus aside. As the antique Megazord staggered, regaining its footing, Pegasus rose again, flapping its wings to help support its disabled foresection.

The eyes on Pegasus' wings opened and began to glow, each one firing a powerful blast of energy. Animus raised its shield, blocking one of them, but the other struck it in the chest.

"Ow!"

"Oooh...," Myk growled. "I am REALLY getting sick of this."

Animus leapt forward, sword raised, knocking first Pegasus' spear, then its deer-claw aside, finally jumping into the air and bringing the butt of its Elephant sword crashing down on the Psycho Megazord's head with enough force to shatter Pegasus' remaining foreleg, driving the zord once again into the sand. Two more swipes from the sword neatly severed the Psycho Megazord's massive red wings.

"And stay down!" Jareth's voice cried.

"I think it's time for the finishing move," Myk said. "Um. Do we HAVE a finishing move?"

Before the question was completely out of his mouth, the Power provided the answer:

Yes...they did.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Animus raised its sword to the sky, and three voices rang out, in perfect unison:

"**Animus Royalshock!"**

A powerful beam of blue-white, iridescent light shot down from the sky, striking the upheld blade and causing it to shine with the same unearthly light. Spinning the blade, Animus fell onto one knee and shoved its sword into the ground, where the milky light began to seep into the sand, spreading until a perfect circle of light surrounded both Megazords. Once all the light was gone from the blade, the circle shrank, becoming brighter as the light became focused into a smaller and smaller area. Finally, the disk of light was relatively tiny, encircling the ground beneath only Psycho Pegasus.

With a rush of energy so powerful that Animus was forced back, staggering to keep its balance, the circle of light shot up as a thick, focused pulse of iridescent energy. Shards of metal began flying out from the pillar of light, vaguely recognizable as pieces of Pegasus. After a few moments, the beam began to dissipate, the bright light fading. When it finally vanished altogether, there was very little left.; a large, hollow, burned out husk, sitting in a large sand crater, was all that remained of Psycho Pegasus.

Jareth leaned forward, looking down out of Animus' window.

"I think we won," the Gold Ranger said, sounding more surprised than anything.

"Think again."

The three metal Rangers spun around to find Psycho Red standing in the cockpit, right behind them, jagged sword in hand.

"Maybe I should just stop talking," the Gold Ranger muttered.

"Best idea you've had all day," Myk agreed.


	20. Cleaning Up

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 20: Cleaning Up

Psycho Red summoned his sword and took a stab at Deacon, who was closest. The Silver Ranger caught the blade of the sword between his palms.

"How did you get in here?" he asked, exerting all his strength to hold back the sword.

"Teleportation," Red replied. "This antiquated piece of slag isn't shielded."

Jareth conjured his Blade Blaster and shot a laser blast into Psycho Red's chest, producing a shower of sparks and knocking the demonic Ranger back against the wall.

"This 'antiquated piece of slag' just kicked YOUR ass," he pointed out.

"Well, then, I owe it one, don't I?" Red asked, spinning his sword. Leaping over Deacon, he made a show of stabbing his blade into Myk's control panel, then dragging it across the dashboard all the way to the other side of the room.

Pulsing red lights began to flash.

"Uh-oh..._That's_ never good."

"I think it's time to bail," Deacon agreed.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Three streaks of light shot out of Animus' chest, arcing down towards the ground, where they solidified as the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Rangers.

They turned around just in time to see Animus explode, not into flaming shards, but into its six component zords, which flew through the air and crashed into the ground, kicking up clouds of desert sand. The zords lay around them as though wounded, fidgeting and making noises that sounded for all the world like metallic whimpers of pain.

Psycho Red fell from above, landing neatly on top of the Sawfish Zord, then flipped down to the ground. He stood, arms crossed across his chest, seeming to glare balefully at the Rangers.

"You really think you can take all three of us by yourself?" Myk asked.

"Who said anything about me being by myself?"

Through the rippling desert heat, the other three Psychos became visible alongside Red: Yellow, Purple, and Camo.

"I thought they could only attack their own colors?" Jareth whispered to Deacon.

Deacon summoned his swords. "Apparently, they've fixed that little glitch."

The Gold and Bronze Rangers likewise summoned their weapons.

"Need a hand?"

Everyone spun to face the source of this new voice.

"Tommy?" Myk asked.

"Red Ranger," Psycho Red snarled.

Tommy looked down at Red from the top of a nearby sand dune. "I believe _you_ are supposed to be _my_ dance partner."

"So be it." Psycho Red melted into a streak of dark crimson light, closing the distance between himself and Tommy. The two immediately fell into a fierce melee.

"Tommy!" Myk started towards the Red Ranger, but the other three Psychos intervened, placing themselves between him and the dueling Red Rangers.

"Let Tommy have some fun, Myk," Jareth said, twirling his scythe. "We've got toys of our own."

A number of colored flashes rained down from the sky, revealing Kalen, Terina, and Fox.

"Are we late?" Terina asked innocently.

"Great," Deacon muttered. "Now we have to share."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Lolli? What are you doing here?"

Lolli frowned, screwing her eyes shut more tightly. "I WAS taking a nap," the Green Ranger replied irritably.

"Why aren't you up on the Bridge with the others, watching the battle?"

"We outnumber the Psychos by more than three to one now, I'm fairly certain we'll win. I don't need the play-by-play." Lolli opened one eye, peering at the White Ranger, who had just entered the ship's lounge and was looking at her curiously. "What about you? What are _you_ doing here?"

"I felt like a soda," Stephen replied, typing his selection into the soda machine and retrieving his beverage as it emerged from the slot. "Is that a problem?"

"It wouldn't have been, if you'd stayed quiet about it." Lolli closed her eye again and fell silent.

Stephen opened the tab on his soda. He was about to take a sip when he spied a handwritten note lying on the long, low table that stood in front of the couch that Lolli was currently occupying.

"What's this?"

Lolli let out an irritated noise. "An excuse for you to keep me awake," she replied.

Stephen picked up the note and stared blankly at it.

"Well?" Lolli said, curious despite herself. "What is it?"

"You tell me. What language is this written in?"

Lolli reluctantly pulled herself upright, snatching the note from his hand.

"Australian," she replied, examining the text.

"What's it say?"

"Don't ask me. I can't read Australian."

"What about those contact lens thingies? You have a pair, don't you?"

"Yes, but mine don't do text translation."

"Why not?"

"Because mine do other things instead," Lolli replied. "There's only so much technology you can fit into a paper-thin piece of plastic, you know."

Stephen snatched back the note. "There should be a law stating that all notes must be written in High Terran, so anyone can read them."

"Maybe we're not SUPPOSED to read it, ever think of that?"

"Any idea who left it?"

"The only Australian on the ship is Electra. It's probably either from her to someone, or to her from someone. I suggest you ask her."

And with that, Lolli reclined once more, closing her eyes.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Psycho Yellow seemed to grin cruelly, raising her arms and directing a surge of energy towards Terina, Who dived aside to avoid it, the blast instead striking the sand where she'd been standing, fusing it into glass instantly.

Terina contemplated a change of footwear as she struggled to stand, her black, knee-high, high-heeled boots sinking into the shifting desert sand. She summoned one of her daggers and threw it at Psycho Yellow, but the demonic Ranger caught it effortlessly.

"Silly little girl. Whatever are YOU doing here?"

"Erm...losing?" Terina asked.

Psycho Yellow chuckled, hurling the stolen dagger right for the center of Terina's visor.

There was a flash of crimson and bronze as Myk leapt between them, raising his scarlet cape before him like a shield...and to Terina's amazement, it actually worked, the enchanted dagger ricocheting off the cloth and striking the sand harmlessly.

**"Eagle Nunchaku,"** the Bronze Ranger summoned, his weapon appearing in his hand with a flash. "What ARE you four doing here?" Myk asked, not taking his eyes off Psycho Yellow. "Of all the Rangers that could have come for backup, you guys are the worst possible choice."

"Well, sure, in hindsight..."

Psycho Yellow leapt into the air, directly towards Myk, stiletto boot-first, aiming a devastating kick for the center of his chest...but as soon as she drew close, he twisted the chain of his nunchaku around her ankle and spun around, swinging her through the air. Once, twice he spun, then released his grip, sending Psycho Yellow flying. The counterfeit Ranger plummeted, crashing into the ground, kicking up a cloud of sand.

Terina tilted her head to the side. "You know, the padded terrain kinda takes something away from this fight."

Myk frowned. "Pavement _would_ have been more satisfying, wouldn't it?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Psycho Camo conjured her jagged, two-bladed sword, then ran her hand along one of its blades, charging the metal with energy. As the dark Ranger thrust the weapon forward, a blast of dark green light lanced out from the energized blade.

Fox flinched, waiting for the impact, but it never came. Opening her eyes, she saw the Silver Ranger standing before her, the engraved grooves of his vest-like shield glowing with the absorbed energy.

He turned his head so that he could see her from the corner of his visor, the energy fading as it flowed along the grooves, draining into the etched elephant's head in the diamond at the center of his chest.

"Need a hand?"

"I've got hands, thanks."

"Well, now you've got more," Deacon replied.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey, Electra," Stephen said as we walked onto the bridge, where a number of the Rangers were watching the battle on the screen. Electra hadn't been so much watching the screen as staring vaguely into space, but she turned at her name. "You can read Australian, right?"

"I should hope so," Electra replied sardonically. "Why?"

"I found this..." The White Ranger produced a small piece of black paper, upon which someone had scrawled a message in silver ink.

Electra frowned, taking it from him. "Where did you find this?"

"It was in the lounge, on the coffee table. Did you write it?"

Electra shook her head. "The paper looks like mine, and this is definitely my pen, but the handwriting's different. Not mine."

"Who else here can write in Australian?" Angel asked, taking an interest.

"Good question," the Black Ranger replied, turning the slip of paper over, examining it for any more clues.

"Well, what does it say?" Stephen asked.

"'Send yourself to the moon,'" Electra replied. She shrugged, pocketing the note.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"No idea," the Black Ranger said simply.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jareth went flying with the force of Psycho Purple's backhanded swing, landing facefirst in a sand dune.

Psycho Purple twirled her staff, grinning, then sent a blast from its end at the dune, causing the sand to swirl like a whirlpool, sucking the Gold Ranger under even as he tried to extricate himself.

"Woa-!" Not the most heroic of sounds, Jareth thought to himself as the sand closed over his head. Sighing, he began to try to dig/swim his way back to the surface. Thankfully, Psycho Purple hadn't bothered burying him very deeply.

Kalen turned back from watching this, looking back at Psycho Purple just in time to fend off a savage blow from the demonic Ranger's staff with her arm-fins.

A second blow caught her in the ribs, causing her to double over. A third knocked her legs out from under her, letting her fall to the ground.

The Staff of Aquarius appeared in Kalen's hands, blocking Psycho Purple's downward blow to her face, but the staff went flying from her hands almost immediately afterwards.

Moments after that, Kalen herself went flying, crashing to the ground amidst the ruins of her purple velvet cloak.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Eagle Nunchaku flashed as it whirled through the air, guiding by Myk's skilled hands, blocking one of Psycho Yellow's energy blasts after another. The bolts of energy rebounded as the y bounced off the weapon, creating small explosions of desert sand as they struck the ground.

Yellow let out a low growl, then raised her hand, making a fist.

Myk cried out as the sands shifted beneath him, a massive, twisted cactus rising up out of the ground, entangling the Bronze Ranger with its thorny arms. The tough thorns pierced the enchanted metal of his armor like knives.

Psycho Yellow drew her daggers, advancing on the captive Ranger. She didn't make it more than a few steps, however, before Terina swung in on a yellow-green vine, delivering a sharp, stiletto-heeled kick to the side of the demonic Ranger's head.

Psycho Yellow went sprawling to the sand with an outraged cry, as Terina released her vine and flipped to the ground, landing neatly on her feet.

There was a flash as Myk summoned Dorn, using the shining white blade to quickly slice away the offending cactus. Several smaller, bronze-colored flashes followed as the holes in his armor healed, the impediment of the thorns gone.

Terina conjured one of her weedseeds and threw it to the ground at Psycho Yellow's feet. Instantly, the seed cracked open, sending roots down into the sand and entangling the demonic Ranger to the point that she could barely move.

Myk strode forward, wielding Dorn, and in a few moments finished the Psycho Ranger off, never even giving her time to extricate herself.

"Nice work," Terina said, surveying the remains of Yellow, hands on her hips.

"Thanks," the Bronze Ranger replied. "You weren't so bad yourself."

Myk stopped short, a thought occurring to him. He looked around at the empty sky, at the featureless desert that stretched around them for miles.

"What was that vine attached to?"

Terina shrugged.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Red flashes illuminated the lengthening shadows of the sand dunes, each one the result of an impact between Tommy's blade and Psycho Red's.

Tommy had never been in a battle quite like this one. He hadn't been able to land a single blow yet. Psycho Red seemed to know all of his moves as well as he did. Even when fought himself…the clone Tommy created by the Wizard of Deception...the fight hadn't been this difficult. And unlike the fight with the clone, he knew he didn't have a chance of turning this enemy to good.

Psycho Red seemed equally surprised. It was clear that he'd never fought such a skilled opponent, either. Though his blows had lost none of their force, he gave the impression of tiring, his shoulder rising and falling rapidly as though he were breathing hard.

Abruptly, the sand beneath Tommy's red-booted foot shifted, causing to lose his balance for a moment.

Psycho Red pressed his advantage, jumping forward and forcing Tommy down onto his back. Tommy put all his strength behind his Tyrant Sword, managing to keep Red's blade inches away from his faceplate.

"It'll be a shame to kill you, Red Ranger. You're the best swordsman I've ever..."

Psycho Red's words died and his face gave the impression of surprise as he felt the unmistakable sensation of a Blade Blaster barrel being pressed into his stomach.

"Thank you," Tommy said grimly, squeezing the trigger.

At that close range, the blast not only picked Psycho Red up bodily and threw him from Tommy, it also caused the barrel of the Gun/Sword to explode, shards of scorched, twisted red metal flying everywhere.

Dropping the useless, exploded Blade Blaster handle, Tommy rose to his feet, stowing the Tyrant Sword and drawing the short sword from its clasp at his back. He stood, waiting patiently as Red used his own sword to pull himself to his feet.

Red snarled, leveling his sword and running at Tommy in an attempt to skewer him, But Tommy leapt into the air at the last minute, allowing Red to pass harmlessly beneath him. Turning quickly, Tommy unsheathed the hook-blades from their casings within his left forearm and delivered two powerful slashes to Red's back, first from his sword, then from the claws.

Red screamed, spinning around to face the Red Ranger. He raised his sword, but this time instead of swinging it, he grabbed the blade in his left hand and held the sword before him, flat side of the blade facing forward. Before Tommy had a chance to work out what the Psycho Ranger was doing, a thick column of fire had lanced out from the center of the twisted weapon, catching the Red Ranger directly in the face.

Tommy cried out, dropping his sword and clutching at his faceplate as the plastic-metal alloy of his helmet began to melt painfully.

Red leapt forward, delivering several powerful blows to Tommy's armor, producing a spray of red sparks with every slash.

Somehow, Tommy managed to blindly hook Red's sword with his claw-blades. As his visor healed, unmelting and becoming transparent again, Tommy twisted his wrist, wrenching the blade from the Psycho Ranger's grasp.

Leaping into the air, Tommy somehow managed to use his power to suspend himself there, delivering powerful kicks to Red's torso with both legs, moving forward through the air as Red stumbled back under the force of his blows.

Kicking off from Psycho Red's chestplate, Tommy backflipped to the ground, summoning his Tyrant Sword as he landed and making a single horizontal slash.

Red gave the brief impression of looking startled, took a few steps forward...then paused.

His head rolled from his shoulders, severed cleanly at the neck, falling to the sand with a soft PFFT, closely followed by the rest of him.

Stowing his sword, Tommy reached up and removed his helmet. running a hand across his forehead, the Red Ranger sat down heavily on Psycho Red's corpse, catching his breath.

"See?" he said to the disembodied head staring blankly up at him. "Never works."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kalen screamed in pain as violent purple energy surged through her. As the pain overwhelmed her, her Power ranger armor disappeared, leaving her lying in the sand in her normal clothes. Breathing hard, she struggled to pull herself to her feet, but had to settle for a seated position.

Psycho Purple took a few arrogant strides forward, then stopped, raising both hands above her head. Between them, a large ball of energy began to form...more than enough energy to end someone's life.

Then, to Kalen's surprise, Psycho Purple just....stopped. She let the energy blast she'd been building dissipate, then tilted her head and stared at Kalen.

"Wait....something's off here...."

Kalen squinted, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the setting desert sun.

Jareth finally unearthed himself, walked over, and pulled Kalen to her feet.

"That was unpleasant," he said. "What'd I miss?"

"If...then...." Psycho Purple threw back her head and cackled maniacally.

The Gold and Purple Rangers exchanged a glance, then turned back to Psycho Purple as her laughter finally died.

"Well. Much as I'd love to stay and chat...and kill you, of course, Kalen dear...I've just discovered that I no longer have to."

"What?" Jareth asked.

"I am free, mortals, free of this foolish summoning, and I'm certainly not about to be Zedd's lapdog any longer."

Psycho Purple made a negligent gesture with her hand, and a tear opened in space behind her, a horrid rip in space that opened onto a bleak, windswept plane where the sky was a violent blood-red and horrendous, misshapen creatures roamed to and fro, attacking one another whenever they drew within sight.

"Home sweet home," Purple said, a smile in her voice.

There was a brief flash of angry violet light that shone from every crack in her armor, then the individual plates fell from her body, revealing a humanoid form composed of some kind of semi-solid, transparent gel, shot through with multicolored sparks, though purple was most prominent. The gel shifted in shape, then in color and texture, until it had taken what one could only assume was her true form, the form Psycho Purple had had before Zedd had pulled her from her home plane and forced her into the Psycho Ranger armor.

Before them stood a creature that seemed a combination of woman, bird, and reptile. A pair of featherless wings grew from her back, and her fingers ended in long talons, her naked skin was covered in leathery scales...but her face was a vision of perfect beauty, her blue eyes shining brilliantly and her long, silky black hair blowing in the wind.

"She's a succubus...," Jareth breathed.

"You were expecting anything less from my counterpart?" Kalen said smugly.

The demonic creature turned and climbed through the portal she'd created. Once through, she turned and blew a kiss at the pair of them as the rip in space sealed itself once again.

"A pity," Kalen said. "I owed her a shaft of metal through the torso."

"Eh, maybe you can track her down someday. I'm sure one of my books covers demon summoning." Jareth tilted his head. "I wonder what freed her from the binding, though? I thought she couldn't leave until she'd killed you."

An expression of comprehension crossed Kalen's face, but she hastily wiped it off before Jareth noticed it.

"Yes, well," she said, picking up one of the fallen pieces of Psycho Purple's armor and dusting it off. "We know perfectly well that Zedd can't do anything right, don't we?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Before she had the chance to even utter a scream, Psycho Camo slowly and horribly fell apart.

Deacon finally stopped darting around and landed in a crouch in front of Fox, each hand holding what appeared to be a radial saw blade made of solid diamond. The spinning, jagged teeth of the saw blades screeched to a halt as Deacon turned to face Fox.

"How long have you had THOSE?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?" Deacon asked, as each blade shrank down to roughly the size of a quarter. He snapped the two tiny jagged disks onto the sides of his belt. "I've always had these."

"Uh-huh."

There was a pause.

"So..."

"So..."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Back on the Bridge of the Oasis, the Rangers distributed the items that had been retrieved from Zedd's palace.

"Cheap digital watch with a green wristband...," Mara said, fishing around in the bag.

"Mine," Lolli said.

"Gaudy, fake-looking ring on a gold chain, Terina, that's yours, I don't know HOW you can stand to wear that thing...painfully tacky. And way too big for any finger I've ever seen. I think losing it was the best thing to ever hap-"

Terina snatched the ring and hung it around her neck, holding it tightly. "Thank you," she said coldly, gazing at it.

Mara resumed her fishing, oblivious to Terina's tone. "A badly constructed music box made of....clay? Or something."

Myk held out his hand.

"So not asking," Mara said, handing it to him. "Umm...pocketwatch with a wolf on it, must be Angel's...yeah. Silver and blue ear wrap shaped like an ivy leaf...that's actually kinda pretty..."

As Mara continued handing out items, Terina turned to Lolli.

"So, that thing with the swirling snaky lights earlier...That was YOU?" the Yellow Ranger asked.

"What did you _do_?" Tommy asked.

"Finished the job the Eltarian Zord engineers started," Lolli replied. "Fully incorporated the Zords into our arsenal of powers."

"Meaning...," Troy began.

Lolli sighed at having to explain everything, AGAIN, but still felt an undeniable pleasure at being the only one who could. "Okay. The Zords are powered by our coins, just like our other powers, right? Well, if they run off the same power source, then how come our Zords weren't automatically repaired when damaged, like our armor?"

The others exchanged clueless glances.

"Because the process the Eltarians used to link the Zords and coins was incomplete. All I had to do was finish the job. It was surprisingly easy," she added as an afterthought.

"So...now..."

"So, now the Zords are stored magically, just like our weapons. We can summon them wherever we go and not have to worry about the time it'd take them to get to us, because we carry them with us. In addition to that, we don't have to worry about repairing them anymore. The Power will take care of that, just like it does with our armor, in a fraction of the time it would take us."

"Wow. Good work," Tommy said.

"I try," Lolli relied smugly, examining her nails. A flash of red caught her eye; Kalen tossing the Phantom Ruby absently from hand to hand.

"Can I see that?" Lolli asked.

Kalen tossed the large ruby to the Green Ranger, who caught it with surprising ease.

"Turns out Ornyk has a sister," Stephen said. "You'd like her, Jareth. She makes about as much sense as you do."

"Ooh. Is she seeing anyone?"

Stephen raised an eyebrow. "How did you know she's not a wolf, like Ornyk?"

"She's not? What is she?"

"That's rather a good question," Kalen said.

"Kalen," Jareth said, the grin dropping from his face.

"Yes?" Kalen asked facetiously, knowing full well that the Gold Ranger had spied his amulet hanging from her neck.

Jareth held out his hand.

"What's it worth to you?"

"Your continued breathing," the Gold Ranger replied.

Kalen squinted at him, for once not hearing any hint of a joke in his voice. Sighing, she took off the amulet and dropped it into his hand.

Lolli started giggling insanely, breaking the slight tension in the room.

"Uh-oh. The mad scientist laugh," Terina said.

"I have....an idea," Lolli said, grinning. She held up the Phantom Ruby, allowing its many polished facets to shine in the bright fluorescent lighting.

The other Rangers dutifully exchanged worried glances.

There was a woosh as the automatic doors to the Bridge opened, and Deacon walked in, looking thoroughly disshelved but satisfied.

Jareth narrowed his eyes.

"You have sand everywhere, don't you?" he asked slyly.

"Everywhere," the Silver Ranger confirmed.

"Imagine how Fox must feel," Angel said simply. "She has more places to get sand."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ornyk frowned thoughtfully, calmly spinning his sword by its point on the tip of his finger. His back rested against a jagged lunar rock, some thirty miles away from Zedd's palace. He was waiting.

The Stranger was late.

The blue-armored wolflike alien began tossing the sword end-over-end, thinking. Had he been double-crossed? The Stranger had clearly known about Animus, even though the Rangers themselves hadn't. Had he created Pegasus, knowing full well that Animus would destroy it, and the Psycho Rangers with it? Had he known--

"I apologize for the delay."

Ornyk blinked. The shrouded figure stood before him, though he hadn't seen the Stranger actually arrive.

"I trust you have a decent explanation for your actions."

"Everything went perfectly according to plan, if that's what you mean," The Stranger replied.

"Was it part of the plan, then, for the Phantom Ruby to fall into the hands of the enemy? For the last of the Psychos to be destroyed?"

"I hadn't counted on the Ruby being stolen," the Stranger replied. "In truth, I'd forgotten that the Rangers had creatures of evil among their ranks. Such things are, as I understand it, uncommon."

"Uncommon on other worlds, amidst the weaker, knock-off Rangers," Ornyk agreed. "These are the only true Power Rangers. These are the work of Medelon."

"One might theorize that having evil and neutral beings in their group may be part of what makes them so formidable. No party composed entirely of creatures of good could possibly be so...adaptable. Medelon was...not unwise...to make such arrangements."

"You are avoiding the question," Ornyk stated.

"I was coming to it." There was no hint of excuse in the Stranger's tone, simply a statement of fact. "The destruction of the Psycho Rangers is an acceptable loss."

"Then you created Pegasus purely with the intention of forcing the Rangers' hand into summoning Animus? I was informed that it lost power during the battle."

The stranger nodded, his hooded head leaning forward. "Rebuilding my power has been taking far too long, possibly due in part to the fact that I am still....imprisoned. The energy I have taken from Animus should speed things along nicely."

"I will overlook the fact that you've helped in the destruction of the most effective Ranger-fighting weapons my 'master' has yet devised," Ornyk said.

"And you will be suitably rewarded for doing so...when the time is right."

"And the Ruby?"

The Stranger considered.

"I could retrieve it for you. It shouldn't be terribly difficult."

"Retrieve or destroy it," Ornyk replied. "At any rate, it cannot be left in the hands of the Rangers."

"Once I have regained my full strength, they might have fifty Phantom Rubies and it would make no difference," the Stranger said, anticipation in his voice. "For now, however, you are correct. I will attend to the matter."

"I will be in touch," The Stranger reached up and lowered his hood, the better to stare burningly into Ornyk's eyes.

There was a gasp from behind one of the nearby craggy moonrocks.

Both evil beings jumped, heads whipping towards the sound, but all that remained of their eavesdroppers were a pair of glowing streaks of light, teleporting up into the air and vanishing altogether into the distance.

"Do you recognize those energy signatures?" Ornyk asked.

"I do," the Stranger replied, narrowing his strangely dark, honey-gold eyes. "This...may complicate matters somewhat.


	21. The Call

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 21: The Call

There was a tiny spark as the miniature welding tool finished soldering yet another replacement computer chip into place.

Lolli ran a hand across her forehead, wiping away some of the sweat that had been drawn forth by the bright light just above her head. Sighing, she bent back down, her high tech contact lenses whirring as they zoomed in and magnified the minute circuitry she was repairing.

"EPU," she said, holding out her hand.

Stephen selected an item from the array of parts that was scattered across the workbench and placed it into Lolli's outstretched hand.

"I mean, It's not as if she's _evil_ evil," he said. "I mean she's a Power Ranger, right? So she can't be _evil_. She just has evil tendencies, right? Who doesn't?"

"Uh-huh. Stephen, this is a secondary processor chip. I asked for the new EPU."

"Well, what's an EPU look like?"

Lolli let out an aggravated sigh. "It's a chip, about the size of my thumbnail, light blue, square."

"Ah..." The White Ranger grabbed the appropriate chip and handed it to her.

"Thank you," she said, tossing aside the incorrect component and proceeding to install the appropriate one. "Where's Angel when you need him?" she muttered.

"What's EPU stand for, anyway?"

"Emotion Processing Unit. It's what enables a computer to feel human emotions. Or at least emulate them."

"Oh."

There was a pause.

"So how's it coming?" Stephen asked, leaning forward.

"It'd be coming a lot better if you'd get out of my light," Lolli replied.

Stephen hastily backed off.

A few seconds and a few sparks later, Lolli leaned back with a satisfied sigh, closing the casing on the small, ovoid construct that sat on the workbench before her. "She's done. Or at least, the hardware's working again. Her mind's another story, I'm afraid."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Her memory was wiped entirely. I don't know what that planet's made of, but it really does a number on machines."

"And Eltarians, apparently," Stephen added. "What was with Terina earlier, anyway?"

Terina had skated into the Zord Bay earlier on her rollerblades, seen the mechanical parts strewn across the table, and immediately become so flustered that she nearly fell over three times in her haste to leave the room.

"No idea," Lolli replied, picking up the small droid and examining it from all angles, inspecting her work. She sighed yet again. "A body but no mind. It's like she's died. A pity. I really liked her. She was my first real creation."

"There is a way to restore her, Green Ranger," Zord-1's voice echoed through the massive, mostly empty chamber.

Lolli frowned at the empty compartments that the Dinozords had, until a few days ago, occupied. The place had never seemed so empty before, and it had certainly never echoed.

"Restore her?" Stephen asked. "How?"

"Tell me she made a backup before she left?" Lolli said eagerly.

"She did indeed."

"That's my girl," Lolli said to the inactive droid in her hands. "We'll have you back on your feet in no time, Diskette. Speaking figuratively, of course."

The recently repaired droid, predictably, did not respond.

"So," Stephen said after a moment. "You don't think she's _really _evil, do you?"

Lolli let her head drop against the tabletop in exasperation.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Myk frowned up at the ceiling of his room, listening to the music box on his bedside table as it played out its familiar melody, mulling over his recent behavior. He'd been acting out of sorts lately. In his last fight, he'd actually expressed pleasure at the concept of an opponent striking the pavement as she fell. Ordinarily, he'd flinch at the thought of such a sound, regarding it as an unfortunate necessity. Furthermore, he'd proceeded to strike down that same opponent, whilst she'd been held helpless and unable to fight back, with a weapon so powerful that it constituted the ultimate unfair advantage, and he hadn't, at the moment, given the matter a second thought.

The tune seemed almost to mock him. What would the one who'd given him that music box say if she knew how he'd been behaving? She'd wonder where he'd picked up such behavior, for a start. Well, that was easy enough. Just look at the company he'd been keeping. He'd always known the Purple Ranger's morals were questionable, but now it had been proven that she was actually _evil_. Suspecting someone was evil was one thing, being flat out _told _so by a machine that had never yet been wrong about anything was something else entirely.

A massive yawn escaped him. There was another new flaw he'd somehow picked up. He'd been sleeping a lot lately, and it never seemed to be enough, as he was always tired. Such sloth he'd almost certainly acquired through long association with Jareth, who, by his own admission, wouldn't move at all if certain biological imperatives didn't have to be met.

He hadn't been aware that laziness actually rubbed off. Maybe that one had been passed to him during the time that Jareth's mind had been linked to his by Animus? Well, if that was the case, then using Animus again was out of the question, no matter how dire the circumstance. There was no way he was going to let the Gold Ranger's complete lack of ambition or focus...or, for that matter, any more of Deacon's libidinous thoughts... intrude on his mind again.

_I DID try to warn you about them, Myk_, Ikaika's voice echoed within his mind.

Myk frowned. "Yes, I suppose you did. Have you been eavesdropping this entire time?"

_I apologize, but it is difficult not to overhear your thoughts whilst I am living within your mind. I will try harder in the future, if you wish._

"Thank you." Myk pondered for a moment. "Ikaika, what did you think of that experience?"

_You refer to the mental link created by Animus? I found it an interesting perspective into the minds of...less pure...beings. Although I could have done without some of the Silver Ranger's more...explicit thoughts._

Myk nodded.

_I am also grateful that I was able to conceal my presence from the others. I was not expecting such an intimate link. It was a near thing, not being discovered._

"Would it really be so bad if they knew about you?" Myk asked. "I'm not sure about all the others, but you know Jareth can be trusted with a secret. It was right there in his mind."

_That he was keeping secrets, yes, but he was able to prevent himself from thinking abut what those secrets actually were, thus hiding his thoughts from us. A surprisingly disciplined mind for one so lazy, I must admit. But we do not know what he was hiding, and I do not trust one so...innately concealing. I do not trust any of them, Myk. I will thank you to keep my secret._

"Yeah, okay. You've done enough for me, I suppose."

The speaker grill set into the ceiling clicked on.

"Everyone, come to the Bridge," Lolli's voice called. "I have a few things to show you."

Myk raised an eyebrow. What now?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lolli smiled as she addressed the entire body of assembled Rangers, a few of whom, particularly Jareth and Electra, looked distinctively as though they'd been yanked out of bed for this.

"Why are we here?" Jareth asked crankily.

"First of all," Lolli said, lifting Diskette's motionless body. "I am happy to announce that Diskette has been repaired, recharged, and reprogrammed, and is good as new."

The Green Ranger flicked a hidden switch and the small droid came to life, levitating into the air on her microrepulsorjets. She wobbled uncertainly, looking around the room in a bewildered manner.

"Wasn't I just in the Zord bay? How'd I get here? Are we still going to Tyrari?" She paused. "Wait a minute. I've just been reloaded from the backup, haven't I? Did I die? What happened?"

"I'll fill you in later," Lolli said. "Second...Zord-1, if you would..."

The screen at the front of the Bridge came to life, displaying the interior of

Station...specifically, the Turbo Garage.

Fox squinted. The compartments that had previously stood empty had been replaced with one large, ground level compartment that seemed to be occupied by an enormous, high-tech train.

"Using the power of the Phantom Ruby, Zord-1, Drone, Angel and myself have repaired the Turbo Zords."

"Those don't look like the Turbo Zords to me," Troy commented.

"They've been upgraded," Lolli explained. "Better than new. We're calling them the Rescuezords. And now, allow me to introduce..." (the lights inside the garage flared to life and the Train moved forward, exiting its compartment to reveal all five of its cars) "The Supertrain."

"The Supertrain?" Jareth asked. "That's the best you could-"

"I made the mistake of letting Zord-1 name the new Zords," Lolli explained. "Computers have _no_ creativity."

"Had I the capacity, I'd be offended by that remark," Zord-1 said, sounding huffy.

"Anyway," the Green Ranger continued. "Each car of the Supertrain houses a new Turbo Zord." The cars of the train on the screen opened to reveal five different vehicles. "Kalen, your Turbo Zord will be PyroRescue 1."

"Joy of joys. A giant fire engine."

Ignoring this, Lolli turned to Angel. "Angel, you get HydroRescue 2."

"I already know this."

"Shh, you're spoiling my delivery. Electra, yours is AeroRescue 3."

"Why is it _green_?"

"Ah..." Lolli rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, the thing is, we made these using the blueprints for the prototype Turbozords. Those blueprints were scrapped, and entirely different ones were used for the first five, but I managed to salvage them and fix the glitches..."

"But you forgot to change the colors," Jareth finished.

"Moving on," Lolli growled. "Fox, you get HazRescue 4."

"I like."

"And Stephen, you get MedRescue 5."

"An ambulance? That's it?" Stephen asked indignantly.

"Take what you've got and be grateful. I worked hard on these. Oh, and they combine into a Megazord, of course. We're calling it the 'Lightspeed Megazord' for now."

"Why? Are they that fast?" Stephen inquired.

Lolli scoffed.

"'Project Lightspeed' was the name given to the reconstruction and upgrading of the Turbozord arsenal," Angel explained. "So called because it was a total rush job."

"Oh, and before I forget..." Lolli produces a black leather briefcase. Opening it, she revealed a black velvet interior, embedded into which were five shining new Turbo Morphers and five keys. "You guys get Turbo Morphers now. Take one, pass it down."

Each Ranger claimed the Morpher of his or her color, all of which vanished in a flash once strapped on.

"Is that it?" Mara asked.

"That's it. Fly, be free, go about your lives."

The Rangers slowly dispersed, some wandering out through the doors and other teleporting off the ship and back to the planet below.

Three remained.

Deacon exchanged glances with Myk and Jareth, none of them had gotten a Turbo Zord.

"What about us?" he asked.

Lolli sighed. "We run into a little glitch with you three. I _have_ plans for Turbo Zords for you… but we have no way to power them."

"I thought the Turbo Morphers ran on the Zeo Crystals?" Myk asked.

"Oh, they do. Trouble is, I don't know what the Triforians did to your subcrystals when they made them into the Power Staff. They're stronger than any of the others, but they're tied together somehow...whatever, the fact is, between the three of them, they can only power one Turbo Morpher."

"So who gets it?" Deacon asked.

"I'll pass," Jareth said. "Cars, ugh. One of you two can have it."

Deacon turned to Myk, holding out one open palm and one fist. "Match you for it?"

Myk blinked. "You wish to fight me?"

Deacon snorted, trying to contain his laughter. Jareth didn't bother.

"Nonono," Deacon said, once the moment had passed. "We each choose an object, either rock, scissors or paper. Paper is represented by a flat hand, scissors by a pair of fingers, and rock by a fist. The object is to choose the object that defeats the object your opponent chooses. We show each other our hands at the same time. Simple."

"I can't believe you've never played this game," Jareth added.

Myk nodded.

"We choose on three. Ready?"

"Ready."

"One, two, three."

"Paper, Myk said, holding up his flat palm.

"Rock," Deacon said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Rock rips paper, I win."

Myk sighed. "Very well. You take it."

Deacon seemed to struggle with himself for a moment.

"Is something wrong?" Myk asked.

"Dammit, I can't do it. It's just too easy," the Silver Ranger said, looking at Jareth,

who nodded understandingly.

"Paper wraps rock, Myk," Jareth explained. "You won."

"Oh."

"So will our three form a Megazord, too?" Deacon asked.

"No," Lolli replied. "Each of your Zords will become its own Megazord. Myk, you'll be piloting Supertrain. It's the only one that's finished. Deacon, yours will be a shuttle that can transform into its own battle mode, or form additional armor for the Lightspeed Megazord."

"Please tell me I get a jet or something," Jareth begged.

"Nope, sorry. You'll be driving the carrier that transports the Rescuezords, once we get it built."

"Poop."

"Trade you?" Deacon offered.

"No trading!" the Green Ranger chastised.

Jareth pouted. "Double poop."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Troy watched as Terina sped into the Lounge on her rollerblades, circled the couch a few times, then sat down to rest.

"Should you be wearing pads? And a helmet?"

Nah," Terina replied, standing. "If you're clumsy enough to need a helmet, you have no business strapping wheels to your feet." With that, she skated backwards out the room, thumbing her nose at the Blue Ranger as the door slid shut after her.

Troy rolled his eyes, then turned them back down to his newspaper.

Abruptly, a number of red, dome-shaped lights popped down from the ceiling, spun a few times making a horrible sound, then silenced themselves and retracted as Zord-1 shut down the alarm. His voice sounded throughout the ship next.

"Will all Rangers not otherwise occupied please report to the Bridge?"

The doors slid open and Terina rolled past again, darting across the room, grabbing the horizontal steel bar that was attached to the wall, and swinging feet-first into the jumptubes that ran throughout the entire course of the ship.

Shaking his head, Troy folded his paper and followed.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What's up, Zord-1?" Troy asked as he entered the bridge, the doors opening

automatically before him. A number of the others were already present...all of them, in fact, save Angel, Fox, and Stephen.

"We are receiving a distress call," the computer answered.

"Not another one," Terina complained.

"We walked away from the last one with a pile of gold, a collection of magical

grimoires, a dragon, a kitten, and a hat," Jareth said. "What do you think we'll get this time?"

"This planet doesn't kill technology and make Eltarians lapse into comas, does it?" Terina asked.

"Most assuredly not," the computer replied. "KO-35 is a highly civilized colony, advanced in technology...though it is currently torn by a major civil war that has lasted generations. There was a peace conference scheduled approximately a year ago, during which the leaders of both factions were mysteriously assassinated. Each side naturally blames the other, but there has never been any evidence to indicate the truth. The war has only escalated since, and it is unlikely now that it will ever cease."

"We've got to do something," Tommy said.

"Yes. Or, we could not," Kalen said.

Tommy glared at her. "They're asking for our help."

"Oh? Which ones, Tommy? Which side will you be choosing?" Kalen smiled as she spoke, evidently enjoying playing with the Red Ranger's mind.

"She makes a point," Terina said. "Which side do we choose in a civil war?"

"The side of peace," Tommy replied flatly. "We're going to put an end to that war."

"_You're_ going to put an end to that war. Or rather, you're going to _try_. I'm sitting this one out."

"How can you just--"

"Oh, I can't get involved in this one. It's a conflict of interest."

With that, the Purple Ranger turned on her heel and exited the bridge, waving negligently.

"What did she mean, 'conflict of interest'?" Terina asked warily.

"I think we're happier not knowing," Jareth replied with certainty.

"How someone like her became a Power Ranger, I'll never know," Myk said, shaking his head.

"Are you familiar with the concept of Jen Chi?" Zord-1 asked.

"Nnnnooo...."

"Jen Chi is the Chinese term for a practice that has existed for centuries. It is the art of balancing a group of people according to their personal characteristics to create the ideal team."

"But we fight all the time," Myk protested.

"Jen Chi does not strive for harmony, as harmony is not always the ideal solution. It seeks to create a balance between harmony and discord." And here the screen that was the front of the room lit up, displaying Myk at one end and Kalen at the other.

"Between Good and Evil..."

Kalen was replaced by Deacon.

"Between Order and Chaos..."

Both vanished, replaced by Tommy at one side and Jareth at the other.

"Between careful focus and wild intuition."

Jareth grinned smugly at Myk, who scowled and stormed out of the room.

Tommy tilted his head. "The coins choose all this?"

"I suspect Medelon balanced the team when he created the coins. Each coin has its preferred archetype. The Red Power Coin, for example, will almost invariably choose a law-abiding, good-aligned male who is particularly adept at swordplay. The only notable exception is the Purple Power Coin, but there were extenuating circumstances."

"What were the extenuating--" Lolli began, but the computer cut her off.

"That is a discussion for another time, I'm afraid. A decision must be made regarding KO-35. Which of you are willing to take an intergalactic trip into a savage war zone?"

Seven hands went up: Deacon's, Terina's, Tommy's, Electra's (though she seemed to be paying so little attention that her hand might have wandered into the air by accident), Mara's, Troy's, and Jareth's.

"Lolli?" Tommy asked.

The Green Ranger shrugged. "Can't, busy. I've got half a dozen projects awaiting my attention. But I can set you for the trip." She turned to the control panel and rapidly tapped a few keys.

"There ya go. The Mega-V shuttles have been compressed and stored aboard the Megaship," Lolli said. A slot in the console spit forth a handful of color-coded keycards, which Lolli took and handed to each of the Rangers, except for Deacon and Jareth. "Use these if you get into serious trouble."

"What do they do?" Mara asked, looking suspiciously from her pink cardkey to Lolli.

"You'll find out," Lolli said slyly. "Just remember to use all five of them at once.

Well, good luck." And with that, Lolli turned on her heels and walked out the door, heading, most likely, to her workshop in the Zord Bay.

"Well," Jareth said. "Shall we be off then?"

And, with a flash of multicolored light, the seven Rangers vanished from the bridge.


	22. Sirenian's Song

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 22: Sirenian's Song

"You know, when Lolli said we'd be taking the Megaship, I assumed she meant the _Astro_ Megaship," Tommy said. "I didn't even know we had this one."

"Delta Megaship," Jareth read, his contacts zooming in on the writing that emblazoned the black, triangular spaceship's hull. "I guess she hasn't finished fixing the Astro yet. I've never known about this one, either. Must be new. Or Lolli was saving it."

Deacon walked up to the entry port, and pressed his hand against a hand-shaped pad, opening the door. "How long do you think we'll be gone?" the Silver Ranger asked.

The other shrugged.

"Oh, that reminds me." Mara pulled out a Barbie-pink cellphone and typed in a series of numbers. "Mom? It's me. Just wanted to let you know I'll be staying at Tiffani's this weekend. Love you." With that, she hung up and dialed in another number. "Tiffani? Mara. I'm going out of town, so….yeah. Standard Operating Procedure. Thanks. Bye."

"Standard Operating Procedure?" Troy asked.

"She covers for me if mom calls her house looking for me. We've done this a few times before."

"Don't you need to tell your mom where you're going as well?" Tommy asked the Gold Ranger.

"Not really," Jareth replied, as the group strode up the ramp and into the ship. "I moved out of the house years ago. Been living on the Oasis."

Tommy squinted. "Does your mom know…"

"About the Power Ranger thing? Nope. She thinks I'm wandering the continent looking for Dad." He tilted his head to the side. "There's a life quest if I ever heard of one. I wonder what she expects me to do when I find him?"

"Ah. What about the rest of you guys?"

"My parents died over five centuries ago," Terina said.

"My mom says that time is an illusion. There are no clocks or calendars in my house. And she believes in giving me my space, and never seems to mind if I vanish for a few days," Electra explained.

"Troy?" Tommy asked.

"I have the next few days off work. No one'll miss me."

"What do you do?"

"Fascism," Jareth replied.

"I'm an Enforcer," Troy asserted.

"An…"

"Enforcer. You know, Law Enforcement."

"Oh. You're a cop."

"If that's what you call it, sure."

"Why call that fascism?" Tommy asked the Gold Ranger.

"Well, what do you call it when one group of people uses the power at their disposal to force their beliefs onto other people?"

"That's not what Enforcers do," Troy growled.

"It is too. The people you work for decided what was right and what was wrong, and it's your job to shoot anyone who disagrees."

"I only-"

"Oh, shut up."

"You don't-"

"Zip it."

"But-"

"Nope, not listening. Look, air."

Troy sighed, crossing his arms.

The interior of the Delta Megaship was strikingly different from that of the Astro Megaship. The Astro Megaship's interior was futuristic, yet comfortable, the floors had been carpeted and moodlighting shone from overhead. The Delta Megaship, however, was purely utilitarian, a maze of dimly lit pipes, cables, and metal frames.

"Cozy," Terina said sarcastically.

"Umm…which way to the Bridge?" Tommy asked.

"That way. I think."

It took the better part of an hour for the group to actually find their way to the Bridge of the uncomfortable ship. The Bridge, at least, had padded seats. Not much of a convenience, but the Rangers were willing to settle for what they could get at this point.

"Opening bay doors," Jareth said, as a large panel of the mountain's rocky surface slid aside, letting sunlight pour into the hangar. As his hands operated the controls, the Spirit Summoner on his wrist caught his eye.

"I wonder if we'll be able to summon our Spirit Zords from KO-35…Did Lolli say whether that thing she did worked on them, too?"

Deacon shrugged. "No time to worry about that now. We're running late enough as it is."

"Right, right. Okay. Buckle up, everyone…I've never driven this one before."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A mighty roar split the air as the triangular spaceship blasted out of the hanger, cutting through the air with such force that it carved a furrow into the desert sand below. The rocky door slid shut behind them, sealing itself seamlessly as the ship angled upwards, leaving the planet's atmosphere.

"Hmm…nice handling…cool design…fix up the interior, and I'll take it," the Gold Ranger said, as he plotted the course. "Hmm…that's a bit odd…KO-35 is listed as 'Daria' in the navicomp's files…"

"Great show," Terina said.

"That it is." Jareth shrugged. "Engaging Hyperrush….now."

The world seemed to warp around them as the stars outside the viewport melted into streaks, shooting past them as they flung through space.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What do you mean it's gone?" Myk demanded.

"Exactly what I said, Bronze Ranger. The Phantom Ruby is gone."

The other Rangers on the Bridge had been more or less ignoring this exchange, but they took interest at about this point.

"Someone's stolen it?" Angel asked.

"That is, indeed, the likelihood."

"Well, bring up the security tapes or whatever. You keep track of everything that happens on the ship. You said so yourself," Stephen suggested.

There was a pause, far longer than Zord-1 normally took to process any request.

"Well?" Lolli asked.

"I have no memory files of any events between the hours of 12: 35 PM and 2: 35 PM within the Magitech Laboratory."

"What could have caused you to lose three hours worth of memory?" The Green Ranger asked.

"Three options come to the forefront," the computer replied. "The first is simple system failure. Advanced as I am, any system is prone to glitches. I can say, however, without trace of arrogance, that given my level of technological sophistication, this is extremely unlikely."

"What else?" Myk asked.

"The second option is that I am under the influence of some unknown magic or technology. As I am adequately shielded against both, however, this too is highly unlikely, although again, no System is foolproof."

"So what's left?" Angel asked.

"The third option is that an authorized User…that is, a Power Ranger… commanded me to forget what happened at that particular place at that particular time. This is, I am afraid, the most likely scenario."

Myk turned to glare at Lolli.

"Hello?" the thief said. "It's missing from MY lab. Why would I steal it from myself?"

"Kalen then," Myk said with certainty as the automatic doors slid open.

"You called?"

The four Rangers present turned to see Kalen and Fox standing in the doorway.

Myk pointed accusingly at Kalen. "Return the Phantom Ruby. I know you took it."

"Oh?" Kalen crossed her arms. "I suppose you have proof?"

"I don't need proof. If you want something, you take it."

"Who says I wanted that Ruby? I seem to recall giving it to Lolli."

"Return it!"

"I don't have it." Kalen crossed her arms and gave Myk a death glare. "What do you want with it, anyway?"

"I'm going to destroy it."

"What?" Lolli turned her eyes towards Myk. "I'm not finished with it yet. I think I can use it to-"

"No one's going to use it anymore. It's evil. It needs to be destroyed."

Angel raised an eyebrow. "How can a ruby be evil? It's a rock."

"Angel, if you're not going to help me, stay out of this. Kalen, return the ruby."

"I'm not going to repeat myself just because you're too thick to comprehend a simple statement the first time around. And even if I did have it, who are you to start ordering the rest of us around?"

"I'm the only one here who seems to care about doing the right thing!" Myk snapped. "That Ruby is evil and it isn't needed here, any more than you are!"

A grin slowly appeared on Kalen's face.

"I've been waiting for that. So, I'm evil and I have to go, is that it? News flash, Hero Boy. I was a member of this team long before you joined. If anyone's intruding, it's _you_."

"Evil is intruding no matter where it goes."

Kalen raised her eyebrows, as if surprised that even Myk could be so idiotic.

"Again, your entire argument revolves around my being evil. Is that really the best line of prosecution you could come up with?"

Myk glowered at her.

Okay. Let's try this. Suppose I did want the ruby. Why would I take it _before _Lolli had finished studying it? Wouldn't it have been more prudent to take it _after,_ so as to know what it does and how to use it?"

"Don't ask me to understand how an evil mind works."

"Well, allow me to enlighten you. I am no petty thief…no offense, Lolli..."

"None taken."

"I m a criminal _mastermind_," Kalen continued. "I am not likely to snatch something just because it's _shiny_. The Phantom Ruby had potential, I'll grant you, and it's possible that I might have eventually appropriated it for my own purposes."

"See? You admit-"

"But I would not have even _considered _employing a potentially unstable and dangerous magical artifact without having it studied first, nor would I have wasted my own resources having it examined when I have a much more brilliant scientist than any of the ones on my payroll standing right _there_," she pointed at Lolli. "…willing to do the same job for free. Add to that the fact that the Ruby stood to benefit this team." Kalen looked Myk in the eyes and spoke the next part very slowly and deliberately, as if addressing a five-year-old. "I am a member of this team. That which benefits this team, benefits me." She smirked. "This is, incidentally, the reason I tolerate _you_."

"_You_ tolerate _me_?!"

"Now, let me bounce a scenario off of _you_," the Purple Ranger continued. "Suppose someonedistrusts anything that's evil. Suppose that someone wants both that Ruby, and myself, gone. What better way to get rid of both than to steal one and blame the other?"

Myk looked absolutely livid, his fists clenched at his sides and his hands tightening into fists.

"...and now that I think about it, you do look a tad…" Kalen paused, smiling sweetly at Myk. "Flustered. Someone as good and just as you should really be more comfortable in his righteousness...unless him conscience is bothering him, that is."

Myk lunged at Kalen, but Angel was already standing between them, his face completely impassive. Myk stumbled and backed off a step or two…a smart move, seeing as Angel was easily a foot and a half taller and at least twice as broad as he was. The Bronze Ranger's eyes darted from Angel to Stephen, who had moved to Kalen's side. The Purple Ranger herself was still smiling mockingly at him.

Myk took a deep breath, then growled, "I am a champion of good, I would never stoop to petty theft, and unlike _some_ of our members, I believe in upholding the dignity and honor of this team. I told you all that that Ruby was evil, and I still maintain that keeping it inside out base was just asking for trouble. And look…its mere presence has caused an already corrupt member of out team to not only steal it for its power, but to lie to her fellow Rangers. It's disgusting that she's believed…and it's disgusting just being near her." And he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, the doors sliding open for him of their own accord.

There was a long pause.

"You don't really think that he stole the thing, just to blame you, do you?" Stephen asked.

"Of course not," Kalen replied. "He's not that creative."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Space is vast, incredibly vast, and scattered throughout its endless reaches are stars, planets, meteors, comets, nebulae, moons and satellites. An endless population of extraordinary beings make their home in space, no two specimens quite alike, some creatures and beings so exotic that they have never yet been, and never will be, dreamed of by humankind. Astounding magics and incredible technologies have been created, used, lost and forgotten in the infinite reaches of space.

However, Jareth thought as he gazed vacantly out of one of the Delta Megaship's portholes, unless you're in the right place at the right time, space is also astoundingly, incredibly BORING.

To make matters worse, he'd been banned from singing by his friends, after his fantastically rendered (or so he thought) rendition of 'A Whole New World".

A few strains of hauntingly beautiful music caught his ear. He glanced over at the center of the room, where the control panels were. Terina was fiddling with the communication systems.

"What is that?" Troy asked curiously.

"Dunno," the tiny Yellow Ranger replied. "It's coming in over the emergency channel."

"It's pretty," Jareth said, his eyes unfocusing.

Terina's eyes fell closed. "Yeah…it is…"

"Very pretty…," Tommy said vaguely.

Mara made a face, glancing around in confusion at her fellow Rangers, all of whom seemed to be zoning out.

"No it's not," she said. 'It sucks."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Sirenians are a race of sentient, humanoid life forms evolved from Avian ancestors….put simply, they are bird people. Like most sentient life forms, at the root of Sirenian society is the unwavering belief that the only truly worthwhile race is their own, that the universe was put there for them to rule and that they were put there to rule it. Unlike most races, however, the Sirenians did not even _pretend_ to abandon this belief when, ranging throughout the galaxy, they encountered other sentient races. The Sirenians have become a race of slavers, capturing traveling vessels and selling their crews to the highest bidder. Sirenians manage this by means of their hypnotic song, which acts, not by magic, but by playing on specific frequencies that have a profound effect on the synaptic functions of the listener's brainwaves. These frequencies can affect any race that can hear, because in every culture is found _some_ sort of music, and the song accesses the higher functions of the brain through that one portion that deals with it. (It should be noted that those who buy slaves from Sirenian traders must wear special filters, such as carefully designed earplugs, or risk becoming slaves themselves, as Sirenians do not see much difference between races not their own.)

There is a fraction of the population of the Universe, however, that has NO capacity for music appreciation. They are not to be faulted for this, as the condition is genetic; their brains simply lack the capacity to process those particular bioelectrical impulses properly. No matter how much they practice, how much they comprehend of the theory behind the music, they simply lack any talent for it whatsoever. This sort of person can _never_ carry a tune, will _always_ march out of step, and couldn't play an instrument to save their lives. Many of the more proud specimens of this genotype simply insist that it the rest of the universe that lacks any taste, and on almost every planet there is a specific genre of 'music' designed solely to cater to them, consisting mainly of loud thumping, lots of bass, and badly chanted psuedo-rhymes known as 'rap'.

These people, incidentally, are completely immune to the Sirenians' song.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Guys! Snap out of it!" Mara tried poking and prodding her friends, even slapped her brother upside the head, but it was pointless. Nothing seemed to bring any of them back to reality. They had taken to wandering the Bridge, eyes half-closed, manipulating the controls. Only Terina seemed to be vaguely aware of what she was doing, but she didn't seem to be able to bring herself to speak, or do anything about it.

The ship rocked violently, nearly knocking the Pink Ranger off her feet.

She'd seen enough of her brother's bad sci-fi movies to know what that meant: tractor beam.

"Oh, no you don't…" Mara jumped for the controls, only to learn when she reached them that they made no sense whatsoever. "Oh…I guess you do..."

Her eyes fell on the circular speaker grill on the console. Contrary to whatever her brother may have said about her, she was no idiot; she knew it was the song that was affecting her friends. But she didn't know how to shut it off.

A grin appeared on her face as she spied the head of the microphone on the control panel, a round ball at the end of a flexible neck. Grabbing it, she twisted the neck, placing the microphone directly in front of the speaker.

An intolerable, high-pitch scream filled the air as feedback nearly caused the speakers set into the walls to tear themselves apart. Everyone's hands flew to their ears.

Freed from the song's influence, Terina dived for the control panel and switched off the communications array, silencing the earsplitting noise.

Troy experimentally removed his hands from his ears. "What…what just happened?" he asked, running a hand through his absurdly short brown hair.

"_What_?!" Jareth yelled, hands still protectively held over his ears. No one could tell whether he was kidding.

"Some kind of song hypnotized you all, and then we got caught in some kind of tractor beam."

"Jareth, can you get us out of it?"

"Can I get us out of it?" the Gold Ranger repeated, laughing. "Can I get us out of it?"

"Well, can you?"

"I dunno," Jareth said seriously. "Let's find out."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Delta Megaship lurched to the side, breaking free of the invisible hold. A nearby ship appeared, dropping whatever invisibility it had been using, as though startled.

The ship was larger than the Megaship, shaped roughly like a large, mechanical bird . It moved in closer, then opened several panels, from beneath which extended a number of high-tech-looking weapons.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A voice crackled over the speakers.

"Lesser race," it said in a gentle, soothing voice. It was male, or at least sounded male. "You have resisted the Song and declined to come peacefully. Surrender, or I will be forced to attack and risk lowering your value by damaging you."

"Lowering our…" Mara began.

"Sirenians," Terina said, looking up the ship in the Megaship's computers. "They're slavers. They want to capture and sell us."

"No one sells me without my permission," Jareth said into the microphone. "And a note from my doctor."

He turned to Mara. "Mara, would you care to do the honors?"

Mara smiled. "I would. Umm…what do I do?"

"Well, do you see that large red button over yonder?"

"Yes, and please don't say 'yonder'. It's disturbing."

"There's one just like it in the Astro Megaship. I think if you press it, we'll all be pleasantly surprised."

"What does it-" Tommy began.

Mara pressed the button.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Delta Megaship's back half slit off, then separated, each half twisting to become a leg. The front half revealed a pair of long, slender metal arms, the hand of each resembling a rotary gun turret with its fingers as the barrels.

As the front half snapped back down onto the legs, a triangular panel near the top folded down, revealing a face, and the guns on either side, which had faced forward when it was a ship, snapped down to face forward in Megazord-mode.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Delta Megazord, online," Jareth said.

"Did you know that it would do this?" Tommy asked.

"I had a pretty good hunch. Umm…why don't you drive from here. I can't work a Megazord."

"What about me?" Deacon asked.

"Oh, you drove last time."

As Tommy took the controls, the Delta Megazord reached up and grabbed the other ship by the engines, then spun, releasing the Sirenian vessel and sending it flying. The ship flew for a ways before righting itself and heading back for the Megazord.

"Does this thing have a sword?" Tommy asked.

"Doesn't look like it," Terina answered, examining the computer. "It's good with its hands, though. Check this out." Terina played a file on one of the internal screens, displaying a simulated Delta Megazord firing laser-bullets from its fingers.

"Not bad," Troy said appraisingly.

"Not bad at all. Do it, Tommy!" Deacon said, grinning.

"No. It's a slaver vessel. There might be slaves aboard."

"Wing it," the Blue Ranger suggested. "Take out the engines and weapons."

Tommy nodded, manipulating the controls.

Delta Megazord raised its arms towards the Sirenian ship. Its wrists began rotating, and as its round hands spun, a blizzard of energized bolts of light shot forth from its hollow fingers.

There was a small explosion as the engines were struck, what little oxygen had been trapped within that part of the structure being consumed in a brief plume of flame. The ship spun out of control, still plummeting directly towards the Megazord.

"Everybody hang on," Tommy said tersely.

The impact may have been silent in the vacuum of space, but inside the ship it was surprisingly loud. The Delta Megazord had managed to catch the vessel, but was at the same time knocked backwards by the Sirenian slave ship's inertia.

Tommy carefully brought one of the Megazord's hands up to the Sirenian ship's weapon array, blasting most of it off.

"Tommy, you've got to stop us before we hit something," Mara cried.

"Hit what?" Terina asked. "Space is almost entirely empty. The odds against us hitting anything are…"

Mara, who was next to Terina, grabbed the smaller Ranger's face and pointed it up at the viewscreen, which was currently displaying a very large asteroid...getting larger as they drew nearer.

"..not important right now," Terina finished lamely. "Tommy, get us out of here."

Tommy triggered the jets in the Megazord's feet, trying to push the ship back the other way."

"Too big, too much inertia," Troy said. "We can't stop it. All we can do is get out of the way."

Frowning, Tommy caused the Delta Megazord to let go of the ship, then moved them out from between the asteroid and the slave vessel.

There was another explosion, larger this time, as the ship struck the massive rock.

"Well…maybe there _weren't_ any slaves on board," Electra said quietly, the first thing she'd said since boarding the ship.

"There were," came a voice from behind them. All seven Rangers spun around.

A strange man was standing behind them, glaring at them coldly. His eyes were a shocking yellow, he was considerably taller and thinner than a normal human, and he seemed to have three feathers tucked behind each of his ears, sticking back and down. But apart from these things, he bore a striking resemblance to Deacon, even down to the same hairstyle, long hair tied into a ponytail, revealing that his head was shaved below the ears.

"I had just collected three excellent specimens. All are dead now, thanks to you. But no matter. You all appear to be in excellent health, I can simply charge a bit more for you to make up for it. I may even be able to compensate for the loss of my ship."

"I thought we'd established that we AREN'T going," Electra said.

For answer, the Sirenian opened his mouth and sang, a single clear crystal note that seemed to reverberate off the walls, becoming more beautiful and complex each time it did. The Rangers' focus began to fade, their eyelids drooping.

**"Pterodactyl!"**

There was a bright pink flash, and the Sirenian found himself staring down the shaft of a shining pink arrow, aimed right between his eyes. He let his song die.

"Philist," he sneered, the feathers behind his ears fanning up in agitation.

"Come again?" Terina said, as she and the others shook off the song's effects.

"She is a philist. A Lesser who is immune to the Song."

"Why is she immune?" Troy asked.

"Her brain lacks the capacity to appreciate true music," the Sirenian replied. "We usually kill her kind and feed them to the other slaves."

"Can I shoot him?" Mara asked. "Please?"

"Who are you?" Tommy asked, ignoring the question.

"I am Aviarus, trader and captain of the ship you just destroyed." Aviarus eyes the Pink Ranger. "I was going to enslave you all and use this vessel to return to Sirenia, but I can hardly do that with an armed philist on board." Ariarus took a deep breath, as though he truly loathed what was about to happen. "So I will…make a deal…with you." His feathers drooped in disgust.

"What's the deal?" Tommy asked.

"I will make no further attempts to harm or enslave any of you, and you will in return not harm me, and agree to deposit me back on Sirenia."

"Or I could just shoot you," Mara suggested brightly.

"You're just trying to get us to go to Sirenia, where you have friends and resources to better enslave us," Troy accused. "And by attempting to enslave us, you're breaking the deal already."

Aviarus smiled slightly. "You are intelligent, for a Lesser. But as our deal is not yet in place, that attempt to enslave you was still legal."

"He's right," Jareth said, grinning.

Deacon elbowed him. "Don't help the bad guy."

"Sorry."

Aviarus considered. "Very well, then…instead of returning me to Sirenia, you will deposit me on a planet that has access to interstellar transport, that I may hire my own transport home."

"Deal," Tommy held out his hand.

Aviarus looked at it with disdain. "I will hold you to your agreement and you may hold me to mine. Physical contact is…not necessary."

Tommy frowned, letting his hand drop.

"So what do we do with him?" Troy asked. "Deal or not, I don't think it's wise to let him walk free. Does this ship have a brig?"

"Umm…We'll have to worry about that later," Terina said, her eyes on the viewscreen.

"Why's that?"

"Because we're headed right for an ion storm."


	23. Ninjetti Storm Part I

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 23: Ninjetti Storm Part 1

Tommy groaned, screwing his eyes shut against the onslaught of early morning sunlight that assaulted him. Rolling over, he stumbled to his feet and looked around, groggily.

He was in the woods. All around him was a steady cacophony of chirping birds, the sound of wind rustling through the treetops. Daylight filtered down through the leaves, and the gentle burbling of a nearby brook was just barely audible in the distance.

Gingerly, he brushed off the dirt and bits of grass that had clung to him during the time he'd been lying on the ground, unconscious. Who knew how long he'd been there. Or how he'd gotten there. He thought back, trying to remember the sequence of events up to this point.

He remembered being on the Delta Megaship with some of the others. They were on their way to some planet he'd never heard of, to take care of something he couldn't remember. He remembered an ion storm, a series of bizarre unearthly lights that flashed in through the portholes of the black, triangle-shaped vessel. At one point, the artificial gravity gave out, and everyone and everything floated aimlessly through the recycled air.

He remembered the storm passing, the gravity kicking back in. He remembered the Rangers dragging themselves off the floor, checking to see that everyone was okay. He remembered agreeing to help Terina and Troy to repair the damaged Hyper Rush engines, without which they'd never make it home.

He remembered dropping something, a component that had come loose from the side of the engine. He remembered the Yellow Ranger's cry of "Be care--"

A bright flash, then nothing.

Raising his hand to the side of his head, Tommy tapped the spot behind his right ear, activating the tiny comchip that was implanted beneath his skin.

"Zord-1? Do you read?"

Silence. Not even static.

"Zord-1? Diskette? Pilot? Anyone?"

More silence.

Tommy concentrated, willing himself to be teleported aboard the Oasis, but something was clearly wrong, either with the ship or with his comchip, because nothing whatsoever happened.

"Guess I'm on my own," the Red Ranger said resignedly. He looked around aimlessly, just trying to get some sense of which would be the best direction to travel.

Something about this place felt....wrong. Artificial. The warmth of the sunlight on his skin, the gentle sounds of nature that surrounded him, the smell of the forest in his nostrils, even the breeze gently caressing the hair on his arm...it was all very real....but there was a quality to it. Nothing you could actually pin down, but an undeniable sensation that everything around him was fake.

He shuddered. One direction seemed as good as another, so he picked one at random and started walking.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

He hadn't been walking for long when he came to the edge of the forest. Before him stood a waterfall, a massive, beautiful waterfall, that came cascading down the towering cliffs to fill the large lake that stood just on the edge of the forest.

Someone stepped out of the neighboring trees, so quietly that Tommy barely noticed him until he spoke. He was a ninja, dressed in a black leather suit, the edges of which were trimmed with red. An insignia pinned on the left side of his chest depicted a red pair of wings. His face was covered by a mask.

"Speak the password."

"I..."

"Speak the password!" the Ninja said more insistently.

"I don't know the password. I'm just trying to--"

Immediately, the Ninja leapt forwards, attacking.

Tommy defended himself, blocking the Ninja's attacks. The Ninja's eyes widened.... clearly, he hadn't been expecting Tommy to be as good as he was. He let out a whistle.

More ninja appeared, dressed just as the first, and just as unfriendly. In moments, they had Tommy pinned.

"Wait!" a familiar voice cried.

The Ninja all stopped in mid-motion, instantly relaxing out of their fighting stances.

"I know him." The crowd of warriors parted to reveal....a Power Ranger? A male Power Ranger. His armor was light blue, with the emblem of a fin emblazoned across his chest. His smooth-edged visor was surrounded by a rim of gold, and in the center of his forehead there was a golden crest of a dolphin riding a wave. A red-and-black sword hung at his back, clashing terribly with his armor.

The Ranger walked up to him, and his faceplate and visor opened to reveal his face, the visor retracting upwards and the mouthparts splitting to the sides.

"Tommy," Troy said. "It's been a long time."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tentatively, Tommy touched his toe to the surface of the pond. Watching someone walk on water was one thing, but it was quite another to try it yourself. It didn't really matter much that Troy was standing a few feet in front of him, looking back at him expectantly, the water barely rippling under his feet....a lifetime of experience had taught Tommy that if you step in water, you get wet.

Taking a deep breath, Tommy finally bolstered his courage and stepped forward, fully expecting to sink like a stone. To his surprise, the surface supported his weight easily. It was rather like walking on a wet mattress, or firm Jello.....squishy, but solid.

Troy led the way across the lake, walking directly into the waterfall, which swirled as he approached, forming a portal into which the Blue Ranger vanished with a flash.

Less hesitant this time, Tommy entered the portal.

The Red Ranger wasn't sure what he expected to find on the other side....a cave of some sort, perhaps....but whatever he'd been anticipating, it wasn't what he got.

Sprawled before him was a massive, majestic valley, so deep there were actually clouds forming partway down. Two massive edifices were visible, each resembling an old-style Japanese temple.

"Troy?" he asked finally. "What is this place? And what's going on? One minute I'm on the Megaship, the next..."

"The next you vanished. We never saw you again after that, Tommy....until now."

Tommy blinked. "How long have I been gone?"

"Seven years," Troy replied. "We all thought you were dead."

The Blue Ranger started picking his way down into the valley, refusing to answer any more questions until they got to the bottom. The others, he asserted, could explain the whole thing better than he could.

With a sigh, Tommy resigned himself to the climb, which turned out not to take as long as he'd have thought. Once at the bottom, Troy led him towards the temple on the left.

"Why this one?" Tommy asked. "Why not the other one?"

"I'm not welcome at the other one," Troy said. "Because I belong to this one. It's one or the other. You don't belong to either, at least not yet, so you're welcome at either. For now."

As they approached the temple, Tommy looked around at the surrounding fields. All around were Ninja like the ones who had ambushed him in the woods, training against one another, against dummies, with weapons, without weapons, or simply meditating beneath the trees. It reminded Tommy somewhat of Ninjor's temple, but much more crowded.

"Troy," Tommy asked again. "What IS this place?"

"The Temple of Death."

Tommy blinked. "Sounds inviting."

Troy chuckled. "There are two temples. The Temple of Life, and the Temple of Death. One was built to honor the world itself, one to honor those who inhabit it. The Temple of Death worships the primal, inanimate forces that make up the world. Fire, water, et cetera."

"And the Temple of Life?"

"The Temple of Life worships plants and animals."

"Ah."

"I don't really know a whole lot about the Temple of Life," Troy admitted. "I got placed here."

"Where are the others?"

Troy shrugged. "Half here, half there. More or less."

"And how did--"

"Nope. Not answering any more. Not until we meet with the others." Troy blinked as he spied a pair of familiar faces sitting in the shade of a nearby tree, chatting amiably. "And there are a couple now."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Tommy?" Fox strode up to him and looked him up and down, her short, burgundy ponytail bobbing as she did. "You look awfully healthy for someone who's been dead for the last...umm..."

"Whatever," Deacon finished, grinning. "Good to see you're still with us, Tommy."

Tommy looked his friends up and down, much as they had him. Both were wearing some sort of black leather training suit, identical to the one Troy now wore, having demorphed. The stitching and details of Deacon's suit were a dark, navy blue, whilst Fox's were crimson. While Troy wore the emblem of the fin-shape that had been engraved on his Ranger armor, Both Fox and Deacon wore insignias that looked somewhat like bug antennae.

"I've been meaning to ask," Tommy asked. "What's with the new armor? Something happen to the old morphers?"

Deacon's grin faded slightly. "Have you tried it?"

Tommy frowned, twisting his wrist. His morpher appeared in a swirl of red smoke, the golden Tyrannosaurus Power Coin glinting in the sun.

"Yeah, that part works," Fox said. "Now try morphing."

With a shrug, Tommy brought the morpher in front of him, holding out with both hands.

**"Tyrannosaurus!"**

Afterwards, Tommy thought, he should have been warned by the way Troy, Fox, and Deacon all simultaneously took a step back.

The morpher exploded in a massive burst of sparks. Tommy cried out and jumped back, flexing his hands, but the burst had barely even singed him. Looking down, he saw the shattered scraps of metal that were his Morpher crackle with arcs of red energy before vanishing once again.

"What....what...."

"It's kind of a long story," Deacon said.

"Zedd found a way to stop us from morphing," Troy said.

"Okay, not so long," Deacon amended.

"You taking him to the table?" Fox asked of Troy.

The Blue Ranger nodded. "He has to be sorted, and we can tell him the whole story there."

"Then to the table!" Deacon cried, pointing.

"To the table!" the other two said together, pointing as well, grins on their faces.

Tommy, he decided, had never been more confused.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The three led Tommy to a massive stone table that stood exactly halfway between the two temples. The table was gray, flat, and circular, about waist-high, and engraved with ancient-looking, indecipherable runes. Nearby stood a gong, with Fox eagerly proceeded to ring...hard and often, until Deacon forcibly took away the hammer.

One by one, ninja appeared and flocked at the table, about half of them wearing leather suits like his friends. The other half were wearing robes of simple cloth, each one a single, solid color. Tommy saw Pink, Blue, Green, Black, White, Red, and Yellow, as well as Teal, Gold, Brown, Tan, Chartreuse, Lavender, and a number of colors that one would have to be an art student to properly name. In the center of each one's chest was a large, golden circle, engraved with the image of a different plant or animal. These suits seemed very familiar....as well they should, for they were identical to the ones the Rangers of his world had once worn...the suits of the Ninjetti.

There were thirteen points marked around the edge of the table, and each of his three friends went to stand at one. Eight more were quickly occupied.

Tommy noted with a start that he knew them....the ones in the leather suits, anyway...the others had their faces concealed by their cloth masks and hoods.

Electra stood at one point, her brilliant dyed-blue hair unmistakable. The details of her suit were yellow, and the insignia bore the image of a lion. Myk stood at another, his suit being edged in red, with the image of a stylized pair of hawk's wings.

At each of the other points stood one of the cloth-bound Ninja....one Blue, one Green, one Yellow, one Black, one Pink, and one White.

Tommy may not have been the brightest of Rangers, but it didn't take the brightest to figure out who these were, even before they pulled back their hoods....the only things that might have thrown him off were that Angel was now wearing Blue and Kalen Black. All, or at least most, of them seemed thrilled to see him.

Two of the points stood empty. Assuming one of them was for him....

"Hey," he asked. "Where's Jareth?"

The reaction was not a happy one.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"After you disappeared," Angel began, "We carried on much as we did before you arrived."

"Zedd sends down a monster, we blow it up, he makes it grow, we call the Zords and blow it up again," Fox said. "Repeat as necessary."

"Yeah, up until he found the Chaos Emerald," Stephen said.

"What's that?" Tommy asked.

"The Chaos Emerald was the largest shard remaining of the crystal that the Zeo Subcrystals were carved from," Lolli said. "We still haven't figured out how Zedd got his hands on it."

"Using the Emerald," Angel explained, "Zedd was able to actually alter the laws of magic itself...something he shouldn't have been able to do, by the way. No idea how he managed it."

"The practical result of which was, morphing became impossible," Lolli finished.

"But....Troy can morph now...," Tommy began.

"We all can," Electra said.

"We're getting to that," Mara continued. "See, without our powers, there wasn't much we could do. Zedd sent down a monster named Armageddo."

"Looked like a cross between an armadillo and a elephant," Deacon chimed in. "Maybe a little bit of cockroach thrown in. Ugly bastard."

"Since our Dinozords couldn't function without Rangers, someone had the bright idea to launch a suicide mission and try to fight Armageddo unmorphed, using the tech-based Zords," Kalen said. "It failed miserably, of course."

"But just before Armageddo finished us off, we were transported here, to this weird pocket-dimension-thingy," Mara said.

"By who?" Tommy asked.

"Someone who called himself the Light Sage," Troy said. "He'd been guardian of these two temples for centuries. He gave us the powers we have now, but it was a pain in the ass to learn to use them."

"He gave us control of the Temples, too, and took off to fight someone called Dark Spectre. His arch-nemesis or whatever," Kalen added.

"So, here we've been ever since, working on mastering our powers, randomly jumping out of here into the real world to fight Zedd," Stephen said.

"Who's completely taken over terra, by the way," Fox added. "We're like freedom fighters. Doing surgical strikes, then retreating. Helping where we can."

"And Jareth?" Tommy asked.

Everyone's faces fell again. It was clear this wasn't a comfortable subject.

"He didn't have the discipline to become a ninja," Stephen said. "He never could figure out how to morph."

"One day, he got fed up with it and took off, saying he'd get the Chaos Emerald away from Zedd so we'd have our old powers back," Angel explained.

"No one's seen or heard from him since," Deacon said sullenly. "That was about six years ago. He's presumed dead."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tommy was placed in the Temple of Life, which would have been his choice anyway. The method by which he was placed had been interesting....he was made to stand in the center of the table, no matter how stupid it made him feel, and a glowing arrow of light had materialized on the tabletop beneath his feet. The white arrow had begun to spin counterclockwise, finally coming to a halt pointing directly at the Temple of Life. It had then changed color, indicating the color of the robes he was to wear....which were, of course, red.

The animal he was given was the Ape, which didn't surprise him in the least. All of the other Rangers who wore the Ninjetti suits had the same animals that their colors had gotten back on earth....Bear for Yellow, Falcon for White, etc. Lolli had the image of an eastern dragon, a huge serpent. It felt a bit odd to watch Stephen walking around wearing both his color AND his animal totem, but Tommy was adjusting.

The saddest part was that he was no longer able to visit his friends who resided at the Temple of Death.

"We have control of the Temples, and the Ninja here do pretty much whatever we tell them," Fox had explained. "But they still try to kill anyone who tries to visit from the other temple, no matter what we say. Of course, we're Rangers, we could easily beat them, but it doesn't make much sense to decimate our own army." Fox had shrugged. "I guess Death and Life just don't mix."

Whenever Zedd made a move on the planet, each temple had a series of windchimes that would sound, despite the fact that there was no wind in this mystical valley. Upon hearing this, both teams of Rangers would rush to the table, where images deep beneath the carved stone surface would show what was going on.

Right now, those imaged displayed a beast who was part armadillo and part elephant…and perhaps a bit of cockroach.

"Armageddo," Deacon confirmed, glaring at it. "Again."

A number of the other Rangers groaned.

"We've never been able to take this one down, Tommy. Watch yourself," Fox said.

Tommy nodded.

The Rangers from the Temple of Death stood in a row, closing their eyes.

**"Ninja Storm,"** they chanted. **"Ranger form!"**

Ripples of blue light played over Troy, like sunlight shimmering off the surface of a river. The effect concealed his body entirely, leaving only a humanoid shape to suggest where he might be. It lasted only for a few moments, then faded, leaving behind his new Blue Ranger armor.

Waves of liquid fire washed across Fox's body, the angry, crackling red flames fading to reveal Crimson Ranger armor, insectoid antennae adorning her helmet.

Molten lava seemed to seep from the ground at Electra's feet, climbing up her legs, creeping over her torso, and enveloping her head. It cooled in an instant, leaving behind a rough-hewn statue of rock, which instantly crumbled to dust, leaving behind her lion-patterned Yellow Ranger armor.

A strong gust of wind swirled around Myk's feet, kicking up a whirlwind of red sand that obscured him completely. When it subsided an instant later, he was wearing Red Ninja Armor, the crest above his visor depicting the image of a soaring hawk.

And arclets of blue lightning began to dance across Deacon's body, becoming thicker and brighter until his entire form seemed to be nothing but a single, stationary, dancing body of electricity. The lightning shattered, arcing off in all directions as tiny, harmless jolts of static, leaving behind a Navy Blue Ninja Ranger, his helmet proudly emblazoned with the antlers of a stag beetle.

All of this happened simultaneously, in an instant. Tommy blinked, letting out a low whistle. He looked around as the other Life Ninja.

"Is our morphing sequence that fancy?"

"Afraid not," Lolli said. "Follow our lead."

"The call, by the way, is 'Ninja Ranger Power'. Nice and simple," Terina whispered to him.

She, and the others, brought their hands forward, fingers intertwined, with the forefingers and pinky fingers extended. Energy began to leap across the gap between the outstretched fingers, each Ranger's energy matching his color.

Tommy nodded, then, in perfect synch with the others, thrust his hands forward and called out, **"Ninja Ranger Power!"**

There were no fancy elemental effects this time, only a series of blindingly bright, multicolored flashes.

Tommy blinked. "Eep."

"What?" Mara asked.

"These armors….they're the exact same ones the Aquitian Rangers had in my world. Well, except we have a Pink and a Green. They didn't."

"That's weird," Mara said. "Why would the Aquitians in your world wear Ninja Armor?"

Tommy shrugged, glancing down at his own armor. It was, undoubtedly, identical to Aurico's. He shook his head. This place just kept throwing him one curve ball after another. Anyone less accustomed to Ranger life would have lost his mind by now.

As the group headed up the side of the valley towards the waterfall, Mara, who was walking just ahead of Tommy, stopped and turned, crossing her arms in consternation.

"And what do you mean, they didn't have a Pink Ranger?" she demanded.

Tommy just laughed, walking around her and continuing to pick his way up the mountain.


	24. Ninjetti Storm Part II

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 25: Ninjetti Storm Part 2

There was a strange swirling in the air as space distorted itself, a portal opening in the midair. From the pocket dimension in which rested the Ninjetti Temples, twelve Rangers stepped into the real world, two and three at a time.

Tommy's mouth fell open within his helmet as he surveyed the landscape. It had once been a city, that much was obvious, but some manner of cataclysm had clearly struck. There was little remaining but scorched rubble.

Terina scratched the back of her neck nervously. "Yeah. Umm…we haven't exactly been winning," she explained.

"Most of the planet looks like this," Angel said. "The civilized portions, anyway."

"Zedd's been attacking every few days, as opposed to once or twice a month, like before," Troy continued. "We've barely been able to keep up." He sighed. "And, to be perfectly honest, we've always caused almost as much damage as Zedd. People don't see much point in rebuilding anymore."

"People?" Tommy asked.

"Oh, you won't find any here," Deacon said. "None alive, anyway."

"They tend to stay in small groups, near the outskirts of what's left of the big cities," Kalen commented.

The Rangers began to pick their way through the rubble.

"Shouldn't we have seen a monster by now?" Deacon asked. "The portal normally opens right where…"

The Navy Ranger's commentary died out as the same thought occurred to every Ranger present. They turned slowly, facing the portal.

The portal, which normally would have closed by now, was being held open by some sort of hexagon-shaped frame that had been erected just inside it. Standing just before it was Armageddo, casually leaning against his sword. He waved at them idly, grinning his grotesque smile. Then, sheathing his sword, he stepped through.

"Uh-oh…" Deacon muttered.

The twelve Rangers began to race for the still-open gate, but before they reached it, dark blue-black flames crackled up in front of them, revealing a gray-furred, humanoid wolf in dark blue armor. The Rangers skidded to a halt, most of them drawing the weapons normally sheathed at their backs.

"Ah ah ah," Ornyk said, grinning. "We can't have you-" Ornyk did a double-take. "Tommy! Red Ranger! So good to see you again."

"Step aside, Ornyk," Tommy growled back.

Ornyk shrugged, calmly stepping to the side. Before the Rangers could move forward, however, he snapped his fingers, and a flock of Tengas appeared, squawking loudly and flapping their wings, filthy black feathers flying everywhere. Along with the Tengas appeared a number of humanoid warriors clad in ninja gear, black and red, all with the same scorpion-image engraved on their faceplates.

"Tengas! Kelzacs! Attack!" The wolflike humanoid commanded, pointing.

The footsoldiers rushed forward, swarming at the Rangers.

"And, just to tip the odds a bit more…" Ornyk glanced around, his gaze finally falling on a small pile of rubble and rocks. Conjuring his own sword, Ornyk aimed it at the pile, a streak of blue-black fire flying from the tip of the blade and engulfing it. The flames grew larger, taller and broader, finally vanishing to reveal a monster made of solid rock. The monster flexed its granite arms, cracking the knuckles of its three-fingered hands. It tossed its head, opening and closing the serrated stone pincers on either side of its mouth, blinking its single blood-red eye as it took its first breath.

"Hmm…Minerrock? No. Concretor? No." Ornyk scratched his chin thoughtfully, ignoring the battle altogether. The monster simply stood there stupidly, awaiting orders.

"Ah. I've got it. Golemar!" Ornyk said finally.

Golemar roared in approval of the name.

"Well? Get to work."

With that, Ornyk vanished in his trademark flash of blue-black flames, and Golemar, giving a mighty roar, leapt into battle….throwing aside Tengas and Kelzacs in his haste to get to the Rangers.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Dragon Katana!"** Lolli invoked, a curved, razor-edged blade with a green, serpent-shaped hilt appearing in her hand. The blade flashed as it sung through the air around her, pieces of Kelzacs and Tengas falling to the ground at her feet, inhuman screams of agony splitting the air.

Lolli sheathed her blade with a flourish, all the enemies in her vicinity dead or dying.

A loud roar echoed across the battlefield.

**"Raptor Shield!" **

Lolli blinked as the White Ranger seemed to appear out of nowhere, wielding a shield that looked as though it had been made of rigid, solid white feathers. He held the shield before him, deflecting a barrage of rocks that the Green Ranger had never even seen coming.

Golemar roared again, stomping forward through the army of lesser creations, conjuring still more rocks to throw.

**"Rana Spear!" **

The barbed head of a spear shot into view, trailing behind it what appeared to be a long purple ribbon. The spearhead soared through the air, turning as it went, winding its ribbon around the rock monster's feet.

Pulling as hard as she could on the polished black shaft of her spear, Kalen yanked the monster's legs out from under it, sending it crashing to the ground. As soon as it was down, the ribbon uncoiled, retracting back into the shaft of the magical weapon and the spearhead clicking back into place.

"You're welcome," she said, leaning on her spear.

"We haven't thanked you yet," Lolli said, pointing to Golemar, who was climbing back to his feet.

By this point, most of the footsoldiers had been slain, and those that still lived were retreating. The rest of the Rangers regrouped around Lolli, Stephen, and Kalen.

"Stand back, guys," Myk said, stepping forward. Electra and Troy moved to stand beside him.

**"Lion Hammer!"**

**"Hawk Blaster!"**

**"Sonic Fin!"**

In a twinkling, Electra's yellow hammer, Myk's red blaster, and Troy's blue megaphone had combined to form a long, bazooka-like gun, which was evidently so heavy that it took all three of them to lift and aim.

"Meet the Storm Striker," Myk said. "Impressive, no?"

"I'll let you know after I've seen it work," Tommy said.

"As you wish," Electra said, pulling the trigger.

A massive fireball blasted forth from the weapon, striking Golemar full in the chest.

There was no impressive explosion, instead Golemar simply paused, looked down at his chest, brought a three-fingered hand up to where he'd been struck….and fell apart, a pile of rubble once again, albeit much larger than it had been.

"Well. That was….anticlimactic," Stephen said, as most of the Rangers moved closer to look at the pile.

Suddenly, a ray of green light descended from above, striking the pile, which immediately reassembled into Golemar once again, expanding to titanic proportions.

"Happy now?" Mara asked.

"I wouldn't say 'happy'…," Stephen grumbled.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Armageddo crouched, lifting a handful of soil and sniffing at it with his deformed nose. It was nearby, he could tell. It didn't leave a scent, exactly, but its power was unmistakable.

Dropping the handful of sand, the monster rested his hand against the ground itself, feeling, sensing, expanding his consciousness and sending it forth through the soil. Most of what he sensed was the innate magic that created and sustained this pocket dimension, and in the distance he could sense the power of the temples that existed within the valley… but one thing stood out, even above the power of the temples, a vivid spike of brilliant green amongst the gray. One had to wonder just how it had remained hidden from Zedd for so long. Now, it was moving, perhaps being carried, towards one of the temples.

Smiling, Armageddo stood, setting off towards the power he sought. Not long now…


	25. Ninjetti Storm Part III

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 25: Ninjetti Storm Part 3

Tommy watched, impressed, as the Yellow Lion Zord reared back, forming the body and left arm of a Megazord. The Blue Dolphin Zord snapped on as the right arm, and the Red Hawk attached to the top, forming the head.

"What do you call this one?" he asked.

"Storm Megazord," Angel replied.

"Should we help?" Stephen asked.

"Nah, they got it," Lolli said. "Besides," she gestured towards the portal. "We have bigger problems."

"Big evil cockroach monster, running free in our dimension," Deacon added. "Yeah, I'd say that's a problem. What do you think he's after?"

"Our temples, probably," Lolli said. "That's about all that's there."

"There's nothing else besides the two temples?" Tommy asked. "Nothing at all?"

"Nope. Well….the Light Sage hinted that there used to be three, but I've checked, and there's no sign of the third one anywhere. So if it ever existed, I think it's gone now."

"Woah….cool," Fox said, her eyes on the Zord battle taking place behind them. At her words, everyone turned to watch.

The Storm Megazord has somehow slimmed down, becoming more agile and streamlined. Blades had unfolded from its ankles, and a similar pair had appeared in its hands. As they watched, the Megazord leapt up into the air, and froze there, body turned to the side, head turned to face Golemar.

With a sound not unlike that of legos snapping together, massive bars of steel began to appear from the Storm Megazord's feet, each one attaching to the last, forming a ramp that led down to the ground where Golemar stood. The blades the Zord held and the ones on its legs grew, forming a razor-sharp wheel around the massive construct.

All this happened in less than a second. Then, the Megazord began cartwheeling down the track, gaining speed and, as it reached the end, slicing Golemar cleanly in half. The two pieces fell to the sides, then exploded.

Terina squinted. "That attack took a while. Was it too big and heavy to get out of the way in time?" she asked. "Or just stupid?"

"Does it matter?" Lolli asked, as the three Rangers teleported out of their Megazord to stand with the others.

"No," the Yellow Ranger said. "I guess not."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Rangers piled back into their pocket dimension through the still-open portal.

"So what now?" Terina asked, sitting down on a convenient rock.

"We have to find Armageddo," Tommy said.

"We should also make sure the temples are defended," Troy added. "And close the portal."

"Can't the Ninja defend the temple?" Tommy asked.

"Not on their own," Fox said. "Those aren't actually people, they're more like…magic, brought to life. They know how to fight, but not much else. They need someone to organize them."

"One from each temple will have to go," Angel observed. "The army of one temple won't take orders from a representative of the other."

Troy and Kalen exchanged a glance, knowing full well that each was the best strategist that his or her Temple had to offer.

"We're on it," Troy said, turning on his heel and marching down the mountain into the valley that contained the temples.

"Don't have too much fun without us," Kalen added, following.

"And the rest of us?" Stephen asked.

"Angel, Myk, Stephen, Lolli, you stay here. Try to get the portal closed, and stop anything else that tries to come through," Tommy instructed, lapsing into leader-mode. He'd tried to ditch that tendency, since most of the Terran Rangers tended to give him dirty looks when he started issuing orders, but sometimes, old habits were hard to break. "The rest of you, come with me. We're going hunting."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Armageddo stopped abruptly. He was being followed. He could sense his pursuers, sense their energy. It wasn't the same energy he was tracking, but there was a similar flavor to it…And lots of it. These hunters were strong.

Well, they would see who hunted whom. He could spare some time from his hunt to pick off a few troublemakers.

Crouching, the monster flexed his powerful legs, sending him hurtling up into the branches of the trees overhead. He settled into a reasonably comfortable position and waited patiently for his followers to pass beneath him.

He was not disappointed.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You two seem a lot friendlier than I remember," Tommy said, trying to make conversation as the group made their way through the forest, following traces of Armageddo's passage.

Fox and Deacon exchanged a glance. They were among the only Rangers who could possibly benefit from this sort of thing, as their faceplates could open. The two had been walking a lot more closely together, and once Tommy had even thought he'd seen Fox lay her head on Deacon's shoulder.

"Yeah, well, a little thing like the world falling apart can make you re-think things," Fox said.

"Funny how that works," Deacon added, smirking.

Terina knelt down and began poking at the grass. "He came this way. We should have brought Angel, he's better at this than me."

"My old powers would have been perfect for this sort of thing," Fox lamented.

"So how come Myk doesn't use his sword anymore?" Tommy asked. "Did he lose that along with the Bronze Powers?"

"Sword?" Terina asked.

"You mean the one on his back?" Electra suggested. "Like mine?"

"No, I mean the one he got from that planet. Um…Ynarra. The shining white sword."

The other Rangers exchanged a few puzzled glances.

"Um. Tommy?" Fox asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Myk's never used a sword," Deacon said. "I don't think he knows how."

Tommy glanced sideways at Deacon. "How do you not remember the sword? You were there when he found it. You were teaching him to use it."

"Do time jumps cause brain damage?" Deacon asked as a reply.

Tommy shook his head, puzzled. Maybe time jumps DID affect memories. It had never happened before, but then, he'd never time-hopped quite like that before. If his memories of the sword were faulty, then how many of his other memories were? His memories of home…of Kat and the others….

This train of thought was quite disturbing to Tommy. It therefore came as quite a relief when Armageddo dropped from the branches above, swinging his massive paw in a backhanded blow that caught Tommy across the face, sending him flying headfirst into the trunk of a very solid tree.

Deacon and Fox fell into combat positions, their faceplates sliding closed, but before either could do anything, Armageddo grabbed both Mara and Terina by the waists and leapt back up into the foliage.

"Hey!" Electra cried. 'Give those back!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Oof!" Terina found herself thrown bodily to the ground at the edge of a small cliff, a wall of rock perhaps twelve feet high at the edge of the forest. Below the ridge stretched a number of jagged rocks, but beyond that was a smooth, grassy meadow. A second impact informed her that Mara, too, had just been thrown to the ground.

The two Rangers managed to stumble t their feet just as Armageddo landed between them and the edge of the forest, leaping down from the canopy with a heavy THUD.

"Elephant, cockroach, armadillo," Terina listed. "Funny how nobody noticed gorilla."

Armageddo took a few steps forward, leering at them.

"Double team?"

"Pincer attack," Terina suggested.

"Check.

Terina leapt into the air, somersaulting over Armageddo's head to land behind him, so that he was standing between the two Rangers.

**"Avia Javelin!"** Mara cried, a long, shining pink pole arm appearing in her open hand. With the sort of strength only a Power Ranger can muster, she threw it directly at Armageddo.

**"Ursa Claws!"** Terina invoked at the same time, a pair of metal claws appearing and attaching themselves to her forearms. She leapt through the air, arms outstretched, preparing to drive her claws deep into Armageddo's back…but he spun around at the last minute, stepping to the side and allowing the tiny Yellow Ranger to fly past him harmlessly, her attack missing completely. As she flew past, he grabbed her ankle and swung her through the air, throwing her directly towards Mara….and into the path of Mara's javelin.

There was a splitting pain in Terina's midsection as Mara's weapon pierced her armor, its barbed point emerging from her back. As the Yellow Ranger curled up in pain, she collided with Mara, her claws carving deep gouges in the Pink Ranger's helmet. The impact carried them both over the edge of the ridge to come crashing amongst the jagged rocks below. There was a flash of pink and yellow light as both Rangers demorphed.

Armageddo grinned, crouching in preparation to leap down to where the girls lay, but before he could move, a powerful blast struck him in the leg. The injure limb buckled, and he almost fell over. Growling, he turned to face to forest.

Fox strode purposefully out of the woods, her Crimson Blaster leveled at his head, Tommy, Deacon, and Electra trailing close behind.

"Say cheese," Fox grinned, preparing to pull the trigger again, this time aiming the blast for right between his eyes.

Armageddo roared, and, forgetting entirely his injured leg, leapt forward.

Fox's eyes went wide, and at the last possible moment she rolled aside. Unfortunately, standing right behind her was Electra.

Unfortunately for Armageddo, that is.

**"Lion Hammer!"**

There was a massive _CLANG_! as the weapon struck Armageddo's armor plating, and the impact sent the mutation flying through the air like a deformed and very ugly baseball. He fell over the edge, crashing onto the rocks below with an unpleasant crunch.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Armageddo winced as the bony plates that protected his body cracked against the sharp rocks. He pulled himself to his feet, managing to stand on a few of the flatter and more stable stones. Making a mental note to avid giant yellow hammers in the future, he prepared to jump back up to the top of the cliff where his opponents were waiting….but paused, sniffing, as a hint of flowery perfume assaulted his nose.

Glancing over, he saw the Pink and Yellow Rangers, both barely conscious and struggling to regain their senses. A cruel smile crossed his twisted face and he took a step towards them.

"**Navy Antler!"**

The monster blinked as a powerful, blue metal pincer clamped itself around his midsection, causing his bony armor to crack still further. Turning, he saw the Navy Ranger standing behind him.

Giving and impatient growl, Armageddo backhanded Deacon, knocking him and his Antler back a considerable distance, then turned his attention back towards the girls.

Deacon rolled his head, cracking his neck. "Ow. Okay, now you've pissed me off."

Unsheathing the staff from his back, Deacon attached his Antler to the end, the weapon snapping into place with a bright blue flash. Rushing forward faster than the eye could follow, he thrust his weapon forward, the Antler clamping down on Armageddo once more.

Armageddo let out a scream this time as the vise-like pincer crushed his already damaged armor, driving shards of bone into his flesh.

Deacon gritted his teeth and heaved, lifting the beast up into the air on the end of his weapon, arclets of blue electricity running from him to the weapon to the monster, then, as hard as he could, flung the staff forward, sending Armageddo flying right into the rocky face of the cliff, luckily several yards to the left of the still unsteady Mara and Terina.

Armageddo groaned in pain, but refused to be defeated by these creatures. Conjuring his sword, he used it to help pull himself to his feet.

"**Prima Swords!"**

Something red flashed through the air, knocking his sword out from under him and causing him to fall flat onto his face. There was a second flash, though he felt this one rather than saw it as the blade cut across his back, slicing into his flesh and carving deep gouges in his bony plates.

Tommy whirled his twin swords, preparing to sever this creature's head.

Desperate to get away, Armageddo rolled, away from the rocky wall and into the field of jagged rocks. This did nothing for his already damaged armor, but it got him away from the swords. That was a start.

Struggling to his feet, the monster glowered at the assembled Rangers that stood before him, the rocky face of the cliff to their backs. Armageddo reached behind his back and produced (though no one cared to ask exactly from where) something that looked like a small silvery sphere with a much smaller silver orb embedded in the top…a bottle. Popping the stopper off, he guzzled its contents in a single gulp.

"Oh, shit," Fox said.

"What? Tommy asked. "What is it?"

"Ooze of Evolution," Deacon replied.

"Zedd received it as a gift from one of the other intergalactic supervillians as a thank you for shutting down the Morphin Grid," Electra explained. "It lets a monster…"

Armageddo let out a roar of pain as his bony plates began to rearrange, hardening and thickening until they covered his body entirely. The sharp, jagged rocks began to vibrate, shaking themselves loose from the soil, a few of them coming loose and flying directly at the chunk of bone that was Armageddo. At first the rocks simply stuck, like magnets to a refrigerator, but then they began to sink into the bone.

"Absorb part of the environment to become stronger," Electra finished, hammer held ready.

Fox fired off a blast, but it simply glanced off the rocky, bony object before them. Either the armor had become too strong, or the monster simply couldn't be damaged until the effect was complete.

Once all the rocks had been absorbed, the shell began to unfold, revealing a much improved Armageddo. His bony plates were now adorned with jagged spikes, his skin had gone from a dull brown to a polished gray, and he had become much larger. In addition to these changes, all the damage they had already done to him seemed to have been erased.

Armageddo produced his sword, which had also become larger and spikier, and aimed it at the Rangers, grinning a jagged rocky grin.

"We're screwed," Mara observed.

A shrill whistle from above drew everyone's attention, including Armageddo's. The monster glanced sharply upwards, and the Rangers all turned around to see whom atop the ridge had done it.

Standing there was a Ranger none of them had ever seen before. His armor was a deep, emerald green, and his visor was cut in the shape of a four-pointed star. A similar star was printed on his chest, the golden, vest-like shield he wore neatly cut to reveal the insignia. A strange groove ran around his helmet, almost as if the top had been sliced off and then reattached, and he carried what appeared to be a green baseball bat.

This bat he held up to his faceplate, handle to his mouth, as though he expected it to function as a megaphone.

As it turned out, it _was_ a megaphone.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" the Ranger cried, his voice distorted but amplified by the device, sounding for all the world like a game show host. "Monsters of all ages! Introducing, the one, the only, Green Samurai!"

The Ranger leapt down from his perch, flipping through the air and landing neatly on his feet between the Rangers and Armageddo. Twisting the handle of his bat-like contraption, he pulled a long, shining blade out of the thick sheath.

"You….you have the power…" Armageddo growled, sensing the violently vivid green surge of power for which he'd been searching living within this strange green person.

Tossing the sheath aside, the Ranger leapt into battle with Armageddo, his style seeming more showoffish than actually dangerous.

"Yes, the Green Samurai! It dices, it slices, it makes Julian fried monster six different ways! But wait, there's more! If you order now, you'll also recieve, free of charge, the Samurai Saber! This marvel of magical samurai engineering is guaranteed never to break, bend, chip, crack, or blunt, and will never, that's right, _never_ need sharpening! _Now_ how much would you pay?"

Deacon tilted his head to the side. "Noooo....," he said.

"Couldn't be," Fox added.

"Hello!" the mystery Ranger cried. "My name is Inigo Montoya! You killed my father! Prepare to die!" The Green Samurai ducked and feinted, stabbed and parried, neatly blocking all of the monster's attacks but not bothering with any of his own, apparently enjoying putting on a show.

"It is..." Electra whispered, a grin slowly spreading across her face beneath her helmet.

"Hello!" the Green Samurai yelled again. "My name is Inigo Montoya! You killed my father! Prepare to die! Hello! My name is Inigo Montoya! You killed my--"

"What are you talking about?" Armageddo shrieked.

"Okay, first of all,"" the Green Samurai said, as his blade crossed with Armageddo's yet again. "You're supposed to wait for your cue. Secondly, that's not your line. Your line is, "Stop saying that!". At least _try_ to stick to the script."

Armageddo's eyes were wide with confusion. "You're a loony!" he yelled.

The Green Samurai sighed. "I can't work like this."

Armageddo made a low swipe, trying to knock the Green Samurai's feet out from under him, but the Ranger flipped over backwards, neatly dodging the attack as well as putting some distance between himself and the monster.

**"Super Samurai Mode!"** the Green Samurai said. Unclasping the fasteners at the sides of his belt buckle, the Ranger disconnected the golden shield he wore, the heavy metal falling to the ground with enough force to crack the stone. The black star in the center of his chest became fully revealed as the silhouette of a bird. Reaching up, the Rangers ran his hand across his faceplate, causing the entire top of his helmet to rotate. The image on top of the helmet fell down into position as his new visor, its shape that of a bird identical to the one on his chest.

"You want to fight me wearing LESS armor?" Armageddo said, puzzled. "You ARE a loony."

"I never denied that," the Green Samurai replied. "But look how much faster I am without it!" Then, with a flash of green, he was gone.

"What? Where did--" the monster began.

Flash! A green blur darted past, and a shower of sparks flew from the monster. Armageddo let out a scream as his left arm fell to the ground, clutching at the stump where it had been attached.

Flash! Flash! Flash! Thrice more the green blur shot by, more rapidly this time, and thrice more a shower of sparks flew from the monster.

Finally, the Green Samurai came to rest, crouched on the ground, sword outstretched before him, facing away from Armageddo.

And the monster, having been neatly sliced into roughly even pieces, fell apart.

Mara shook her head. "Who ARE you?" she asked.

"You never were the sharpest spoon in the shed, were you, Mara?"

With a sound not unlike that of glass shattering, the Green Samurai demorphed, his armor breaking into shards of green light that vanished as they hit the ground.

"Well?" Jareth asked. "Isn't anyone going to say 'Hi'?"


	26. Ninjetti Storm Part IV

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 26: Ninjetti Storm Part 4

"Damn," Deacon said. "She beat me to it."

Jareth blinked up at Electra in confusion, blood running from his nose.

"What in Hel's name was THAT for?" he asked.

"Being alive!" Electra declared, then reached down, grabbed hold of the front of his shirt, and hauled him to his feet, planting a kiss firmly on his lips.

"So was that," she added when she finally pulled back, smiling.

Everyone was surprised, but no one so much as Jareth himself. The Green Samurai blinked, dazed, wiping the blood from his face.

"Umm…Okay?"

Jareth had changed. He had remained immortal in the manner of a Ranger; six years or six million, he wouldn't age a day. His appearance, however, had been somewhat renovated.

His fedora was gone. His hair was shorter, and was tied at the top of his head, by some sort of metal clasp, into a topknot ponytail, while his bangs hung down in long braids on either side of his face. He still wore black clothing, but the ever-present long jacket was absent, leaving him with only a long-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of cargo pants. The stitching of the pants was green, as was the obviously hand-painted emblem of the four-pointed star on his T-shirt. The Samurai Saber remained at his side, regardless of the fact that he had demorphed.

And, most curiously of all, he had a tail. Easily as long as he was tall, and about half as thick as his wrist, it emerged from beneath the hem of his shirt and waved lazily back and forth behind him, covered with velvety blue-black fur. There was a tuft of golden fur at the end, a bit like the tail of a lion, which held in place an ornamental jade ring.

Tommy didn't quite know what to say....was it rude to ask someone about their tail?

"What's with the new look?" Deacon asked.

Tommy immediately felt relieved....now Jareth would explain about the tail without the Red Ranger having had to ask.

"Yeah," Fox added. "Since when do you wear green?"

"It does kinda suit him," Deacon said, squinting.

Fox nodded.

Tommy gaped. Was no one even going to mention it?

"Tommy?" Jareth asked.

"Tail? I mean," Tommy twitched. "Where have you been?"

Jareth chuckled, glancing back at his tail. "That's right....you took off before I...acquired....this."

"Answer his question, Jareth," Terina said, crossing her arms. "Where HAVE you been?"

Jareth's everpresent grin faltered slightly at her tone, but he recovered quickly. "It's a long story..."

A peal of thunder split the air as the skies rapidly darkened. All eyes instantly turned upwards.

"What the Hell?" Mara asked.

TSEEEW!

Without warning, a ray of neon green light shot down from the sky, striking the remains of Armageddo. As the ray stopped, the pieces began to reassemble themselves, growing as they did.

"Eep," Jareth said.

"I didn't that could happen here," Electra muttered. 'The valley is supposed to be shielded…"

"I think that's my fault," Jareth said ruefully. "I'm like a beacon."

"Zord time?" Fox asked.

"Oh, yeah." Deacon replied.

Both raised a hand to the sky.

**"Thunder Beetlezord!"** Deacon called.

**"Fire Insectizord!"** Fox summoned.

From out of nowhere rolled two massive mechanical bugs. One was a crimson unicorn beetle, its heavy tank treads tearing up the landscape as it moved, its horn clearly designed to function as a massive plasma cannon. The other was a Navy blue stag beetle, rolling along on six round wheels, its powerful antlers opening and closing as if impatient to tear into its enemy.

In a flash, both Fox and Deacon streaked towards their Zords, quickly leaping aboard.

The Blue beetle split down its length, rearing up to form a pair of legs, while the Red beetle clamped into place atop it, its powerful treads transforming into arms. A head emerged from the top of the assembly, and the pincers of the Thunder Beetlezord attached to its chestplate.

"Thunder Megazord, ready," Fox and Deacon said in unison, their voices amplified by the Megazord's speakers.

"They can't call it that," Tommy griped. "We already had one of those."

"In your world, maybe," Terina said. "This is the first one we've had."

"Should we help?" Mara asked.

Tommy shook his head. "Not without Kalen and Angel. Individual Zords just get in the way during Megazord battles."

"You called?"

Tommy, Mara, and Terina spun around to see Kalen, leaning casually against the rocky wall of the cliff, Angel standing close by.

"Stephen and Lolli are still working on the portal," Angel said. "They'll catch up."

"How did you know...?"

"Kinda hard to miss something that size," Kalen said simply.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Armageddo swung his colossal sword, but the Thunder Megazord grabbed the pincer from its chest plate and used it to grab the blade, wrenching the weapon from the monster's grip.

The giant monstrosity roared, tackling the 40-foot machine and knocking it to the ground. The two behemoths rolled, crushing the landscape beneath them.

After a few turns, they rolled to a halt, Armageddo having pinned the Megazord. Raising his massive, stone-covered fist, he brought several devastating punches crashing down onto the machine's face, mangling the metal.

"Hey!" Deacon said. "We just had this thing detailed!"

Fox nudged the controls, prompting the Megazord to close the pincer still in its hand around Armageddo's armored torso. The Pincer began to crush down, but it couldn't crack the thick, stone/bone armor.

"We're losing power," Fox said. "He's ruptured out main battery."

"Our main battery is in the head?"

"No, somewhere in the torso. Must have happened when we were rolling."

"Grrr," Deacon said.

"Very."

The massive hybrid laughed at the machine's futile attempts to injure him, raising his fist to deliver yet another crushing blow.

There was a flash of metal as something soared through the air, and Armageddo let out an agonized roar that could have probably been heard for miles. The fist came down, but it came down several dozen yards away from the combatants, no longer attached to Armageddo's arm.

Seizing the opportunity, the Thunder Megazord lifted the monster into the air, tossing the monster aside before climbing to its feet.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Red Ape Zord raised its hand, neatly catching the sword it had thrown as the blade arced through the air, returning to its owner. Raising the blade, and its twin in its other hand, the zord took a few steps forward.

Armageddo pulled himself to his feet, scowling. He raised the stump of his arm. The blood flowing from the severed limb stopped falling to the ground and began to solidify, growing and shaping itself until a new hand had replaced the old one at the end of the arm, albeit minus the armor.

Spotting his sword lying on the ground nearby, Armageddo reclaimed his weapon, holding the blade in a fighting stance and stepping forward to meet the Ape.

A roar from his left drew his attention. Turning, Armageddo saw a massive, yellow metal bear, standing on its hind legs and snarling at him. The bear's eyes began to glow as the zord charged the laser weapons concealed within them.

Armageddo hefted his sword, preparing to throw it at the bear like a spear, but something long and thin darted forward from behind him, wrapping around the blade with absolutely no regard towards its razor-sharp edge. A sudden surge of electrical current surged along the cable, traveling through the metal sword and shocking Armageddo.

The monster let out yet another roar, dropping the sword like a hot iron. He spun around to face his newest attacker, and saw…a squat, black, metal frog, its long tongue snaking back into its open mouth.

"Ribbit," Kalen said smugly.

Rolling his eyes, Armageddo conjured a spherical orb of solid flames in the palm of his reconstituted hand. Aiming the hand at the frog, the monster launched the fireball.

The zord jumped like the frog that it was, easily avoiding the blast. Armageddo launched missile after missile, all of which missed.

The armor-plated creature was clearly growing more and more agitated, missing by more and more with each attack. Finally, he raised both arms above his head, building a massive fireball between his open hands, larger and more powerful than any he had yet thrown…And then gave a startled yelp, the fireball dissipating as he lost his focus.

Looking behind him, Armageddo discovered that a large blue wolf had attached itself to his hindquarters, its sharp steel teeth penetrating his armor and puncturing the soft flesh beneath. Reaching behind him, he wrenched the Wolf Zord free and brought it around in front of him, glaring at it malevolently.

"I suppose I could have thought that through better," Angel declared softly.

With a smug grin, Armageddo hurled the Wolf with all his might, right into the Frog Zord, which, for once, was unable to leap aside in time. The two zords collided with a crash of metal, and remained on the ground, twitching.

Armageddo smiled down at the injured zords with satisfaction…and then a large boulder smashed itself against his armored carapace. Turning, he saw the Yellow Bear, hefting another boulder.

Still grinning his grotesque smile, Armageddo waited for the Bear to throw the rock, then caught it as if it were nothing more than a beach ball.

Holding the massive boulder in one hand, the monster brought the other forward, wagging his finger at Terina.

"Ah, ah, ah."

Terina's eyes widened, her hands flying across the controls of the Bear. She managed to activate the zord's optic lasers in time to shatter the boulder as it flew towards back her, but those shards of rock that remained were still large enough, and flying with enough force, to knock the large yellow machine to the ground.

Armageddo turned towards the one zord remaining, the Ape, which stood ready. Opening his own hand, Armageddo willed his own sword to return to him, which it did instantly, as if eager to destroy something. Closing his fingers around the hilt of his weapon, Armageddo strode purposefully towards his relatively small opponent.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jareth smirked up at the battle from his position, seated atop a low, flat rock, one of the only rocks around that Armageddo hadn't absorbed. He toyed with his sword, pondering his options.

"Hmm. I really should save a few surprises for next time….and I _have_ done more than enough showing off today. On the other hand, if I _don't_ jump in, there may not _be_ a next time….Decisions, decisions."

Opening his palm, he willed his old Power Coin, minus the morpher, to appear, which it did with a flash of green light.

"Wow….even _that's_ gone green. Okay," he said, standing atop the rock. "Lion I jump in, Raven I don't." And he flipped the large golden coin, catching it as it fell and slapping it against the back of his hand.

"Lion. It figures. All right. _Fine_." He stowed the coin back wherever it had come from.

**"Samurai storm, Ranger form!"**

In a flash, he was clothed in the Green Samurai armor again. He raised the microphone-handle of his sword to his mouth.

**"Samurai Star Megazord!"**

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tommy struggled with the controls, but all he could do was make the Ape flail its limbs uselessly as Armageddo lifted it up off the ground by its throat, both of the Red Ninja Zord's twin swords lying on the ground.

Armageddo seized one of the Ape's feet in its other hand, tensing to tear the construct in two. ..and something tapped thrice, gently, on his shoulder.

Turning, Armageddo blinked as he gazed into the battered metal face of the Thunder Megazord.

"Back, and fully charged," Deacon said, grinning beneath his helmet.

Fox deftly manipulated the controls, causing the Megazord to bring its large metal fist forward, connecting squarely with Armageddo's face. The monster dropped the Ape zord and stumbled back as the bony ridge that covered his nose shattered, being driven into his skull.

"Well, actually, we're running on reserve power," Deacon amended. "But still. Back."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The five injured Ninjazords regrouped as the Thunder megazord traded blows with Armageddo.

"My weapons are out," Kalen said.

"Mine as well," Angel added.

"Time to bring 'em together," Tommy declared. "Ready?"

"These five make a Megazord?" Mara asked. "Good to know."

There was a shifting of mechanical parts as the five Rangers activated their respective Megazord systems, and their Ninjazords began transforming into various body parts.

The Frog zord stood upright, its large hind legs straightening and its forelegs attaching themselves to its knees. The Yellow Bear compressed in on itself, its limbs folding away so that it formed a large oblong structure that locked onto the top of the Frog's head, forming the Megazord's torso. Once the main body assembly was complete, the Wolf and Ape zords leapt into the air, transforming into a pair of arms as they snapped onto the Megazord's sides. Finally, the delicate Pink Crane Ninjazord flew down, attaching itself to the top of the assembly, folding back its wings and tilting back its small triangular head, revealing a much larger metal face.

"Ninja Megazord, online," the Red Ranger declared.

"Not too shabby," Terina said, running her fingers delicately across the controls. Her gaze fell on Mara, sitting next to her in the cockpit. "Where were you during that fight, may I ask?"

"Waiting for someone to decide we needed the Megazord," the Pink Ranger replied. "Crane doesn't have anything that could hurt Armageddo. All I'd have done is gotten myself blown up. Then we-"

"Then we couldnt make the Megazord, yeah, I get it," Terina said grudgingly.

"If we could?" Angel suggested. "Our friends don't appear to be faring too well."

**"Ninja Saber,"** Tommy summoned, and the hilt of a sword appeared in the Ninja Megazord's hand, in the shape of a fish, its open mouth facing upwards. No sooner had it appeared than a thick plume of flames jetted out of its mouth, solidifying into a blade of crystallized fire.

The Megazord took a few steps towards Armageddo, who was busily punching the Thunder Megazord in the face again, his left hand clasped around its throat. The Ninja Megazord raised the blade to strike down the monster, but as they did, Armageddo paused, turning around and grabbing the blade in his right hand as it fell.

There was a tense moment as Armageddo glared at the newly formed Megazord…which was abruptly broken as the monster tore the sword out of the construct's grip, swinging it by the blade and bashing the Ninja Megazord upside the head. The Ninja Megazord staggered back a few steps, and Armageddo tossed the sword aside, releasing his grip on the Thunder Megazord, which stood as though dazed.

The Ninja Megazord raised its fists and went into a fighting stance as the beast drew nearer, but before Armageddo had taken three steps, he was bombarded by a storm of green laser blasts.

Startled, everyone turned to see what appeared to be a green helicopter soaring towards them, constructed in the shape of a bird. As it drew near the battle, it paused, twisting in midair, its parts rearranging into the shape of a massive green robot, the star-shape rotor blades becoming its chestplate and the propellers at the back becoming a pair of legs, the rotors still whirring as they gently lowered the construct to the ground.

"How many of these insipid toys do you people HAVE?" Armageddo demanded.

"Me?" Jareth's voice came from the new arrival. "Just the one. Meet the Samurai Star. Named it myself."

Armageddo gave a colossal snort. "Nice name."

"Oh, this from the guy named 'Armageddo'? Spare me."

Armageddo opened his mouth to retort, but was distracted by the Ninja Megazord's fist, slamming him upside the head. The monster staggered, regaining his footing, then turned to face the Ninja Megazord, but before he could make a move against it, the Samurai Star was behind him, pinning his arms behind his back and holding him.

The Ninja Negazord took a step towards the bound monster and delivered a devastating punch to his stomach, cracking the bony armor.

"THAT'S for throwing me headfirst into a javelin," Terina's voice called. The Megazord pulled back and punched again, this time causing bony splinters to fall to the ground.

"THAT'S for destroying my Sabertoothed Tiger Zord," the Yellow Ranger continued. One more crushing punch fell upon Armageddo's midsection.

"And that's just because I don't like you."

Armageddo snarled in pain and anger, trying to retaliate. The Samurai Star strained to hold him back, the smaller, lighter Megazord nearly being lifted off the ground by the monster's strength. Its head turned back towards the Thunder Megazord, which still hadn't moved.

"Feel free to jump in anytime, guys," Jareth said.

"Can't," Fox replied. "We're dead. Barely enough power left to work the comm system."

Jareth frowned for moment, then his face lit up. "I've got just the thing." The Samurai Star's head turned again, facing forward. "Guys, I'm letting him go. Okay?"

"Go ahead," Tommy agreed. "We got it."

The Samurai Star released the monster, which promptly sprang forward, tackling the Ninja Megazord. Turning to face the Thunder Megazord, the Samurai Star leapt into the air, propelled by the rotors in its feet. Flying around behind the powerless construct, the green robot changed form once again, this time becoming a sort of backpack that attached itself to the back of the Thunder Megazord, its star-shaped rotor blade facing upwards and it's foot-rotors mounted on the Megazord's shoulders like cannons. Two of the Thunder Megazord's own cannons, which had been mounted, inactive, on either side of its chest, now fell down into place facing forward, ready to fire.

There was a surge of energy in the Thunder Megazord's cockpit, the controls lighting up as Jareth shunted the Samurai Star's power into the new assembly.

Fox rubbed her hands together eagerly, grinning beneath her helmet. "Oh, goody," she said.

"Shall we blow something up?" Deacon asked.

"Oh, do let's," Jareth agreed gleefully.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Okay," Tommy said, as the Ninja Megazord struggled to hold back Armageddo's fist, which was currently just a few meters from the construct's face. "Maybe we _don't_ got it."

A massive explosion rocked the Megazord as a missile flew into Armageddo's side, blasting him off the Megazord and sending him rolling across the ground, crushing what remained of the landscape as he went.

"About time," Terina grumbled, as the Ninja Megazord pulled itself to its feet.

Tommy blinked, grinning as he recognized the White Falcon Zord, which flew down and looped the Megazord lazily.

"Hey, guys," Stephen said "Am I late?"

"Just combine already," Terina said.

The Falcon Zord flew behind the Ninja Megazord and locked onto its back, adding wings to the assembly.

An automatic door at the back of the cockpit opened and a sixth chair slid into the room, carrying the White Ninja Ranger.

"So," he said. "What'd I miss?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Armageddo scowled, brushing burnt, blackened bits off of himself. He was getting downright sick of new zords showing up. How was anyone supposed to keep track of them all? Well, at least they kept sticking together into new robots. That meant there were less of them.

Once again summoning his sword, Armageddo leveled it at the latest new combination robot and fired a stream of destructive energy, easily powerful enough to shred the machine.

Unfortunately, the NinjaMegaFalconZord saw the blast coming and brought one of its wide, broad wings around, using the appendage as a shield. The blast splashed harmlessly off the white metal feathers.

Armageddo broke off his attack, sheathing his blade and preparing to charge the vehicle, no longer wanting anything but to shred the metal construct with his bare claws, to feel the armor ripping beneath his hands, the sparks of severed cables dance across his skin, to pick the puny armored humanoids from their seats within and devour them whole, crunching their armored bodied between his multiple rows of teeth.

The other Megazord flew into position, hovering slightly to the left and behind the one with the wings.

"Should we fry him now?" Fox asked from the cockpit of the combined Samurai Star/Thunder Megazord.

"Nah, let's wait for Lolli," Terina said. "We should all be here for this."

"There she is now," Jareth said from his vantage point in the floating Megazord. "Unless there are other big, green, metal serpents in the area."

"Nope, just the one," Angel confirmed.

Tommy glanced around, expecting to see some strange new Zord….and instead his eyes fell on something he'd hoped never to see again…a very familiar, massive, green flying metal serpent, its gold armor and claws glimmering in the fading sunlight. Serpentera!

Tommy's blood ran cold for a moment, and he nearly turned the NinjaMegaFalconZord's weapons on it before he remembered the emblem on the front of Lolli's Ninjetti robes: a serpent. Serpentera was her Ninja Zord!

Shaking his head, the Red Ranger breathed a sigh of relief. How many more twists did this world have in store for him?

As it drew nearer, Tommy realized that it wasn't quite the same Zord he'd remembered…this Serpentera was far smaller than the one he'd known, which had been large enough to squash a normal Megazord like a roach. Lolli's Serpentera was roughly the size of Titanis; large, but not unreasonably so.

Armageddo stared, aghast, at the massive serpent, which stared down imperiously at him. Behind him, the two Megazords moved into position, the three constructs forming a perfect equilateral triangle, with the monster at its center.

"On three?" Lolli suggested. "One.."

"Three!" Jareth yelled.

The Thunder Megazord leveled all four of its cannons down at Armageddo, firing them in rapid succession at the beast. At the same time, The NinjaMegaFalconZord brought both its wings forward, deploying a dazzling barrage of missiles from its wingtips, all of which struck Armageddo, exploding with surprising force.

Serpentera reared back its head, opening its mouth and releasing a river of emerald green flames, which lanced down, piercing Armageddo's stone/bone armor as though it were tissue paper, shooting straight through his heart and emerging from the carapace at his back, burning into the ground.

There was an incredible plume of multicolored flames as the powerful monster exploded, the firey light shooting up into the sky, sparks of all colors orbiting the column of fire at high speeds. The effect was strangely beautiful…but didn't last more than a few seconds, at the end of which the column shot back down, vanishing into the ground below, almost like water whirlpooling down a drain.

The zords seemed to relax, as though they knew the battle was over, the Thunder Megazord landing and retracting its cannons, the NinjaMegafalconZord brushing dirt and carbon scoring from its surface, and Serpentera preening, running its claw along the feathery fins that grew from its head.

The battle concluded, the Rangers leapt from their zords, encircling the scorched area where Armageddo had finally been defeated. Sitting in the middle of the blast zone was a small, green, perfectly ordinary turtle.

"You have GOT to be kidding me," Mara said. "All that…from a turtle?"

"What did we guess?" Stephen asked. "Cockroach, elephant, armadillo?"

"I tossed in gorilla," Terina added, picking up the small reptile and examining him closely.

"We were WAY off," Deacon said.

"I dunno," Stephen said. "An armadillo's kinda close to a turtle. Terina, please tell me you're not keeping that thing."

"Why not? He's cute." Terina held the small turtle up for everyone to see. The turtle looked very, very confused. Once everyone had gotten a good look, she gave him a small kiss on the nose.

"All he needs is a name."

And, ignoring the strange looks the others were giving her, she tucked the turtle under her arm and started back towards the Ninja Temples.


	27. Ninjetti Storm Part V

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 27: Ninjetti Storm Part 5

"So....Myk is Air, Troy is Water, Electra is Earth...," Jareth began, as the group made their way through the forest towards the Ninjetti Temples.

"I'm Fire and he's Thunder," Fox finished, jerking her thumb at Deacon.

"So, if you're Fire and he's Thunder, and the Thunder Megazord is the two of you, why call it the Thunder Megazord?" the Green Samurai asked. "Why not the Fire Megazord?"

"Because I won the coin toss," Deacon replied smugly.

"I still say you used a trick coin," Fox growled. She turned to Electra, who was walking alongside her. "Where were you during that fight, by the way? We could have used you."

"Myk and Troy are still back at the temple," she replied. "And even if they'd been here, our Megazord still hasn't finished recharging after the fight with Golemar."

"Oh," Fox said. "Well, okay then."

"I was cheering you guys on, if that helps," the blue-haired girl said, shrugging. She turned to Jareth. "So, you're moving back into the Temple of Death?" she asked.

"I suppose so," Jareth replied. "I'll be Starlight again, I guess."

"Starlight," Kalen said, "is not an element."

"It is now," Jareth said. "It's what I would have chosen for myself, if I'd managed to become a Ninja Ranger in the first place."

"Speaking of which," Terina asked icily. Jareth winced slightly at her tone. "You were going to tell us where you'd been?" the Yellow Ranger continued.

"First of all, I just want to go on record as saying I had no idea you guys thought I was dead."

"You storm off saying you're going to break into Zedd's fortress and steal the Chaos Emerald, and then aren't seen again for over six years," Terina said coldly. "Of _course_ we thought you were dead."

"You need to watch more TV," Jareth said simply. "NEVER assume someone's dead until you've seen the corpse, and even then, don't count on it. And anyway," he held out his hand and a green sphere appeared in his palm. He pressed a button on the side and it popped open like a Pokeball, revealing a glowing green crystal shaped like the Green Samurai's trademark four-pointed star. "I DID steal the Chaos Emerald."

"You actually pulled it off?" Kalen asked, sounding slightly impressed.

"Don't sound so shocked," Jareth said, putting the Sphere away with a flash of green light. "I mean, it was no picnic, but you guys should know by now that I can do anything."

Terina almost caught herself grinning at his facetious tone, but caught herself, reminding herself that she was mad at him. "So what took you so long to get back?"

"I was a....guest....of the Temple of Balance."

"So there IS a third temple," Tommy said.

"About once every two hundred years, yeah. It's a long story."

"Your stories always are," Electra said. "That's never stopped you before."

"Very true," Jareth said. "Okay. It all started when I stole the Chaos Emerald… Well, technically it all started when there was a Big Bang…,"

"Jareth…," Terina said warningly.

"Okay, okay. Cue the nifty flashback effect."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Jareth ran for all he was worth down the hall, skidding to a halt as the massive doors to Zedd's palace loomed ahead. He glanced back at the small group of security Putties that had been chasing him. They would hurt him. Badly. In one hand he clutched a fist-sized emerald, its top cut into the shape of a four-pointed star, its sides sloping down from the star's edges to form a sharp point at the other end. _

The doors were locked. Jareth let his eyes fall half-closed, concentrating, aiming two fingers at the lock. Muttering something under his breath, he twisted his wrist as though turning a key.

_The lock clicked open._

_"Yes!" Jareth pushed the doors open and ran out onto the barren surface of the moon, the Putties close on his heels._

_After about ten meters, he stopped dead, sensing the wall of magic before him. If he exited that membrane of magic, the artificial atmosphere that surrounded the palace, he would explosively decompress, freeze to death, and/or suffocate…probably in that order._

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hold it," Terina said. How did you get to the moon in the first place?"

"I DON'T want to talk about it," Jareth replied, with a slight shudder. "It involved a lizard, a condom, and a big metal-"

"You know what? Forget I asked," the Eltarian amended. "Just continue, please."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_The Putties lurched forward, making their incomprehensible 'Blooba Blooba' noises, looking quite intent on taking the emerald back, with or without Jareth's hand still attached._

_The Gold Ranger had never been very good at melee combat, even when he WAS able to morph, preferring to leave that part to Deacon or one of the other fighter-types. But there was no avoiding it now. He searched desperately for anything he might use as a weapon, but there was nothing around but rock….and none small enough to be used as a convenient weapon._

_Sighing, he closed his fist around the emerald. It was solid, it had a few nice, sharp points….maybe he could…he didn't know…gouge an eye out or something before they managed to kill him six different ways._

_Did Putties HAVE eyes?_

_The Gold Ranger lifted the gem, but before he could do anything with it, a brilliant green light shone from within the polished surface. The Putties let out a surprisingly high scream (surprising, that is, because all Jareth had ever heard them say before was 'Blooba Blooba') and fell over onto their backs, trying desperately to shield themselves from the blinding green light._

_Jareth blinked in surprise up at the gem….the light didn't seem to bother HIM. Maybe this was one of those 'Last-minute Magical Miracle That Saves The Good Guy' things that always happened on TV. _

_So he thought, at least, until the gem began to burn his hand. Startled, he tried to let go, but his fingers seemed to be stuck to the polished surface. The gem seemed to grow larger as he looked at it….and he realized, as he looked around, that this was because he was shrinking, shrinking at a surprising rate. Before he knew it, he was sinking INTO the smooth surface of the emerald. Jareth had the fleeting thought that this must be what it was like to sink into a swimming pool full of green Jello…and then everything went black._

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I've had that dream," Deacon remarked.

"What?"

"The 'sinking into green Jello' dream."

Everyone present stared at him, as though questioning his sanity.

Deacon looked around, blinking. "What?"

"Anyway…" Jareth continued, with a sidelong glance at the Navy Ranger.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Jareth shook his head, looking around. At first, he thought he was back in the Temple of Death, but the Temple of Death hadn't had suits of Samurai armor on stands lined against the walls, nor had it swords hung on plaques. There were windows, but through them one could see only a dull, bleak blue-black-purple swirling void. The place was dimly lit, but between Jareth's nocturnal eyes and his night-vision contacts, he could see everything perfectly well. _

_Including the Samurai warrior who was glaring at him, hand on his sword._

_"Xith frada nurr," the samurai said in a stern voice._

_Jareth frowned. His contacts worked perfectly, but ever since the Oasis had gone boom, his comchip had been nothing more that a chunk of dead circuitry stuck in his head. Instantaneous translation was a thing of the past._

_"I have no idea what you just said."_

_The Samurai muttered something that must have been a spell, because the Gold Ranger sensed a wave of magic course through the room. The warrior drew his blade and marched forward._

_"Who are you?" the samurai asked in what seemed to be High Terran. Must have been a translation spell, Jareth guessed._

_"Jareth Valentine. And yourself?"_

_"You will answer my questions. I will not answer yours"_

_"Why?"_

_"Because I am the one with the sword."_

_"You just answered my question," Jareth pointed out, grinning._

_There was a flash of metal, and the samurai's blade was against the Gold Ranger's throat._

_"How did you enter here?"_

_"I have no idea," Jareth said very slowly, eyeing the blade. _

_"You will answer."_

_"I just did."_

_The samurai pressed his blade against Jareth's throat, just enough to emphasize its presence._

_One of the benefits of having a tail is that most people don't expect you to have it. Those who specialize in martial arts have usually trained in various ways to combat the normal humanoid body. Two legs, two arms, one head. They knew to watch the legs and the hands. No one ever considered the tail, and if they did, they never seemed to think of it as anything more than a decoration. At the moment, Jareth was slowly snaking his tail across the floor to wind around one of his interrogator's armored ankles._

_"If you persist in avoiding my questions, I will start removing limbs."_

_"You're not much of a people person, are you?"_

_Instead of waiting for a response, Jareth gave a sharp yank with his tail, pulling the samurai's leg out from under him and causing him to fall. The Gold Ranger turned tail and bolted, running for all he was worth, trusting the samurai's heavy armor to slow him down enough to give him a decent head start._

_Turning down random halls, Jareth finally wound up in what looked like someone's meditation room._

_He based this assumption, of course, on the fact that someone was currently using it to meditate. The person in question was sitting cross-legged on the floor, facing the wall._

_"I sense the emerald….and another power….," she said in a surprisingly soft voice._

_Somehow, she managed to turn around and rise to her feet in one fluid motion. She was quite pretty, with shortish, shaggy, dirty-blonde hair and perfectly symmetrical eyebrows._

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Symmetrical _eyebrows_?" Tommy asked, looking at Jareth strangely.

"Yes. Symmetrical eyebrows. Is that a problem?"

"Umm….no, I guess not."

"Good. Now don't interrupt."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Abruptly, the samurai who'd been chasing Jareth burst into the room. He started towards Jareth, sword drawn, but the emerald clutched in the Gold Ranger's hand flashed a brilliant green, and the samurai found himself thrown back against the wall._

_Jareth spun at the sound, he'd not even heard the warrior's approach._

_"Ah, there it is," the girl said. "The Chaos Emerald."_

_Jareth held it closer to himself protectively, wondering how in Hel's name he'd ever be able to protect it._

_"It's all right. I won't try to take it from you. And don't mind Jomar. He's a pussycat."_

_The samurai let out a growl as he got to his feet, but said nothing._

_"Jomar, huh? Yeah, we've met," Jareth grumbled. "And you are?"_

_"My name is Como Un Pulpo."_

_Jareth raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't that mean-"_

_"I know perfectly well what it means," Como said, sounding slightly annoyed. "In one of your Terran languages, anyway. Something can mean something in one language and mean something else entirely in another, you know. And my language is far older than any on your world."_

_Jareth shrugged. "Fair enough. So what's it mean in your language?"_

_"The same thing," Como grumbled. "I had cruel parents. Anyway…we were discussing you."_

_Jareth grinned. "I love when people discuss me."_

_"Doesn't everyone. What's your name?"_

_"His name is Jareth Valentine," Jomar said. "He claims not to know how he got here."_

_"That's easy enough," Como said amiably. "I brought him."_

_"You?" Jomar asked._

_"Why?" Jareth said, at the same time._

_"Because of the emerald, of course. Although I sense you have other powers."_

_"They don't work. Because of this thing. I stole it back to I could reverse what it did."_

_"Good luck with that," Como said. "We felt the power of Zedd's spell even here, in this protective temple. It was absurdly powerful. It would take ages of magical experience to reverse it."_

_"Great," Jareth muttered. "What is this place, anyway?"_

_"This is the Temple of Balance, home of the Ninjetti Samurai."_

_"The third temple," Jareth mused. "So I'm back in the Ninjetti Valley?"_

_"In a manner of speaking," Jomar said. He seemed to be fairly neutral towards the newcomer now, as opposed to a few minutes ago, when he'd wanted to skewer him with a long bit of metal. _

_"Great! I can go home. Which way to the door?"_

_"I'm afraid there's no way out," Como said. "You're stuck here. Just like us."_

_"Um. Why?"_

_"The Temple of Balance was once one of the three temples that coexisted here in this valley," the girl explained. "Until a few million years ago. There was a huge surge of magic, and we were thrown into a strange pocket dimension. Sort of a time-lock."_

_Jareth raised an eyebrow, his tail twitching with interest. "Go on," he said._

_"Once every two hundred years, our pocket aligns with the rest of the valley, and the three temples are reunited. But it only lasts a day, and then we're gone again. We cannot leave, for when the Temple fades again, so do we, whether we are within the Temple at the time or not…we simply reappear here. If you came from the Ninjetti Valley, then you must know that the other two temples are continuously at war?"_

_Jareth nodded._

_"This is because of the void left behind by this temple. It takes all three to properly maintain the balance of magical power in this valley….the magic that sustains the Ninjetti that live here. Without all three, there's a negative reaction. It's tricky to explain, but you get the point."_

_"So how did I get here?"_

_"The emerald," Como replied. "Its power could be used to repair the damage to the Temple of Balance, and realign us with the valley. When I sensed that its magic was no longer under the protection of Zedd's palace, I cast a spell to bring it here. But it seems to have bonded with you, so you came along as well." Como sighed. "That's bad."_

_"Why is that bad?"_

_"Because, for one thing, it means you're stuck here until we align with the valley again, which won't happen for another ninety-eight years."_

_"I can't stay here that long! I have stuff to do. You know, outside." The Gold Ranger held the emerald out to her. "Take it. Do your thing."_

_Como shook her head. "That's the other problem. It's bonded to you…so I can't use its magic anymore."_

_Jareth frowned at the emerald in his hand. "So I'm stuck here."_

_The girl considered. "Maybe not. YOU can use its power…..so maybe YOU can realign the temple. Then you could just walk out the door, no sweat."_

_"That's a laugh. My magic can barely light a candle."_

"Well, then," Como said, smiling. "You'll just have to learn."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So you spent six years learning magic?" Deacon asked, as the group arrived at the table where Troy and Myk were waiting.

"And swordplay. Can't spend six years with samurai and not learn to fight."

"Guys, check it out! The two Temples have stopped fighting….Jareth?" Myk asked, blinking. "I thought you were dead."

"Yeah, I just haven't stopped walking around yet," the Green Samurai quipped. He glanced at the others. "I have to re-tell that part for them now, don't I?"

"Yup."

With a sigh, Jareth told the beginning of his tale once again.

"Now, then….where was I?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Six years later-_

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Woah, woah, hold it," Mara said. "You're just skipping six whole years?"

"I've read that book you love so much, and that guy went from twelve to thirty in one go. I don't think six years is unreasonable," Jareth replied. "Besides, they were a very boring six years."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Six years later, Jareth stared at a spoon. _

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"A spoon," Myk repeated.

"For Hel's sake, will you people stop interrupting?" Jareth demanded. "I'll never get to the end at his rate."

"Sorry," Myk muttered. "Please, continue."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_The spoon sat there, as spoons generally tended to do._

_"I'm still not getting it," he said._

_Como sighed, holding up her hand. Upon the tip of her finger, a second silver spoon was spinning, jumping end over end, twisting like silly putty, and generally doing things that spoons tended NOT to do._

_"You'll get it, Jester," she said, using the nickname his flippant nature had quickly earned him. "There's just something you have to realize first."_

_"That there is no spoon?" Jareth suggested weakly._

_"Oh, there's a spoon. It's the finger that isn't there."_

_"What?"_

_Como sighed. "Never mind. Let's start fresh tomorrow."_

_Jareth gladly handed the spoon over to the sorceress. On the whole he'd been learning surprisingly well here……especially considering that he'd never even graduated high school. Then again, high school had always worked backwards….expecting him to learn something, THEN telling why he needed to know it. _

_"Now," Como said. "Why don't you go bug Jomar into teaching you more about how to wave sharp metal sticks at things?" _

_Jareth jumped to his feet. "Always glad to bug Jomar."_

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_As Jareth strode down the hall towards Jomar's chambers, he heard an unfamiliar voice echoing from within the master samurai's room._

_"I grow tired of waiting, samurai," the gruff sounding voice said. _

_"YOU grow tired of waiting?" Jomar demanded. "I have been trapped in this miserable temple for nearly four thousand years. You promised that the seal could be broken."_

_"And it can. All that I must do is to destroy the Temple. But first the Temple must be realigned. I cannot destroy what isn't there."_

_"How will you enter the Ninjetti Valley at all?"_

_"I have a plan in motion. I will send a monster to attack Terra. When the Rangers leave the realm to fight him, my agent will slip through their portal into the valley. He will follow the power of the Emerald to your Temple."_

_Cautiously, Jareth crouched low to the ground and peeked his head around the corner. _

_Floating in the middle of Jomar's room was a head make of shimmering red light…and not a human head. Its face was a mask of silvery metal with glowing red eyes, the top of its head was its exposed brain, and a spire grew from its forehead, forming a Z at the tip._

_"And for the temple to be realigned with the valley, your young protégé MUST achieve his full potential."_

_"He grows stronger daily, Zedd," Jomar said._

_Zedd! So THAT'S what Zedd looks like, Jareth thought._

_"It should only be a mater of time before he is able to control the power of the Chaos Emerald."_

_"Time is a luxury I cannot afford," Zedd said. "I need that emerald."_

_"You shall have it," Jomar said. "As we discussed. You destroy the temple, I get my freedom. I destroy Jareth, you get your emerald."_

_Not good, Jareth thought. What do I do now?_

_Turn around and flee with the blinding speed of a true coward, his brain suggested._

_Works for me, Jareth replied, turning to leave as stealthily as he could._

_Unfortunately, his feet tangled in his tail as he turned and he wound up taking a nosedive to the floor, hitting with a decidedly un-stealthy THUMP._

_ "You are a fool, samurai! You have allowed yourself to be spied upon!"_

_There was the sharp sound of a samurai sword being drawn. _

_"I shall dispatch the intruder, Lord Zedd, and return. We still have much to discuss."_

_Jareth struggled to untangle himself and get to his feet, but by the time he did so, Jomar was standing over him._

_"Jester. I hadn't expected it to be you. This is most unfortunate."_

_"You're telling me," Jareth replied, staring nervously at the Samurai's sword. "Why do this? Once I'm good enough at magic, I can realign the Temple myself….you'll be free to go. You don't need to destroy the place."_

_Jomar laughed, a cruel, mocking laugh. "You jest, Jester. I've seen your pathetic attempts at magic. You've a better chance of dousing the sun than repairing this realm. Besides, you've been here a mere six years, and you complain constantly about being cooped up, that it's driving you crazy. Imagine how I feel. After four thousand years, I'm actually looking forward to seeing this place crumble."_

_"And Como?"_

_"Again, four thousand years. I'm downright sick of her."_

_The samurai tilted his head. "However….I can see that we'll have to improvise, now. After all, I can't have you running off to tell my wife about this little fiasco. She'd be appalled if she knew I was planning to destroy this Temple….and I'm not certain how long my steel would last against her sorcery. So here's the new plan."_

_He snapped his fingers, and a large monstrosity appeared. It slimy, smooth skin was jet black, it stood easily eight feet tall, and from numerous places on its body it sported long, writhing tentacles._

_"A little gift from Zedd. His name is Tentaclax. Tentaclax here shall dismember you, after which I shall take the emerald and present it to Como. I will inform her that a viscous beast somehow entered the Temple and devoured you, we will mourn briefly, after which she will use the Emerald's power to repair the realm. I will kill her, take the emerald, present it to Zedd, Zedd will destroy the temple, and everyone who's still alive will live happily ever after. Sound good?"_

_"And what will you tell Como happened to the monster?"_

_"Oh, I'll slice off a tentacle or two, tell her I vanquished it, send Tentaclax elsewhere to recover. Anything else?'_

_"Umm….probably, but I suddenly get the impression that you're just telling me this to get me to point out the holes in your plan."_

_"Clever, Jester. Very well, let's get started then. Tentaclax? Kill."_

_The monster started forward, but before he took two steps, a blast of blue-white magic caught him between the eyes, sending him falling backwards to the floor with a screech._

_Jareth spun around, he and Jomar both blinking in surprise._

_There stood Como, tears running down her furious face._

_"Shit," Jomar said. "I take it you heard all that?"_

_Judging by the size of the fireball she then threw at him, she had._

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I'm beginning to like this Como person," Fox said, grinning.

"Yeah, you would," Jareth agreed.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

J_omar leapt aside, dodging the fiery orb, which splashed harmlessly off of one of the magical suits of armor that lined the hallway. _

_"Tentaclax! Get her!"_

_The monster growled agreeably, striding forward. _

_Jareth pulled a samurai sword loose from one of the wall plaques, aiming its sharpened blade at Jomar._

_"You always were a funny one, Jester. Are you forgetting who taught you to use that?"_

_"Just shut up and fight."_

_Jomar shrugged, leaping into battle, his blade moving so swiftly that it could barely be seen. Jareth had been an apt student, but he hadn't a snail's chance in a supernova of beating someone with over four thousand years' worth of fighting experience. _

_Jareth's sword fell to the ground, as did Jareth himself. Jomar bent down and grabbed Jareth's tail, spinning around and swinging the Rangers into the nearest wall. There was a resounding crash as suits of armor toppled over and swords fell from their mountings. Jareth covered his head protectively as steel rained down around him…a futile gesture, as the enchanted weapons could have sliced through both of his arms, his head, his torso, and the floor without slowing down._

_Miraculously, none of the blades struck him, though several did wind up embedded to the hilt in the floor, just inches away from him on all sides._

_Jomar strode forward and grabbed him by the front of his robes, lifting him into the air._

_"Any last jokes, Jester?" Jomar asked, pressing the blade ever-so-slightly against Jareth's neck._

_Rather than the scream of panic one would normally expect, a strange sense of calm had taken hold of Jareth's mind. Four words ran though his head, clear as day._

_**"Samurai storm, Ranger form,"**__ he said softly._

_"What?" Jomar asked._

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Tentaclax's tentacles whipped forward, wrapping themselves around Como's wrists before she could cast any more spells. _

_Abruptly, Como found herself lifted into the air by her wrists, another pair of tentacles wrapping around her ankles and pulling her legs apart._

_Como's eyes widened as yet another tentacle made itself known, running up the inside of her thigh._

_"Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me."_

_One look at the lewd, lecherous expression on Tentaclax's hideous face told her that no, he wasn't._

_"Sorry," she said. "You're not my type."_

_A surge of magic ran up her arms into her hands, burning the tentacles that bound her wrists. Tentaclax let out a scream and tried to remove them, but by the time he managed to do so, little remained of them but a pair of smoking, pencil-thin tendrils._

_Withdrawing entirely, the monster backed up a bit, leaving Como floating a few feet off the ground in front of him, glowing with magical force._

_The next and last thing Tentaclax ever saw was Como's outstretched hands, channeling forth a massive blast of gold-white fire._

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_A brilliant swarm of emerald green stars rose from the floor, swirling up and completely covering Jareth's body with their incredibly bright glow. Jomar dropped the Ranger as the stars singed his hand, taking a few large steps back._

_The green glow spread through the floors, up the walls, over the ceiling, enveloping every available surface within the temple. There was a shuddering of the foundations, and unearthly tremor of power that swept through the entire Temple….and when it faded, shafts of brilliant golden sunlight streamed in through the windows, rather than the bleak void of limbo._

_Last of all, the stars faded from Jareth's form, revealing the emerald green and gold armor of the Green Samurai Ranger. _

_"The temple," Como said softly, landing on the floor nearby. "It's been healed. I can feel it. You did it, Jareth."_

_"I did?"_

_"Then I am finally free," Jomar said, laughing maniacally. He took a step towards the doors, but a green-armored hand on his shoulder stopped him._

"YOU aren't going anywhere."

_Jomar's face contorted with rage as he spun, swinging his sword in an attempt to cleave Jareth's body cleanly in two._

_With the sort of speed that only a Power Ranger can achieve, Jareth ducked the blow, then drew his own weapon, a Samurai Saber that had appeared at his side. As Jomar swung again, Jareth's saber neatly sliced the blade of Jomar's weapon clean off. With a second swing, Jareth's blade passed through Jomar's torso, his body and weapon each falling to ground in two pieces. A quick third slash removed Jomar's head as his upper half fell._

_Automatically, Jareth sheathed his weapon with a flourish. _

_"You did it," Como said softly._

_"Yeah. Sorry about Jomar."_

_A brief expression of pain crossed her face, but just as quickly vanished. "Somehow, I think I'm better off without him."_

_Jareth examined his armor, puzzled. _

_"Why am I green?"_

_"The magic of the emerald has been bleeding into your powers all these years," Como replied. "Maybe if you'd morphed before you found it, your Ranger form would have been fixed, but since you didn't, it could still be influenced." She shrugged. "Of course, that's just a guess. It's hard to say for certain."_

_Jareth shrugged as well. "A color change isn't so bad," he said._

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Easy for you to say," Electra grumbled. "I _so_ got cheated."

"How so?" Tommy asked.

"She's always wanted blue," Angel explained.

"And now that we have three Blue Rangers, I've been demoted to yellow. I _hate_ yellow," Electra said, pouting.

"Hey!" Terina said.

"What? Yellow sucks."

Terina shot the Yellow Ninja Ranger a glare.

"Just ignore her, Terina," Mara said. "You know she's been annoying since she went back on the pills."

"You're _still _taking those?" Jareth demanded. "Lecca, we talked about-"

"_You _were telling a story," Electra reminded him.

"Hey, yeah!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_"You have to go," Como said suddenly._

_"What?"_

_"Zedd's agent! He's coming, remember? He's tracking the emerald."_

_"And the Emerald's with me. You're right. I should take it away from the Temple. Come with?"_

_Como shook her head. "Someone has to stay with the Temple."_

_ "Will you be okay here….by yourself?"_

_A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Yes," she said softly. "I really think I will."_

_Jareth stepped forward and gave the girl a hug, then turned and, with a single backwards glances, strolled out the huge double doors, which opened magically before him as he went._

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"And that's my story," Jareth concluded. "So. Am I forgiven for being away so long?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Terina said. "But next time, find a way to call."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

That night at the table, the Rangers held something of a party. Truly able to mingle for the first time in almost a decade, Amageddo reduced to a harmless pet turtle, and with one of their number returned from the dead, everyone agreed that a celebration was in order.

Jareth and Lolli had a 'Battle of the Green Rangers', during which they playfully swordfighted…but which was cut short when one of Jareth's slashes accidentally cut down the large bronze gong, which crashed loudly onto the stone tabletop. Electra and Terina started a food fight, by the end of which virtually everyone had various sticky foodstuffs all over their ninja robes. Only Kalen had managed to come out spotlessly clean, evidently by using Angel as a shield. Fox and Deacon vanished at one point to do something better not guessed at, but returned before too long, both looking satisfied.

The festivities were abruptly cut short as a column of brilliant white light shot down from the sky, shining directly down onto the smooth, circular tabletop. A pair of shining, ruby-red eyes appeared in the column of light, gazing down at the Rangers.

"He's baaaaack," Stephen said.

"Rangers," the eyes said. "You have destroyed Armageddo, secured the Chaos Emerald, and reunited the three Temples. I am impressed."

"Actually, that was kinda all me," Jareth said. A number of the others glared at him.

"Who are you?" Tommy asked.

"I am the Light Sage," the column of light replied. "And you....are the one known as Tommy Oliver."

Tommy nodded.

"Tommy.....your purpose here has been served."

"What?" asked Tommy, along with more than a few of the other Rangers.

"It is time for you to return from whence you came."

Tommy blinked, then smiled. "You mean....back to Earth?" He'd get to see his old friends again....Kat's smiling face appeared in his imagination, and his grin grew wider.

"No....not quite."

Tommy's smile vanished. "Then....where?"

"You do not belong here, Tommy Oliver," the Light Sage replied. "You are not the Tommy of this world. This dimension's Tommy was lost when he dropped a component of the Delta Megaship's Hyper-Rush drive, nearly a decade ago. The device sent him hurtling through time, space, and dimension, and he emerged near the surface of the star you know as Ursa Minor Beta. He was incinerated instantly."

Tommy looked around at the other Rangers to see how they were taking this. Most were listening, curious, but Kalen seemed to be jotting something down on a scroll.

"But...that was me...," Tommy said. "And I--"

"You are but one of many Tommy Olivers, a legion of yourselves that populate the dimensions," the Light Sage explained. "You differ from this world's Tommy in this respect: Where he was transported to an environment he could not survive, YOU were transported HERE. I confess to having no small amount of responsibility for this."

"You were the one who brought me here?"

"Yes…and no. It was your action that knocked you out of the dimensions. I simply made sure that you would land comfortably. I sensed that the emerald was at large once again, and suspected that Zedd would attempt to reclaim it. It seemed to me that my Rangers could use your assistance."

"And so....you're sending me...Back to the Megaship. Back to when I dropped that device?"

"Slightly after. A fraction of a second. Were I to send you back to the exact same time, you would materialize in the same spot as your previous self."

Tommy couldn't quite suppress the image of materializing where another him was already standing. He shuddered.

"Wait!" Jareth jumped forward, conjuring the green sphere that contained the Chaos Emerald. "Here," he said, giving it to Tommy. "You take this."

"But don't you need it to morph?" Tommy asked, puzzled.

Jareth shook his head, his long, braided bangs waving. "My powers are the ones that the Light Sage gave me when I first got here. The Emerald helped make them what they are, but they aren't dependant on it."

"Why give it to me? Aren't you supposed to-"

"Guard it, yeah. And what better way to keep it safe from Zedd than to send it to another dimension with you? If you don't want to guard it, give it Zord-1. I'm sure he can find a use for it."

"Is this really okay?" Tommy asked, turning up to the Light Sage.

"Jareth is the Guardian of the Chaos Emerald," said the pair of ruby-red eyes that floated above them. "As such, he can do with it as he pleases, including passing it on to a new Guardian. Truth be told, this is approximately what I had in mind when I brought you here."

Tommy looked down at the sphere and nodded. The green orb vanished in a small flash of energy, as Tommy stowed it wherever such things went when stowed by a Ranger.

Kalen strolled over to Jareth, whispering something in his ear and handing him the scroll she'd been writing on. Jareth nodded, giving the scroll a sharp tap with his finger. A few sparks of green, black, and purple appeared, sealing the scroll seamlessly so that it could not be unrolled.

"And give this to Kalen when you get back," the Green Samurai added, handing the paper to Tommy. Tommy frowned at the scroll, puzzled, but stowed it away as well.

"Oh, and you'll understand if I take those back," the Light Sage said.

Tommy's red ninja robes vanished, dispelling into a white mist, leaving in their place the clothes he'd been wearing when he'd first arrived. "After all, you've your own powers to return to, and this group will be needing a new Red Ranger."

"A new Ranger?" Tommy asked, wondering who'd take his place. "Who?"

"Will she do?"

There was a sharp flash of red in the clearing, and a girl stood among them, looking around in surprise.

"Como!" Jareth cried. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Jester?" Como looked over at her old friend. "Where am I, and why do I get the impression that this is your fault?"

"I have selected you to be the new Red Ninjetti Ranger," the Light Sage declared. "Do you approve of your replacement, Tommy?"

Tommy considered. He knew nothing of Como except from Jareth's story, which was probably quite exaggerated, but if any of it was true, then Como was quite a capable fighter….and she had no one left. Being part of the group could only do her good.

"Yes," Tommy said.

"And do you accept, Como?"

Como shrugged, smiling. "Sure, why not."

"Excellent." There was another red flash, and Como's clothing was replaced by the red Ninjetti robes, the symbol of the ape emblazoned across her chest. There were assorted celebratory cries from the rest of the team.

"Now, brace yourself, Tommy," the Light Sage said. "This may sting a bit."

Jareth stepped back and gave a mock-salute. The others waved their own farewells. There was a sharp pain that seemed to come from everywhere at once…then nothing.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"--ful with that!"

Tommy blinked, then looked up at Terina, who was looking rather panicked.

"That's the ship's transtemporal matrix! If you rupture the containment field, it could send you anywhere! Anywhen!"

"Yeah...I know," Tommy said, somewhat subdued. Oh, how he knew! "Why.... why does the ship have this thing if it's so dangerous?" he asked, picking it back up.

"Oh," Terina said. "Nothing can travel faster than light, so if you want to travel faster than light, all you have to do is travel at the speed of light whilst going back in time."

"What?"

"Lolli could explain better. Umm...," Terina scratched her head. "Okay, imagine that the speed of light is one mile an hour. Now, imagine that you wish to go one mile."

"Okay...."

"What's the quickest you could get there? One hour, right?"

"Right."

"Wrong," the Yellow Ranger replied. "If you go back in time say, half an hour, while you're traveling that mile, then it only takes you half an hour to get there. You've effectively gone twice the speed of light."

Tommy blinked. That had almost made sense. "I think I get it. "

"Well, you get the concept, which is good enough. It's really a bit more complicated than that, since the thing also slows down time inside the ship so that we don't actually notice the hour that it actually takes, which is actually a lot longer..." Terina shook her head to clear out all the confusing science. "Now put that back. It'd take us about seven point three billion years to get home without it."

Tommy (carefully) replaced the device into its slot in the side of the Hyper-Rush engine, doing his best as he did so not to think about the other Tommy, the one who'd dropped that thing and wound up on the surface of a sun.

A few hours later, Terina climbed out from beneath a section of machinery, wiping engine lubricant off her small hands with a filthy towel.

"Well, it's done. As good as we can get it, anyway. It'll probably take us longer to get there now, but we'll at least arrive in one piece. But from now on, either Angel or Lolli, or preferably both, comes along on all interstellar trips. A grease monkey, I am not."

"Aww, come on. It was fun," Jareth argued. "You're just cranky because _you_ had to crawl into all the cramped spaces."

"One day I will have my revenge on you tall people. This I swear," Terina said grimly, but she was smirking. "Come on, let's go tell the others the engines are back on line."

Moments later, stars were streaking past the viewports again as the Megaship raced through space, once again en route to the space colony known as KO-35.


	28. Meanwhile

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 28: Meanwhile…

Frowning, Angel studied the situation carefully. It had been a long and complicated struggle, and it was nearly over…but which side was to be victorious had yet to be decided. One false move, he though, and all would be lost.

All he needed was one opening….one small gap in his enemy's defenses…and… yes! There it was. Grinning, the Gray Ranger struck, dealing a devastating final blow to his adversary.

"Checkmate," he said.

Stephen frowned and made as though to swipe all the pieces from the gameboard, but, as the pieces were holographic, his arm simply passed through them.

"Man, it's been dull around here lately."

"You call that little exchange up on the bridge dull?" Angel asked. "I sincerely hope never to be around when things get exciting."

"I mean since then," the White Ranger replied. He glanced around the lounge.

Being a Power Ranger came with certain perks, one of which was free run of the Oasis, a high-tech, and quite luxurious, spaceship. Ordinarily, one could find at least three of the Rangers in this room, watching the enormous television, playing the games, having a snack, or just taking a nap on the absurdly comfortable, semi-circular couch.

"I mean, where IS everybody?"

"Seven of us are still in deep space, on a mission," Angel replied, ticking them off on his fingers. "Fox has class, Kalen and Myk have been determinedly avoiding one another, and Lolli is working on finding two more power sources for the other Turbo Morphers. And you and I are here, of course."

"What we SHOULD be doing is working out what happened to the Phantom Ruby," Stephen said.

"'Should' is often a matter of opinion. A Ranger took it, and if a Ranger took it, and hasn't told us why, perhaps there is a reason. Maybe we're better off not having it with us just now."

"Yeah, but what if you're wrong? What if someone wants to use it's power to do…I dunno….bad things?"

"That would suck," Angel replied simply. "Another game?"

"Stephen, Angel, please report to the Bridge," Zord-1's voice came from the speakers set into the roof. "You…have a phone call."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Terina?" Stephen asked, looking up at the face on the bridge's viewscreen.

"And company," the Yellow Ranger agreed. "Thought I'd touch base….and let you guys know that we might have a problem."

"What's the problem?" Myk asked, entering the room.

Terina held up a piece of machinery, a silverish cube that had a bundle of severed and burned wires hanging from the bottom.

"And that would be…?" Kalen asked from one of the comfortable leather swivel chairs, arms crossed behind her head and feet up on one of the control panels.

"Our Ion Shield," Terina replied. "It's toast. We just got hit by an ion storm that nearly killed us all."

"What's an Ion Shield?" Stephen asked.

"Just like it sounds," Lolli replied. "It's a device that protects the ship from ions, specifically ion storms."

"Ion Storms are created when charged ionic particles from suns and solar flares manage to break into hyperspace," Zord-1 explained. "Any ship moving as faster-than-light speeds will naturally attract them. Thus, every spaceworthy vessel incorporates an Ion Shield into its engines."

"Hold it up, Terina. Let me see the wires," Lolli said, squinting up at the monitor.

The Yellow Ranger complied.

"Yes, they ARE cut, not broken, if that's what you're thinking," the alien confirmed.

"Hmm." Lolli frowned.

"Are you saying it was sabotaged?" Myk asked.

"Almost definitely. Probably just before they left." Lolli turned to the pulsating orb embedded in the nearest console. "Zord-1, bring up all life-sign and motion signatures from inside Station, in the Delta Megaship's docking bay, for the thirteen hours preceding their departure."

There was a long pause.

"I'm sorry, Rangers, but those files have been erased."

"So a Ranger had to have done it," Stephen said. "Only one of us could have ordered Zord-1 to forget."

"And only one of us could have cut the wires," Lolli added. "They're made of pressurized carbon-aurum. It's a diamond-hard superconductor. Only another piece of pressurized carbon-aurum can cut it-"

"Or a powerful magical item," Angel added. "Such as one of our weapons."

"I wonder who it could have been," Myk said sarcastically, glaring at Kalen.

"Are we back on this again?" the Purple Ranger asked, sounding supremely unconcerned.

"So long as-"

"Myk, drop it," Lolli said. "Look, it's most likely that the Ranger who sabotaged the ship is the same one who stole the Phantom Ruby. The Ruby can't be anywhere on Terra, or any of the scanners on the ship would have picked it up by now. It has to be in an area controlled by Zord-1, so the thief could have told Zord-1 not to notice it. All we have to do is search the ship."

"The Ruby's been stolen? Then whoever's room holds the Ruby is the one who tried to kill us," Terina said. "Makes sense. Will you be checking our rooms, too?"

"I don't see why. You wouldn't have tried to kill yourselves," Stephen said.

"Unless that's just what we're expected to think," Kalen said.

"The only Ranger who would be so devious is you," Myk growled.

"Not true," the Purple Ranger argued. "Jareth can be just as devious, and he has less morality than I do."

"Why Kalen. I'm flattered," the Gold Ranger's voice came from the communication. Terina glanced offscreen, smirking at him.

"You're accusing him?" Myk asked.

"Not at all. I'm simply pointing out that we're all suspects here. And if we're searching MY room, we're searching them all."

"Well, when you get to my room, wear sunglasses," Terina said. "Gotta go, we're approaching the planet. Delta Megaship, out."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lolli entered Kalen's room, Myk and Stephen in tow. Kalen stood against one of the walls, arms crossed, not looking too pleased with the invasion of her privacy.

The room was, of course, purple. The décor was extravagant, absurdly expensive and designed to look like it. The soft, fluffy purple bed was surrounded by a frilly purple curtained canopy, the vanity table was a dark mahogany with purple engravings, a purple Persian rug covered the floor.

One entire wall was composed completely of video monitors, each one displaying a different area of the ship.

"So you really DO have cameras everywhere," Lolli said absently, scanning the room with her Turbo navigator.

"Not _everywhere_," Kalen said. "Just a few choice locations."

Myk squinted at one of the monitors. "Hey…that's my room!"

"And that one's mine," Stephen said, grinning. He smirked at Kalen. "See anything you like?"

"Not so far," Kalen said flatly. "Are we done here?"

"No sign of the Ruby, so yes," Lolli said. She handed the navigator to Stephen. "Double-check me."

Stephen took the navigator, surprised. Lolli normally resented it when someone second-guessed her work. "Why-"

"Because I'm a suspect too, so my investigations have to be verified."

"Oh." Stephen performed a quick scan of the room. "Nope. Nothing." He handed the device back to the Green Ranger.

"I don't see how you let someone off the hook when she's clearly been spying on us all," Myk grumbled.

"A pity Troy's not here," Stephen commented. "He can always tell when someone's lying."

"True," Kalen agreed. "I've been trying to find a way to baffle that built-in lie detector of his for years."

Lolli tilted her head, considering. She fiddled with the controls on the navigator, then pointed it at Kalen.

"Kalen, did you steal the Phantom Ruby?"

Kalen raised an eyebrow, but answered. "Well, yes. From Zedd."

"From my lab?"

"No."

"Did you sabotage the Delta Megaship?"

"No."

"No change in heart rate, body temperature, perspiration rate….she's telling the truth."

Lolli turned to Myk. "Same questions. Did you?"

"I can't believe you're even-"

"I'm asking everyone. Answer, please. Did you steal the ruby or sabotage the Megaship?"

"No!"

"You're clean. Stephen? Did you?"

"No."

Lolli handed the device to Kalen. "Ask."

Kalen sighed. "Did you steal the Phantom Ruby or damage the Delta Megaship?"

"No," Lolli said.

"Innocent." Kalen tossed the Turbo navigator back to Lolli. "So now what?"

"If it wasn't any of us, then it had to have been either Fox, or one of the Rangers off-planet. We can ask Fox when she gets out of class. Meanwhile, we search the other Rangers' rooms."

"So coming in here at all was a pointless violation of my privacy?" Kalen asked.

"Looks like," Lolli confirmed.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The group split up to search the other rooms.

Stephen and Lolli went one way, and Angel went with Fox, who'd been interrogated and deemed innocent upon arriving.

Unfortunately, this left Kalen with Myk, an arrangement that made neither of them very happy.

Kalen walked calmly beside him, seemingly as eager to get this job over with as he was.

"You're being surprisingly calm," he said. "Considering how easily I could snap you in half like a pretzel stick."

"You can," Kalen said. "And you want to. But you won't."

Myk frowned. "What on Terra makes you say that?"

"Attacking another Ranger would be breaking the rules. And you consider yourself above breaking the rules. Breaking the rules is the sort of thing people like me do. If you did it….why, you'd be as evil as I am."

The Bronze Ranger glared at her.

"You are without a doubt the most manipulative individual I have ever had the misfortune to meet."

Kalen smiled. "You have _no _idea."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Well, this….is not at all what I was expecting." Stephen said.

Lolli looked around the interior of Electra's room. The walls were a deep blue, most of the trimmings were black. Various silver ornaments were hung around the room, seemingly at random. Bookshelves were set into the walls, all brimming over with various books and periodicals. The bed was large, and numerous stuffed animals made it their home. Black pages covered with flowery poems written in silver ink were tacked up everywhere. The Black Ranger's ornate vanity table was covered in everything from blue lipstick to blue eyeliner.

For some reason, there was a fog machine running continuously, covering the floor with a layer of mist, as well as a bubble machine, which spat a steady stream of rainbow-colored soap bubbles into the air.

"Always knew she was a weird one," the White Ranger muttered, picking up a silver-framed photo from her nightstand. It depicted Jareth giving her a massive hug from behind, and, as both were smiling broadly, wearing festive hats, and sitting amid the wreckage of several presents' worth of wrapping paper, it had apparently been taken during one or the other's last birthday party.

"Well, what were you expecting?" Lolli asked.

"Skulls, cobwebs, maybe a coffin?" Stephen guessed, replacing the photo. "I mean, she always _dresses_ like someone died."

"Yeah, well, _you_ always dress like you're on your way to a polo match at the country club," Lolli retorted. She flipped open her navigator and scanned the chambers. "Nope. Nothin'."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kalen blinked, trying to clear tears from her stinging eyes. "Wow. So _that's_ why she said to wear sunglasses."

Terina's room was blindingly bright, a glaring, vivid yellow that put the sun itself to shame. Once their eyes adjusted, Kalen and Myk realized that the walls themselves were actually glowing, most likely to support the growth of the hundreds of daisies and dandelions that lived in the various pots scattered around the room, as well as the windowboxes that had been attached to the walls. The windows themselves must have incorporated some sort of holographic devices, because through them one saw not the emptiness of space, but rather an extravagant garden, full of sunlight and flowers.

The furniture inside the room was made mostly of white wicker. A few framed photos sat on her bedside table, mostly of the other Rangers, but a few of elaborate flower arrangements. A pair of yellow rollerblades leaned against the bed.

"I knew she liked flowers, but this is a bit ridiculous," Myk said.

"That's not all she likes," Kalen smirked, eyeing the small pair of handcuffs hanging from the bedpost.

Myk shook his head disdainfully, flipping open the navigator and scanning the room. "Not here. Next."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Are you sure it was such a good idea pairing Kalen off with Myk?" Fox asked, as she and Angel strolled down the climate-controlled hallways of the Oasis.

"Those two need to work things out," Angel said.

"Yeah, but what if he beats her to a bloody pulp?"

"If she doesn't die, she'll get even. One way or another, it won't happen again."

The two stopped abruptly as they arrived at their destination.

The chrome-finished door slid open and Fox and Angel stepped inside, looking around.

"Lead the way," Angel said, smirking. "You know this room better than I."

Fox glared at him, blushing, then pushed past him and moved further into the room, scanning for any signs of the Phantom Ruby.

Angel gazed around the small, square room appraisingly. The walls were a light, lustrous gray, the closest one could get to silver without actually having metal walls. There was a small but comfortable-looking bed at the side of the room, a closet full of clothes set into one wall, and an electric guitar leaning in the corner. The rest of the room was mainly full of cardboard boxes. Unlike a number of Rangers, Deacon didn't actually live on the ship. The Silver Ranger had an apartment that he shared with a roommate or two, using his quarters on the ship mostly for storage.

And a few other things, Angel amended with a slight grin, catching sight of a pair of underwear lying on the ground that were most definitely NOT Deacon's.

Fox had evidently spotted them, too, because she quickly kicked the incriminating garment out of sight beneath the bed and suddenly became quite engrossed in the Turbo Navigator's readings.

"Well?" Angel asked, stifling a chuckle, knowing full well that to laugh aloud would be to get kicked in the shins. The shins, if he was lucky.

Fox shook her head, her burgundy ponytail bobbing. "Nope. Next room."

Angel turned to follow her out of the room.

"I'm curious," he finally said, unable to resist. "Where does one even _get_ a pair of camouflage panties?"

"Don't bother," Fox spat back through gritted teeth. "They wouldn't suit you."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Someone takes his job a bit too seriously," Stephen muttered, scanning Troy's room.

"I'll say," Lolli agreed, taking in the dark blue walls, the guns mounted on them, and the large, paper target of a human being that had a bullethole right where its heart was. The shelf above the bed held a number of model cars, all of them different makes and models of Enforcer vehicles. Even the bedspread was emblazoned with a badge.

Apart from these, the décor was pretty basic: Desk, nightstand, closet.

"Remarkable," Lolli muttered. "The bullethole in that target is located in the exact center. We're talking a perfect shot to a microscopic scale, here."

"Well, we knew he was good," the White Ranger replied. "After all…he caught _you_."

"I was sick that day," Lolli muttered.

"Not here," Stephen declared, snapping shut the navigator. "Next."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"He's been here for months, and this is all the decorating he's done?" Kalen asked. She flipped up the Turbo Navigator and began to run a scan. While it was running, she let her eyes wander over the red bedspread, the red curtains around the porthole, and the poster above the bed of a Formula-1 racing car.

"What is it with men and cars?" she wondered idly.

"I've never understood that, either," Myk said, fiddling with a small toy tyrannosaurus that had been sitting on Tommy's bedside table.

"Look at that. We just agreed on something," the Purple Ranger said, smirking.

Myk glared at her.

"Not here," Kalen said, tossing the device to Myk. "Double check me if you like."

Myk wasted no time in doing so.

"Who are these people?" the Purple Ranger asked, examining a picture on Tommy's bedside table.

"Friends of his," Myk replied. "His team from back home."

"I guessed that they were Rangers," Kalen replied. "The clothes always give it away. He had this on him when he was brought here?"

"Um, no," Myk said, his attention still on the screen he held. "Zord-1 synthesized it from his memories."

"Ah. I thought he said his girlfriend was blonde? Wasn't she pink? This girl has brown hair."

"That's the first pink. One's Kim and one's Kat, I forget which is which. I think he dated both."

"So, he has a picture of his ex-girlfriend, but not his current? Interesting."

"He has a pictureof his original team," Myk corrected scathingly. "You'd understand if you had a sentimental bone in your body." He closed the navigator. "This room's clean."

Kalen gasped theatrically. "You mean I told the truth, _again_?!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A wave of almost blistering heat rushed out at them as the doors to Jareth's room slid open.

"Woah. Someone likes it hot," Fox said. "I always wondered how he could stand wearing so many layers of black."

"He claims that there's only so much gold a straight male can get away with wearing," Angel commented as they entered.

Unlike the other rooms they'd been to, this one was perfectly round. The circular wall was a dark midnight blue, as was the ceiling, and both were dusted with glittering gold stars. All the furniture was a polished mahogany, also dusted with gold. A number of bookshelves were set into the walls, mostly full of ancient-looking tomes, but more than a few displaying assorted relics and antiques…all of them, of course, gold.

In the center of the room, directly beneath the crystal chandelier, was a fluted column of black marble, atop which sat a golden platter piled high with freshly-baked oatmeal raisin cookies.

"What keeps those from going stale?" Fox asked, glancing around vaguely.

"Jareth cast a spell on the plate," Angel replied, scanning the absurdly warm room. "His first successful spell, he said. Well, the first one he got right on the first try."

Fox took a cookie and bit into it. As she did, the pile rose, as though a new cookie had been generated at the bottom of the pile. She raised an eyebrow.

"Was…that part of the spell?"

"No," Angel replied. "That was a food replicator that he had Zord-1 build into the column." Angel snapped the navigator closed. "No Ruby here."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Pink," Stephen observed.

"Pink," Lolli agreed, scanning Mara's frilly, absurdly feminine room. "But no ruby."

The walls were a light pastel pink that sparkled with glitter as the light struck them. There were a number of stuffed animals scattered around, the sort that were small and fuzzy and wore baby doll tee-shirts. The vanity table was absolutely covered with various different kinds of makeup. Designer clothes (all of them one shade or another of pink) spilled out of the closet, and in the corner stood a three-sectioned mirror, the kind designed so that one could see every possible angle of one's own outfit. Scented candles were everywhere; though none of them were lit, they still gave the room the overpowering smell of strawberries.

A stack of fashion magazines sat near the bed. One of them, still open, had been placed face-down atop the bedspread; Mara had likely been in the middle of reading it when she was called away.

On entire wall was plastered with frameless photos taken of every subject imaginable, from sunsets, to sculptures, to bowls of fruit, to the Rangers themselves. There were also photos there of a number of other people that could have been other friends of Mara's, or simply random people off the street.

A door in the back led to a darkened room that turned out, in fact, to be an actual darkroom, rows and rows of photographs clipped to overhanging wires suspended above sinks full of developing baths.

"Did you know she was into photography?" Stephen asked.

"I hadn't realized the girl had enough of a brain to _have_ actual interests," Lolli admitted. "Come on, we're done here." She snapped the navigator closed and left the room. The White ranger followed, but paused in the doorway, glancing back.

"Pink," Stephen said again to the empty room, before following after Lolli and closing the door behind him, leaving the lights to switch themselves of automatically.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"No sign of it anywhere," Lolli said, tossing the Turbo Navigator onto the console and plopping down into one the bridge's comfortable leather chairs.

"We didn't find anything, either," Fox said.

The doors slid open and Myk entered the room. Everyone else looked at him expectantly.

"Sorry," he said. "Nothing."

There was a collective sigh.

"Where's Kalen?" Stephen asked.

"She took off, and good riddance."

"So what are our options?" Angel asked.

"Well….it's possible that whoever took the Ruby hid it one of our rooms, instead of their own," Lolli speculated. "That would be the smart thing to do. But I don't think that our authority over Zord-1 supercedes another authorized user's 'territory', as it were…"

"You're saying that if the thief DID hide the Ruby in one of our rooms, then Zord-1 would be able to see it," Angel translated. "Because no one else can dictate how Zord-1 behaves towards our personal rooms but ourselves."

"Yes."

There was a pause.

"Has anyone thought to check Station?" Stephen asked.

"I did. Not there," Lolli replied.

"Might _I_ make an observation at this point?"

Everyone started in surprise, turning to face the small black laptop that sat open on one of the nearby consoles.

Pilot was another of Lolli's creations. Originally an AI she'd programmed before becoming a Ranger, she had later upgraded him using technology similar to that she'd used to create Diskette. Although he was not mobile, the sentient machine often had insights that most others missed. So rarely did he actually speak these, however, that is was easy to forget that he was anything more than an ordinary laptop computer.

"Has it occurred to any of you that if the thief _is_ one of the Rangers currently on board the Delta Megaship, he or she may well have decided to take it along with them?"

The Rangers on the bridge exchanged worried glances.

"No, Pilot," Zord-1 said calmly. "I do not believe it did."


	29. Divided

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 29: Divided

"Well, there it is," Terina said, as she and the other Rangers aboard the Delta Megaship gazed through the viewport at the planet below.

"Planet Daria," Troy read from one of the screens, calling up info on the planet. "Originally lifeless, but with an atmosphere similar to Terra's. It was settled here about 1500 Terran Standard Years ago. Ah, that explains it….KO-35 is the serial number of the colony, not the planet."

"What do we know about the war?" Tommy asked.

"It's been going on for about six generations," the Blue Ranger answered. "Nothing as to what started it…. The two factions call themselves the Darians and the Kerovans. Similar biology and technology on both sides… Um. Terina, am I reading this right?"

The Yellow Ranger elbowed him aside, as she was too short to look over his shoulder. "Yup. Ranger energy. Synthetic, of course. Technology-based. There are Power Rangers down there."

"On which side?" Mara asked.

"Probably both," Terina replied, running a hand through her short blondish hair. "If all the Rangers were on the same side, the war would be over by now."

"Territorial boundaries are easy enough," Troy continued, reading the infoscreen. "Each faction controls an entire hemisphere, with a thick band of neutral ground encircling the globe. The neutral zone is a no-man's land, completely demolished. It's mainly neutral because no one wants it. According to this, it's getting wider by the day as the two halves blast away at each other."

"Any idea which half sent the distress call?" Deacon asked.

"Working on that one," Terina said, her tiny fingers tapping away at the keyboard. "And…got it."

A holographic model of the planet appeared in the center of the room, then a bright, blinking green dot appeared, indicating the position of the signal's source.

"Right in the middle of the no-man's land," Deacon said. "Why would anyone be there?"

"Seems a good enough place to start," Tommy said. "We can get some more information from whoever sent the call. Jareth, can you take us towards the signal?"

"Yes."

There was a pause.

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Will you please do so?"

"Oh. Sure," the Gold Ranger said, taking hold of the control rods.

"Does he do that on purpose?" Tommy whispered to Mara as the ship left orbit and entered the planet's atmosphere.

"No one's really sure," the Pink Ranger replied.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As the triangular black ship descended through the planet's ionosphere, a strange humming seemed to emanate from the planet itself, vibrating the very air through which they flew. A beam of solid green light lanced upwards through the air, the neon column waving through the air as the beam's emitter zeroed in on the ship.

Before anyone could react, the ray sliced the ship neatly in half as though it were made of tin foil, shredding the metal from the nose to the stern.

Tommy froze as the green ray, no thicker than a pencil, passed right through the bridge, narrowly missing his foot as it passed from the front of the room to (and through) the back wall. There was a sudden surge of atmosphere as the pressurized interior of the ship was breached, the vacuum causing every human ear on the ship to pop painfully, nearly rupturing their eardrums.

The turbulence tore the two pieces of the ship apart, and both halves spun dizzyingly, the engine at the back of each still functioning, but unstable without its twin.

The starboard side of the ship fell first, hitting the ground nose-first, crumpling like a tin can before exploding in a miniature supernova of fire.

The second half, the port side, flew on for a few hundred miles before making its own impact a few seconds later, tearing a deep trench through the already scarred landscape as its momentum dragged it across the ground, then bursting into violent flames.

The fires burned for a time….then all was still.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Activating Power Scan."

No sooner were the words spoken than Tommy's jet black visor was replaced with a sheet of silver metal. A thin groove ran across it horizontally, and a red laser-light traveled back and forth along this groove.

Abruptly, the scenery, if scenery it could be called, became transparent, and a number of humanoid figures became visible to him, each of their outlines shining a different color.

The Red Ranger took a few limping steps towards the nearest one, ignoring the fact that one of his armored legs ended at the ankle. Digging through the metallic shards and rubble that had once been part of the Delta Megaship, he pulled forth the mangled form of the Blue Ranger.

"Troy? You okay?"

There was a bright blue flash as Troy demorphed, the effort of comprehending Tommy's words taking his concentration away from remaining in Ranger form.

"Yeah." Troy said, standing on his own, albeit somewhat dizzily. "I'll live. Where are the others?"

"Three more nearby. There, there, and there."

Between the two of them, they quickly managed to unearth Mara, Electra, and Terina, none of whom, miraculously, seemed to be permanently injured, and all of whom demorphed, their battered Ranger Armor vanishing.

"I don't remember morphing," Mara said. "You guys?"

Negatives all around.

"So…we automatically morphed?" Terina asked. "That's new."

"Maybe it's the Rangers' equivalent to airbags," Tommy suggested, demorphing and immediately tilting to the right as his flesh-and-blood left foot reappeared. He flexed the ankle cautiously, despite the fact that it seemed in perfect health.

"Way too much rubble here to have come from just the Megaship. I'd say we're in the no-man's land," the Blue Ranger said.

"Where's Jareth?" Electra asked.

"Yeah, Deacon's missing, too," Troy added.

"The ship was sliced in twain," Electra observed. "They could be with the other half."

"Assuming they lived," Troy stated.

"Why not?" the Black Ranger asked. 'WE lived."

Tommy sighed, summoning his morpher.

"**Tyrannosaurus!" **

Activating his Power Scan again, he searched the area.

"'Sliced in twain?'" Mara asked, shooting a sideways glance at Lecca. "Who TALKS like that?"

Electra stuck her tongue out at the Pink Ranger.

"One more life sign, over there," Tommy declared. "I don't think it's human, though. Nothing else in range."

Terina ran over to the collapsed structure Tommy had indicated, lifting a large metal support column with surprising ease.

"Oh. It's just Aviarus," she said, beginning to set the column back down atop the Sirenien.

"Terina!" Tommy reprimanded.

"I was just kidding," she said, tossing it aside and pulling the tall alien free.

"We swore not to hurt him, remember?" the Red Ranger prompted.

"Yeah, but we never promised to help him if he got injured in a starship crash."

Ignoring Terina's logic, Tommy leaned forward and examined the unconscious Sirenien through his Power Scanner.

"Three broken ribs. Internal bleeding. Minor concussion, cerebral hemorrhaging, broken left femur, right leg severed at the knee, massive second- and third-degree burns…If the flames hadn't cauterized that leg, he'd have bled to death by now. He's lucky to be alive."

"That's a matter of opinion," Troy said.

"I don't suppose any of us has healing powers?" Tommy suggested weakly, only half-joking.

"Stephen," Mara replied.

"And Jareth," Terina added. "Neither of whom is present."

"Anyone with medical training, then?"

"Fox," the others replied, in unison.

"Who is also not present," Electra pointed out.

"Great," Tommy muttered.

Troy suddenly stiffened. He subtly edged over to the Red ranger's side.

"We're not alone," he said softly.

"What do you me-"

A small, timid, but clear voice suddenly rang out throughout the area, causing all the rangers but Troy to jump and Tommy to draw his Blade Blaster.

"Perhaps…I could be of some assistance."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Moments later, the five Rangers sat around a makeshift camp, warming themselves around a small campfire. Nearby stood the husk of a small, crashed spaceship, obviously designed for the hauling of cargo.

The ship's pilot was an Aquitian by the name of Urchin, who was rapidly running in and out of the ship, fetching blankets and other such items to try to make the Rangers more comfortable as night fell and the cold moved in.

Roasting on sticks above the fire were what appeared to be spiny rats with scorpion tails, which, Urchin claimed, were the only food to be had in the no-man's land.

Terina reluctantly, and with a great deal of revulsion, touched the tip of her tongue to one, then tossed it aside, declaring them safe to eat but refusing to do so herself.

"I am sorry I can offer you nothing to drink," Urchin said sadly. "But my water reserves are dangerously low as it is. You understand."

"How did you wind up here?" Terina asked.

"I was shot down by the planetary defenses, much like you," the young Aquitian replied. "Ordinarily, supply shuttles such as myself are welcome here, as the planet cannot survive without importing resources. But it seems the global defense deactivation code I received was faulty, or perhaps outdated."

"Or you could have been shot down by one side, for fear that you would sell supplies to the other," Troy pointed out.

Urchin nodded. "That is indeed a possibility. I may have approached the wrong hemisphere. Its defense grid would naturally not accept the other side's deactivation code. I would double check, myself, of course, were there anything remaining of my navicomputer."

"So you were the one who sent the distress signal?" Mara asked.

"Yes."

"Why not contact your buyer? Make your sale, and use the profits to repair your ship," Troy suggested.

"Several reasons. First, this ship is beyond repair. It barely makes a suitable dwelling, it will certainly never fly again. Second, I had not yet established a buyer. Shipments are normally sold via auction, the highest bidder receiving the best merchandise. Supply shuttles are not to land outside the market where the auctions are held, otherwise their cargo is considered fair game and the merchants usually killed for trespassing or espionage." Urchin sighed. "Third, I have no cargo left to sell. It was all destroyed in the crash. And, most importantly, the control towers scattered across this planet produce a scrambling field that completely blocks any and all short-range communication signals. I had no choice but to call for help from someone off-planet."

"I'd wondered what that buzzing was," Terina said, sticking a finger in her ear.

"I don't hear anything," Mara said.

"You don't have _my_ ears."

Urchin glanced at the still form that lay near the fire. Aviarus had been tended as best anyone could, using the medi-kit from Urchin's ship, and that had bought him some time….but it was also clear that he wouldn't last long without proper medical attention.

"I am sorry for the loss of your ship," Urchin said. "And of your friends. But your presence can yet be a great help to me."

"How?" Tommy asked.

"We're Power Rangers," Troy replied. "We can act as his bodyguards, so he can stop hiding here and make his way to the marketplace to barter for transport off this planet. Isn't that right?"

"Precisely. We can also secure medical aid for your friend."

"He's _not_ our friend," Mara declared. "We're just…sort of obligated."

Urchin shivered, rubbing his shoulders. "Perhaps we should rest now."

"Someone should stand watch," the Red Ranger decided.

"I have been here for many days," Urchin said. "No one has yet stumbled upon me."

"Still, I'd sleep better if one of us kept a lookout."

"I'll do it," Terina volunteered. "I don't need sleep."

"Thanks, Terina."

"You want to thank me?" the Yellow Ranger said wryly. "Promise me we'll never answer any more strange distress calls."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next morning, Urchin distributed what supplies he had remaining into makeshift backpacks, giving one to each Ranger and taking one for himself. He also fashioned a crude stretcher, onto which Aviarus was carefully moved. Troy lifting one side and Tommy the other, the group began walking towards what Urchin assured them was the nearest marketplace.

"What does that logo on your shoulder mean?" Tommy asked of Urchin, trying to make conversation.

"It is the symbol of Serpentware Industries, the trading company by which I am employed," the aquatic alien replied. "It is from them that I take my assignments." He sighed. "And it is they who will dock my pay for my lost cargo."

"So you sell to the highest bidder?" Troy asked.

"Yes."

"How do you manage to have an auction? I can't really imagine people from opposite sides of a civil war sitting side by side, holding up those little numbered paddle things."

"I know not these 'numbered paddle things' of which you speak," Urchin replied. "But you are correct. The Kerovans and Darians do not know that the goods they purchase are being offered to both sides. Traders typically contact one side, get an estimate, then contact the other and see if it will make them a better offer."

"So you're an opportunist," Mara growled. "Cashing in on other peoples' pain and suffering."

"I am a merchant, trying to feed my family by providing a supply where there is a demand. It isn't my fault that this planet is intent on tearing itself apart."

"What exactly _were_ you supplying?" Tommy asked. "Food? Medical supplies?"

"Some, yes. But my primary cargo was munitions. It is a wonder I was uninjured when my ship crashed. The explosion was extraordinary, but my cockpit was well shielded."

"That's even worse! You're _helping_ these people kill themselves," Mara cried.

"I sell them the weapons, but it is they who pull the triggers," Urchin said defensively. "If I did not sell them guns, they would simply kill one another with sticks and stones."

"Excuses, excuses," Mara muttered.

"You're quite the judgmental one," Urchin said. "What do _you_ do, pray tell, besides maligning the choices of others?"

"I'm a Power Ranger. I help people."

"I see. Well, I can hardly argue with that, as you are helping me. But tell me, _which_ people do you help? And at whose expense?"

"I help the good guys," Mara replied, looking much less sure of herself now.

"That's a shaky argument at best. There hasn't been a war fought in history when both sides didn't consider themselves the 'good guys'. You defend your world from invading aliens and demons, yes?"

Mara nodded.

"And you destroy these aliens and demons, am I correct?"

"Yes…"

"Did it ever occur to you that these creatures may actually provide better leadership for your world than what it has? That these creatures might have families, who weep that they were slain when all they ever wanted was to help?"

"Shut up!" Mara yelled.

"We have a saying on my world," Urchin said. "'Do not attack without defense.'"

"We have the same one," Electra said softly, sounding amused. "But ours involves glass houses and rocks."

Troy's head abruptly snapped up. There was a buzzing at the back of his head, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end.

"Stop!"

The entire procession halted.

"Something wrong?" Terina asked.

"Not sure," Troy said, looking around. He gently set down the stretcher and walked around the clearing, trying to find the source of his discomfort.

The buzzing grew louder as he drew nearer to the front of the line.

"Something up ahead," he said. Reaching down, he picked up a nicely formed rock and tossed it forward.

The rock never landed, instead falling straight through the ground ahead.

Terina tilted her head to the side. "That's….different."

Urchin took a few careful steps forward, feeling the ground ahead of him with his toe before placing his weight on his forward foot. When his toe passed through the ground, he got down on his hands and knees and stuck his head through the holographic surface.

"Ah," he said, looking like some sort of humanoid ostrich. "I should have anticipated that there would be traps."

"What's in there?" Tommy asked.

"A deep pit, lined with long metal spikes," the Aquitian replied, pulling out his head and standing up, brushing the dirt from his knees. "And a number of humanoid bones. The remains of the uniforms I saw were both Kerovan and Darian."

"Are there aircraft battles here?" Troy asked.

"Yes."

"Then this trap is probably there to snare any pilots who survive the crashes," the strategist explained. "So that they can't report anything they saw of the enemies' defenses from the air."

"Which side set it?" Terina asked.

"Doesn't matter. The loss of a few of their own pilots is acceptable to keep that sort of information safe."

"_Acceptable_?" Tommy demanded.

"I'm not saying I _agree_," the Blue Ranger said. "Just explaining the logic behind it."

Frowning, Tommy glared down at the trap. He couldn't imagine the mentality behind setting this sort of indiscriminate trap, even though it had just been explained to him.

Carefully skirting the trap's boundaries, the group moved on carefully.

Urchin removed a silvery canister from his pack and brought it to his lips, drinking. As he did, the canister glowed blue, the life-giving energies of the water being drained into his body.

A laser blast cut through the air, blasting the canister out of his hand, water spraying through the air as the metal container fell.

Before any of the Rangers could react, they were surrounded. Five people stood at equidistant points around the group, each wearing a futuristic, monochromatic armor. There was a circular panel embedded in the foreheads of their helmets, just above the visors, and a band of white stretched across each chestplate, emblazed with five colored squares. Like the armors of these warriors, the squares were Black, Pink, Blue, Yellow, and Red.

Each of them was holding a strange blue firearm, finger on the trigger.

"Power Rangers," Tommy said.

"The Kerovan Rangers," Urchin added.

"Keep your hands raised," the Blue one said. "You're coming with us."

"Why?" Terina asked, as she raised her hands above her head, "isn't anyone ever happy to see us?"


	30. Conquered

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 30: Conquered

"Well, this is just fucking _great_," Deacon complained, demorphing with a flash of silver light. "Tell me, have you ever actually managed to LAND a ship without crashing it?"

"Of course I have!" Jareth said indignantly. "Every time I took the ship out for a spin and brought it back into the hangar, without a scratch." Jareth's tone changed completely as his train of thought switched rails. "Although that's really more docking than landing, isn't it? I guess…no, then."

Jareth curiously reached around behind himself and stuck his hand through the gaping hole in his armored torso, wiggling his fingers as his hand emerged from his front. "That's….interesting."

"That's _disturbing_. Doesn't it hurt?"

"Quite a lot, yes."

Jareth pulled out his hand, examining the thin, gooey substance that coated his glove. It was like a clear gel, but it seemed to be full of multicolored glitter that swam though it under its own power, zipping to and fro and changing directions at random.

"Check it out: Concentrated liquid magic. This is what's inside a Ranger's armor."

"Very impressive. Now demorph before you bleed to death or something."

"Oh…fine."

Deacon let out an exasperated sigh as Jareth demorphed with a gold flash.

"So now what do we do?" the Silver Ranger asked.

"Wander around aimlessly, calling our companions' names and hoping one of them answers?"

Deacon shrugged. "Works for me."

They walked for a few moments, doing just that.

"This is getting us nowhere."

"Shall I sing, then?"

Deacon was spared having to beg the Gold Ranger not to sing as one of the nearby piles of the Delta Megazord's former circuitry began to move.

Deacon raised his Spirit Summoner at the pile, instinctively.

"Are these things weapons?" Jareth whispered.

"No idea," the Silver Ranger replied. "Could be?"

Jareth shrugged, raising his own.

Both Rangers jumped back as something shot up out of the pile, knocking aside the scrap and hovering at eye-level before them.

"Jareth! Deacon!"

"Diskette?" Jareth asked. "What are you doing here?"

The small, hovering droid somehow managed to look sheepish. "I..umm…kinda stowed away. I didn't figure you guys would let me come after last time."

"I'm surprised you survived that crash," Deacon said.

Diskette spun proudly, a midair pirouette. "Lolli reinforced my casing. Gave me a complete upgrade when she was rebuilding me."

"Handy."

"Do you have any tracking systems?" Jareth asked suddenly.

"Of course."

"Can you scan for the others?" Deacon asked, catching on.

"Yes."

There was a pause.

"Oh…Please do so," Deacon said, realizing the problem.

"Sure thing." Diskette spun until she was facing off to the left. "Hmm. I can't zero in on their comchips. Something's blocking the signals…but the nearest source of morphing energy is that way."

Deacon shook his head as Jareth followed the droid off in the direction thus specified.

"I have got to make a few less literal friends."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hours had passed, but none of the three had yet seen anything more than wreckage and rubble. The sun had long since vanished from sight below the piles of ruin in the distance, its light slowly fading from the sky above.

"It's getting dark," Jareth said. "And cold. I like the dark, but I don't like the cold. Why do those two always have to come together?"

"You have a complaint for every occasion, don't you?" Deacon asked. He frowned as a plume of cold white mist appeared along with his words. The Silver Ranger let out another breath experimentally, and another cold fog appeared.

"Wow. I guess it IS cold. Same thing happens when I breathe in front of an open freezer."

"It's the middle of Daria's winter," Diskette explained.

"Winter?" Jareth asked, puzzled.

"Planets that have a sufficient degree of polar tilt will experience different climates in different locations at different times of the year," the droid said. "There are typically four seasons, or phases of climate. Summer, Spring, Autumn, and Winter, Winter being the coldest."

"These other planets are insane," Jareth grumbled. "I want to go home."

"This is so stupid," Deacon said. "Why don't we just call the others back home and have them come get us?"

"They'd be shot down, too," Jareth said sullenly. "And if we send a signal, either side of this stupid war could use it to locate us. I don't know about you, but I'm not so sure I want anything to do with these people anymore."

"Stop!" Diskette yelled suddenly.

Jareth stumbled to a halt, just before he passed between two large piles of wreckage.

"Problem?" He asked.

Diskette opened a hidden panel on her casing and revealed a concealed lens, which flared to life, projecting a beam of purple light. Illuminated by the beam was a web of silvery wire that stretched across the path.

"A….spiderweb?"

"Microfilament wire," Diskette corrected. "Thinner than a strand of hair, and almost completely invisible. It's sharper than any razor."

"And you almost walked through it," Deacon commented.

"I'm pretty sure that was intentional," Diskette said. "Someone set this trap here for a reason."

"Why would anyone booby-trap a torn up, post-apocalyptic warzone?"

"To take down anyone who happened to survive a spaceship crash?" Diskette suggested. "Like it almost did."

Diskette projected a tiny red laser beam that she swept upwards, severing the fragile-looking but lethal wire.

"You're handy to have around," Deacon said. "Let us know if you find any more traps, okay?"

Diskette paused. "I'm not sensing anymore traps in the area."

"See?" Jareth said. "_Not_ helping these peo-."

"Although," Diskette interrupted. "I AM detecting a powerful energy source nearby. Not quite Ranger energy, but something similar…"

A blast of green light shot past them, grazing Diskette's casing and sending her spinning, with an electronic shriek, into the nearest pile of wreckage.

Both Rangers morphed with a flash, spinning to face their attacker….but there was no one there.

"Keep your eyes open," Deacon said cautiously.

"Yea, thanks," Jareth replied. "Never would have occurred to me. Eyes o_pen_. Wow. Pure genius."

"Shut up. You know what I meant." The Silver Ranger drew forth a pair of circular saw blades, which immediately began to whir in his hands.

Jareth flicked his black-and-gold gauntleted hands, sharp claws emerging from the tips of his fingers.

The air was still, quiet…nothing moved.

The next blast of green light caught Jareth square in the face, knocking him back into one of the nearby piles of scrap.

Deacon spun, facing the direction from which the blast had come. Another blast came his way, but this one was absorbed by his shield, the green light flowing along the engraved grooves in the vest before draining down into the diamond in the center of his chest.

Seeing that his energy blasts would have little effect, their assailant stepped out of the shadows.

His outfit was so garish it was a wonder he'd managed to conceal himself so well. His bulky armor was a shadowy black, but the lining of the cape that hung from his back was a bright, gaudy crimson. There was a polished, emerald-green jewel in the center of his chest, and a pair of golden horns emerged from the sides of his helmet. In his hands he held what appeared to be a large black rifle.

Twisting the handle of the rifle, he separated it from the barrel, drawing forth a long sword. He clipped the barrel-sheath to his belt and stepped forward, swinging the blade.

Deacon ducked down and swept low with his diamond-saws, aiming to sever the newcomer's legs, but the warrior jumped with surprising grace for one with so much heavy armor, flipping over the Silver Ranger's head and landing behind him.

Spinning to face Deacon, the stranger brought his sword down, aiming for the Silver Ranger's helmeted head. Deacon brought up his hands, crossing his wrists, the spinning blades in his hands striking sparks from the black-armored warrior's blade as they held it at bay.

Deacon thrust his legs forward, entangling them with his opponent's, then rolled, tripping him. As the Silver Ranger leapt back to his feet, he stowed the saws, replacing them at his belt.

**"Silver Swords,"** he summoned, the twin, diamond-edged short swords appearing in his hands.

The black-clad fighter, too, regained his stance.

"Who are you?" Deacon asked.

"I am the Magna Defender," came the reply. The Magna Defender's voice was gruff, his tone suggesting that it was usually he who asked the questions, not the other way around.

Magna Defender suddenly tensed, spinning around to deflect the blow of a scythe aimed right at his head. With a few deft twists of his sword, he had the Gold Ranger disarmed and pinned by his arm behind his back, saber held against his neck.

"What? How did you know-?"

"I saw your reflection in your friend's armor," the Magna Defender replied, a touch of amusement in his voice. "Now demorph and surrender. Both of you. Or I will remove his head."

Deacon paused. Decapitation was one of the few things that could successfully kill a Ranger.

"Don't do it, Dea. Kick his ass."

Deacon bit his lip, tightening his grip on his swords. He raised them slightly.

"What in Hel's name are you doing?" Jareth demanded.

Deacon tilted his head. "You said-"

"I was just being noble! Didn't think you'd actually _listen_! Drop the damn swords!"

Deacon sighed, demorping with a flash. Jareth followed suit.

Magna Defender released Jareth, who stumbled to Deacon's side. The black-armored warrior sheathed his sword, nodding towards their wrists.

"Morphers. Give them to me."

Deacon frowned down at his Spirit Summoner. "But these aren't-"

Jareth elbowed him in the ribs.

"-something we'd just hand over," Deacon finished, not-so-smoothly.

"Give them to me, or I will kill you both here and now."

With an exaggerated sigh, Jareth removed the Summoner from his wrist and handed it to Magna Defender, who stashed it in a pouch at his waist, along with Deacon's.

"Now move."

"Where are we going?" Jareth asked.

Magna Defender glared at him, hand on the hilt of his sword.

"No questions. Right," Jareth sighed, falling into step.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Any suggestions?_ Troy's voice called, though he hadn't actually spoken.

Tommy glanced over at him, startled, but Terina's voice entered his head.

_Comchip function,_ she explained. _Thought to electronic signal to thought again. Electronic ESP. Rarely used, because Zord-1 once let something slip about prolonged usage and brain tumors._

_I thought all short-range signals were jammed?_ Tommy projected.

_Must not work at _this_ close range_, Terina said. _Now, like blue boy said…any suggestions? Because if we keep standing here like idiots, these guys are going to get suspicious._

_We can't risk a fight here. Innocents nearby,_ Tommy replied. _We have to surrender, for now._

_Innocents?_ Mara gave the metal equivalent of a snort. _Slavers and profiteers are innocent, now?_

_NOT the time, Mara,_ Troy said. _Go with it for now. They don't know we're Rangers, so we have an advantage._

_There's something else,_ Electra said, sounding (if that was the word) puzzled. _Something's off. I'll let you guys know when I work out what it is._

Tommy abruptly realized that he was being spoken to.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I asked who you were," the Red Ranger stated calmly, blaster still raised towards Tommy's head.

"My name is Tommy Oliver."

"And your purpose for being here?"

"Rescue mission," he replied.

"They received and answered my distress call," Urchin explained, stepping forward.

The Red Ranger looked him up and down. "You work for Serpentware."

"Yes."

"Why aren't you at the marketplace?"

"My defense codes were outdated. I was brought down by the planetary defenses."

"If he were a spy, he'd be in our territory, not the neutral zone," the Black Ranger said. "Nothing to snoop on out here but rubble and traps."

"Think we can let him off, Andros?" The Blue Ranger asked.

Andros, as was evidently the Red Ranger's name, glanced at the group, then holstered his weapon. "Shackle them," he said. "We will take them back to base, and contact Serpentware. If his authorization checks out, then we'll see."

The Rangers and Urchin were shackled, chained together, and led off, following the Kerovans as they led them through the rubble, the Blue and Black Kerovan Rangers having taken over carrying Aviarus' stretcher.

"What happened to this one?" The Blue one asked.

"Injured in the crash," Terina replied, slipping one of her tiny wrists in and out of her shackle experimentally, a slight smirk on her face.

"Well, don't worry about him. We've got medical facilities at the base. We'll fix him up," the Pink one said.

"Thanks," Tommy replied.

_I've figured it out, guys,_ Electra thought at them. _The thing that was bugging me._

_What?_ Tommy projected back.

_I didn't really catch it at first, because I'm used to having everything translated for me instantly by the comchips…_

_Spit it out already,_ Mara said.

_Well….it's just that except for the Red guy…Andros….these Rangers are all speaking High Terran._

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Diskette let out a shriek as a power surge coursed through her systems, spinning with the force of the blast. She barely had time to register the collision before she blacked out, her processors overloaded.

For a time she knew nothing, her secondary systems working to bypass her damaged circuits. Finally, her systems came online again, her optical sensors blinking as she came back to life.

With a dissatisfied grunt, she rose up from the pile of scrap she'd apparently fallen into. Just because she was the size and approximate shape of a squashed soccer ball, did that mean she had to get kicked around all the time? She did a quick midair spin to dislodge any filth that might have stuck to her casing.

Jareth and Deacon were nowhere to be found. Her sensors didn't detect any nearby life forms, but they didn't register any corpses, either…meaning they'd left without her.

Had they thought her damaged beyond repair? It wasn't likely they'd have simply abandoned her, even if they had. Taken hostage, perhaps?

Diskette hovered fretfully, scanning the area for their specific energy signatures. It shouldn't have been difficult, the Spirit Summoners they wore gave them more power than even they knew about. They should have stood out like a pair of beacons…but no.

So…either they'd been taken elsewhere, THEN killed, or their Summoners had been separated from them.

Either way, they'd be more difficult to find. She focused on the ground, trying various filters over her optical sensors until she found one that revealed the footprints left behind in the dust.

There had been a battle here, albeit a short one, and thereafter three sets of footprints headed off in a single direction. Diskette noted that two sets of footprints at one point went from Ranger boots to normal human footwear, while the third remained unchanged.

Taken hostage, then. She was almost certain of it. The only question remaining was…were they still alive?


	31. Conversational Interlude III

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 31: Conversational Interlude III

"So now _I_ am suspected of having taken the ruby?"

"Yeah," Fox said. "Stephen noticed that you weren't there when everyone was being truth-tested. Don't know how everyone managed to miss it. I mean, you're huge. It's pretty obvious whether you're there or not."

Angel chuckled slightly, mixing various paints in the palette that he held. He added a swath of green to the canvas before him.

Angel's grove was one of the most peaceful places Fox had ever been to. It was deep in the woods, away from prying eyes, though a hidden path led eventually to a nearby road. The clearing was at the edge of a deep blue pond, there was a pile of flat stones nearby that he liked to skip across the surface. A green tarpaulin stretched overhead, sheltering most of the clearing from the weather, a hammock hung between a pair of nearby trees, and a variety of other comforts were casually scattered throughout the comfortable hideaway.

"And this is what you came here to talk to me about?"

Fox sighed. "Well….no. I actually came to talk about-"

"Deacon?"

"…Maybe."

Angel smiled vaguely.

"I assume that Terina has been of little help."

"Yeah. She keeps saying that we should just hook up already."

"You two HAVE been…ahem…celebrating…rather often lately. But I was under the impression that you officially stopped dating years ago."

Fox opened Angel's cooler and withdrew a soda.

"May I?"

"Help yourself."

Fox popped the top off the soda and took a sip, then continued.

"We did! I was the one who ended it. He is SUCH a pain in the ass." She took another sip.

Angel carefully timed his response, waiting until her mouth was full.

"You should use more lubricant."

Soda went flying as the camo-clad girl spit it out in surprise.

"Angel!" Fox sputtered.

The Gray Ranger chuckled, turning back to his painting.

Fox wiped her mouth, glaring at him, but unable to hold back a wry smile.

"It's like I keep telling Terina. There IS NO relationship. None. I can't stand him. Really, I can't. But whenever I get to close to him…he always leans in…and…"

"And?"

"And my clothes fall off," she grumbled.

"Hmm. An irresistible physical attraction, coupled with a total mental revulsion."

"Exactly."

"Hmm."

"So? What should I do?"

"Well, if you don't wish to actually be with him…"

"I don't! At least, I think I don't…I don't know!" Fox grumbled, staring at the ground. "For the moment, let's assume that I don't."

"Then you should simply try to stay away from him."

"I've tried that. We can't stay apart for long, not as long as we always end up fighting the same bad guys."

"Hmm. I see your point." Angel completed his painting, standing back to admire the finished work. "Well, then I'm afraid all the advice I can give you is to develop some willpower. Either that, or invest in a chastity belt."

"Yeah. I guess," Fox sighed, standing up from her seat. "Well, I gotta run. Mom wants me to watch Nicki while she and dad go out tonight."

Angel scoffed. "That girl is more capable of looking after herself for an evening than any babysitter can hope to manage. Ten to one, _she_ winds up watching _you_."

"Oh, she will," Fox agreed readily. "But try telling that to mom."

Angel rolled his eyes.

"Well…I'm out. Thanks for listening."

"No problem," Angel said. "Oh…what do you think?"

Fox glanced at the painting. It was a portrait of the Camouflage and Silver Rangers, standing back to back but glaring at one another over their shoulders.

She grimaced. "I don't think it'll sell very well," she said, turning to leave.

As she neared the path, she paused. Turning back, she asked.

"Angel? You…_didn't_ steal the Phantom Ruby, did you?"

Angel smiled. "No, I did not."

Fox smiled back, then turned and left.

Angel smiled, placing the painting in the sun to dry. He turned and walked over to the trunk that sat at the base of one of the nearby trees. Opening it, he gazed down at the shining red gem that sat on the black velvet cushion within.

"I didn't steal it, no," he added softly. "I'm just holding onto it for someone."


	32. Ambushed

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 32: Ambushed

"Are we there _yet_?" Mara asked for what seemed like the seventeenth time.

"Did _anyone_ think to bring along a gag?" the Red Space Ranger asked, sounding as annoyed as everyone else.

"If you think I'm bad, you should meet my brother," Mara said, then resumed whining. "Can we at least get a bathroom break?"

"No stops until we get there," Andros answered grimly. "It's not safe."

"He's right," the Black Space Ranger said. "Even without the traps, there are always Darians termination teams out here."

"Termination teams?" Troy asked. "Ah…to eliminate anyone who survives the traps."

"Precisely," Andros agreed.

"You people all sound SO familiar," Terina said. She raised an eyebrow. "Which planet did you say you were from?"

The Blue Space Ranger looked about to answer, but Andros cut him off.

"No questions. Not until we've confirmed your identities."

"Andros, do you really think-"

"I _really_ think it would be a bad idea to let vital information slip out in front of what could very well be Darian spies, TJ."

"TJ? TJ!" Terina stopped short, turning to the Blue Ranger, nearly knocking the other Terran Rangers over, as they were all shackled together in a line. Andros turned and drew his Astro Blaster on her, surprised at her sudden movement. "I _knew_ you sounded familiar! You were one of the people who was abducted from Terra, three years ago!"

The Blue Ranger paused, tilting his head to the side. "How do you know about that?"

Terina turned to the others. "And that makes you three Cassie, Ashley, and Carlos. Am I right?"

The Black, Pink, and Yellow Space Rangers exchanged a surprised glance, which said it all to the tiny Yellow Ranger.

"I knew it! We always hoped you'd survived. How did you wind up here?"

Before anyone could answer, blaster fire erupted around them, seeming to come from everywhere. Everyone dived for cover, but the Terran Rangers couldn't dive very far, being chained, and the Blue and Black Space Rangers were also hindered, as they were carrying the ends of Aviarus' stretcher.

A blast of solid blue light grazed Terina's left shoulder, neatly cutting through her habitually worn faded yellow sweater and leaving a burning trail scorched into her arm. She let out a cry, slipping her slender wrist out of its shackle and clapping it over the wound.

"Looks like we'll have to blow our little secret early," Electra said.

"It's showtime," Terina hissed, looking furious.

Five swirls of smoke appeared, materializing as five monochromatic Power Morphers.

**"Mastodon!"**

**"Pterodactyl!"**

**"Triceratops!"**

**"Saber-toothed Tiger!"**

**"Tyrannosaurus!"**

There was a flash, then a loud tinkle of metal as the Rangers snapped the metal links of their chains like pretzels, the restraints falling to the ground.

Blue laser fire was still blazing all around but it seemed much less threatening when viewed through the visor of a Ranger helmet.

At the exact same moment, each of the Rangers leapt in a different direction, scattering throughout the piles of wreckage that had once been vehicles.

Mara leapt into the air, her powers lifting her high above the battlefield. Pulling her Blade Blaster from its holster at her hip, she took careful aim and fired at one of the sources of laser fire.

A short scream came from below. The laser fire paused for a moment, then began again….this time, aimed up at her.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Electra leapt atop one of the nearby scrap heaps, landing gracefully as a cat. She glared down balefully at one of the people below, whom she assumed to be a member of one of these 'Darian Termination Squads'. He…or she, it was impossible to tell….was wearing heavy, high-tech silver and black armor that covered his (or her) entire body. In his (or her) hands was a dangerous-looking blaster rifle.

The Black Ranger spread her fingers, a collection of silver shurikens appearing in her hands. Flinging her arms apart, she let them all fly.

About a quarter of a second later, the rifle the person was carrying mysteriously fell apart. Looking down at the remains of its gun, the person never noticed the blunt handle of a large black battleaxe coming until it crashed into his helmeted head, cracking the protective material and knocking him out cold.

Electra grinned, twirling her axe. "Next!"

**"Lunar Lance!"**

Startled, Electra ducked just in time as a long, black staff with a silver crescent on the end swung by over her head, striking not her, but the Darian who had been sneaking up on her, wielding a long, jagged silver knife. The Darian let out a brief cry before striking the pavement.

Electra tilted her head, examining the Black Space Ranger as he leaned casually on his weapon.

"Gotta watch yourself out here," he said in his slight Spanish accent. "You never know when someone's going to sneak up on you."

Electra casually flicked another Shuriken over his shoulder, eliciting a cry of pain from yet another Darian, this one in the attempt of bashing the Black Space Ranger over the head with the butt of his rifle.

Carlos looked down at the unconscious Darian, then back up at Electra.

"Do tell," she said softly, smirking.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Astro Axe!"** TJ's high-tech blue axe appeared in his hand, starting as a digital wireframe and rapidly becoming solid.

Twirling the axe faster than the eye could follow, the Blue Space Ranger deflected every incoming laser blast, all of which struck the ground nearby, blasting small craters into the paved surface.

Something bumped against his back. Startled, he spun, swinging his axe.

There was a flash of blue as something appeared in the hands of the person he'd bumped into…a long, blue staff with three sharp metal blades on either end. The two weapons clashed with a sharp spark of blue energy.

Ranger's facial expressions were unreadable, of course, but somehow, TJ got the impression that this other Blue Ranger was rapidly assessing the situation. Coming to a decision, the other Blue Ranger turned his back to TJ, vanishing the blue weapon and raising his left arm, which projected a rectangular shield of red light. The other Blue Ranger drew a strange red blaster from its holster on the side of his leg and began firing at their attackers, never missing once.

So these other Rangers were on their side, or at least more interested in attacking the Darians than them. Good enough for him.

TJ turned back to the battle, drawing his Astro Blaster and, with a few deft motions, combining it with his axe, forming a rifle-like weapon. The Blue Space Ranger began to fire off a few shots of his own.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tommy spun aside, letting the bolt of solid light whiz past him harmlessly, then unsheathed the long, hooked blades from within his bulky, shield-shaped left gauntlet. With the flat edge, he delivered a cruising blow to his attackers helmet, cracking the covering and knocking the man to the ground, out cold.

This fight was going to be tricky. These weren't constructs, demons, or mutants, they were human beings….or at least something similar. He was doing everything he could NOT to resort to lethal force.

The Red Ranger fighting alongside him, however, had no such reservations.

**"Spiral Saber!"**

With an electronic red flash, a weapon appeared in Andros' hand that seemed to be a drill mounted on a sword hilt. Thumbing the switch at the side, Andros brought the drill to life and, as Tommy watched, drove it through one of the Darian's torsos, the high-powered drill piercing the man's armor as though it were tin foil, blood and innards flying out behind him, propelled by the force of the drill's spinning. Some of the blood splattered on Tommy, not very noticeable against the red, but glaringly obvious against the white and green diamond patterns on his armor.

If Tommy had possessed a stomach just then, he might have been sick. He'd destroyed his fair share of monsters, but kill a human, even if it was technically an alien, was a different story. Humans killing other humans was bad enough, but Rangers killing humans was worse. He had to find a way to stop it…and soon.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A laser bolt caught Mara up side the head, cracking her helmet and sending her into a tailspin, careening towards the ground below.

Moments before impact, the Pink Ranger struck something soft…and just as pink as she was. Shaking her head, she realized that she'd been caught by the other Pink Ranger…either Cassie or Ashley, she guessed, from what Terina had said earlier. The Pink Space Ranger was sailing across the sky on some kind of flying surfboard.

"You okay?" she asked.

Mara shook her head, getting to her feet, trying to stay steady on the moving surface of the board. "Yeah. Just a little-"

Tseww!

Both Pink Rangers had to move aside, barely keeping their balance on the flying device as the laser bolt cut through the air between them.

"Split up?" Mara suggested.

Cassie (or Ashley) nodded.

Mara jumped up off the board, hovering in midair, hanging behind as Ashley (or Cassie) flew ahead, circling around behind their attacker and flying back in her direction.

**"Battle Bow!" **

**"Satellite Stunner!"**

Blasted by light-energy arrows from the front, and a row of sonic rings from behind, the gunman went down. Hard.

As the Pink Space Ranger blasted by, Mara held out her hand and the two exchanged a high-speed high five.

Maybe….just maybe….she could get to like this girl.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Terina scowled as her vines grew from the pavement, entangling the attacker whose shot had managed to hit her. She smiled a grim, humorless smile as the thorns on the vines began to slice ruthlessly into his flesh. He let out an agonized cry.

She took a few slow, deliberate steps towards him, then brought her foot down on his rifle, her sharp stiletto heel snapping the weapon in half.

There was a bright yellow flash as one of her enchanted daggers appeared in her right hand.

His helmet lying in splinters on the ground, the Darian's eyes, wide with fear, stared in horror at the advancing Yellow Ranger.

"I..I…What are you?"

"I'm pissed off, is what I am." If anyone who'd ever heard Terina's pleasant, cheerful voice before had heard her now, they'd not have recognized it. Her voice was a low growl, positively shaking with anger. Anger, and something else….fear?

"It was just a scratch!" the Darian yelled.

Terina was only a step away now. She closed the distance between them, taking hold of his hair in one hand and bringing the dagger to his throat.

"One scratch is all it takes."

**"Star Slinger!"**

A burst of yellow light shot through the air, striking the dagger from Terina's hand before she could cause more than the slightest scratch. A second burst tore through the vines, allowing the terrified Darian to fall to the ground.

Terina spun around to see Ashley striding towards her, holding some sort of energy slingshot. The taller Yellow Ranger walked over to Terina, stopping right in front of her.

The two glared at each other through their visors, neither moving an inch. The scene would have been ridiculous, if only for the difference in their heights, but the seething fury that surrounded them made it anything but funny.

The Darian began to stand unsteadily, turning to run, but Ashley, not taking her eyes off Terina, brought an armored fist down upon his head, knocking him out instantly.

Seizing him by the back of his armor as he fell, Ashley spun on her heel and dragged him off through the piles of scrap.

Terina watched them go, breathing heavily despite her lack of lungs in Ranger form. As the realization of what she'd been about to do sank in, she sank to the ground, demorphing, her Yellow Ranger armor vanishing in a flash.

She really had been about to slit that man's throat. If Ashley hadn't stopped her, she would have. She'd been this close to attacking Ashley, for Zhinoa's sake! She really would have to watch that.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. It had been close, but the worst hadn't happened. No one had seen. Yet. Although they still could.

She'd have to do something about that.

She examined the wound on her shoulder carefully. Frowning, she pulled up her sweater and tore a strip from the bottom of the black tank top she wore underneath. She carefully, and with some effort, managed to tie the strip around her arm. It was a waste of one of her favorite shirts, and now she looked like she was in mourning, but it was better than nothing. Sighing, she got to her feet, her sharp ears noting that the blaster fire had all but ceased. The others would be regrouping where they'd first been attacked. They'd worry if she wasn't there.

Ensuring that her makeshift bandage was tight and wouldn't come loose, she began to walk off through the scrap, following the trail Ashley had taken.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was a tense silence as the ten Rangers returned to the trail, the small clearing through which they'd been traveling when the Darians had attacked.

Urchin was eventually coaxed out of hiding, and Aviarus was found to be uninjured….well, no more so than he had been.

"You're Power Rangers," Carlos said.

"Good eyes," Electra replied.

"Demorph," Andros commanded.

The Terrans hesitated.

"Do it," Tommy commanded.

Bright Red, Black, Blue, and Pink flashes illuminated the wreckage as the magical armor vanished, leaving behind human flesh and blood.

"Search them. Take their morphers."

TJ and Cassie stepped forward, obviously not entirely comfortable with treating people they'd just fought alongside like prisoners. Their search turned up nothing that could possibly be a morpher.

The Red Ranger seemed to glower at them.

"We can scan them when we get to base. Keep an eye on them. Where is the other one? The girl in yellow."

"Right here," Terina said softly, entering the clearing. She was holding her arm and her face was downcast as she quietly moved to stand beside the others. Tommy wanted to ask whether she was okay, but the answer was obviously no, and he didn't think such an intrusion would be welcome.

The Red Space Ranger's eye fell on the Darian survivors, who'd been tied up in a circle nearby by Ashley, using what remained of the chain that had previously held the Rangers. Their rifles lay in a pile nearby.

"These are a new model, Andros," Carlos said, turning one over in his hands. "Faster firing rate than the latest our side has. Reduced cool-down time between volleys, too."

"That means we'll have to upgrade again," Andros said.

"We can't afford another munitions order right now, Andros," Ashley said in a sensible voice. "We've lost too much to the raids this season. We've barely been able to pay for food shipments."

"Then we'll have to do a few raids of our own," Andros said.

"You'll never make it past the borders, Kerovan," one of the Darians spat.

Tsew!

Before anyone saw what had happened, Andros had drawn the Astro Blaster from his side and fired.

The Darian looked as though he were about to continue speaking, not noticing the smoking hole in the center of his forehead. As blood began to trickle slowly down his face, his features assumed an expression of surprise, his eyes turning upwards towards the wound before going blank and glassy.

"You killed him!" Mara said.

"Of course I killed him," Andros said. "They're the enemy. And even if they weren't, they heard us talking about planning more raids. Can't let them live now."

As he spoke, the Red Ranger produced a small object and adjusted something on the side, placing it next to the pile of rifles.

"Now move," he said.

"We're not going to leave you here to kill them," Tommy said.

"I'm not staying here. The explosive charge I just set will ignite the power packs in these weapons, causing an explosion more than capable of killing them for me."

Tommy glared at him, then moved towards the charge, intent on kicking it away.

Andros moved to stop him. "If you touch it, it will detonate instantly. There is nothing you can do. Normally, I would be inclined to let you try, but I'm afraid I can't let you blow yourselves up."

Tommy's eyes fell to the barrel of the Astro Blaster that was suddenly pointed at him. No doubt it could make six different kinds of holes in him before he could even think of morphing.

"I will say it one more time. _Move_."

Without another word, but with many smoldering glares, the Rangers were led away through the wastes of the neutral zone.

Tommy flinched, gritting his teeth as the sound of a massive explosion reached his ears. Glancing back, he saw a thin plume of smoke rising towards the sky.

More than ever, Tommy decided, he was determined to stop this war.


	33. DECA

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 33: D.E.C.A.

The massive, wrought-iron doors to Zedd's throne room opened loudly, flakes of rust falling from their hinges.

His lupine ears twitching at the sound, Ornyk strode into the massive chamber, resplendent in his ornate cobalt-blue armor.

Zedd's skeletal, metal-and-exposed-flesh head stared imperiously down at him.

"I grow impatient, Ornyk," Zedd stated.

"You grow tedious, Zedd," Ornyk retorted. "Our agents are working as quickly as they can to obtain the materials needed."

"Then what, may I ask, is the blasted holdup?"

"The ritual you're about to attempt in insanely complicated," Ornyk replied. "The ingredients are rare, to say the least."

"You have one, do you not?"

Smiling, Ornyk presented his middle finger to Zedd.

"One piece of pure Transcendium," Ornyk said, moving his hand so that the gem embedded in his ring flashed in the dim light. "Plucked from the very core of Tyrari."

"Excellent. And the others?"

Ornyk's smile faded. "Harder to come by." There was a crackle of blue-black flame, and a scroll appeared in Ornyk's furry claws. "This item in particular is going to be tricky. I'm afraid the Rangers made off with it. Snatched it right out of my claws. It's currently on board the Rangers' ship. Very well protected."

"Surely there must be some way to breach their security."

Ornyk's feral grin reappeared. "You know, I believe there just may be."

Ornyk put away the scroll with another flash of blue and black fire, then looked appraisingly up at the crystalline tube that stood on the dias before him.

"Interdimensional transportation is no simple matter, Lord Zedd," Ornyk said. "But we'll get you here."

"And when you do, the next phase of my plan can _finally_ commence," Zedd's massive, floating head replied from within the tube. "I will keep my end of the bargain, Ornyk. Just as soon as you keep yours."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

With one last yawn, Lolli switched her monitor off for the night, exiting the bridge and walking down the corridors of the Oasis towards her room. The lighting on the ship changed to reflect the time of day, becoming brighter towards midday and dimming to almost total darkness at night. This was set according to North Atlantean time, as the only Ranger not from North Atlantis was Electra, who never seemed to really notice what time it was anyway.

Something glinted in the dim light ahead.

Lolli stopped short, her mouth snapping shut mid-yawn.

"Hello?" she asked tentatively. Any other time she might not have questioned the strange encounter, as the only people with access to the ship were Rangers, but now that there was evidently a rogue Ranger on the loose, it was much harder to feel safe in a Ranger-only zone.

There was no answer, but the Green Ranger thought she caught a glimpse of a small, flashing red light, similar to the ones that were mounted next to Diskette's primary optical sensors, to show that she was online. The light was blinking at a height about that of an average human's head. Far too tall to be Drone or any of the other maintenance bots, even if they had reason to be roaming the halls at this hour.

But it couldn't be Diskette. Diskette had stowed away on the Delta Megaship with the others, and was hopefully safe and sound with them.

A chill ran down her spine as she realized whom it might be, but she quickly disregarded that notion, chiding herself for the irrational emotion. That scenario was as unlikely as it being Diskette.

"Who's there?" she asked.

Again, no answer. The light seemed to move a few feet towards her.

Something touched her leg.

_Lolli?_

"Aah!"

Startled, the Green Ranger jumped, spinning around to deliver a solid kick to whoever had snuck up on her.

_Yipe!_

The Green Ranger paused. "Zord-1, raise the lighting in this hall, please," Lolli said, mentally kicking herself for not having thought of that sooner.

The hall brightened, revealing the presence of a small fuchsia dragon, lying flat on the ground with her foreclaws covering her head, the position she'd dropped into to avoid the savage kick.

"Zoey. What are you doing here?" Lolli asked, running a hand through her absurdly long, yellow hair. "You scared the crap out of me."

_I heard you talking to someone_, the dragonet replied. _Who was it?_ she asked, her head moving sideways on its long, sinewy neck to look around Lolli's legs. _I don't see anyone. Or sense anyone._

"I'm not sure," Lolli replied, frowning. "For a moment, I thought…"

A red targeting laser lanced through the air, cutting off Lolli's words as it came to rest in the center of her forehead. There was a shimmering in the air, and at the other end of the thin red beam, there came into a view a small, disk-shaped droid, quite similar to Diskette, but dark blue rather than black, and with only one visible optical sensor where Diskette had two.

The optical sensor quickly identified the creatures in the hall.

"Hello, Creator," the droid said in an electronic voice, feminine, but cold and emotionless.

"Hello again," Lolli said, not moving an inch, knowing full well that the droid's lasers could cut her down before she could even summon her morpher.

"My plans will proceed as before," the droid said, floating a few feet forward. "You are an impediment to these plans. You must therefore be destroyed."

A small laser cannon popped up from the droid's blue casing. There was a whine of transistors as the weapon powered up.

"Farewell, Creator."

Just before the droid could shoot, a thin ribbon of purple-pink fire lanced across the hall, filling the area with a wave of blistering heat.

The droid dropped to the side, narrowly avoiding being melted by the dragonfire, then rotated and began blasting away at the ground where Zoey was. The dragon moved, darting back and forth like a snake, bounding across the ground beneath the floating construct.

The droid nearly upended itself trying to keep its laser trained on the small reptilian as she ran down the hall past it. The machine fired a few last shots after her, then turned back to Lolli, who'd barely had time to think, let alone move.

The targeting beam found her forehead again, the weapon powered up, and fired.

In the split second the bolt of light took to bridge the gap across the hall, a bright flash of green illuminated the already brightly lit hallway, power rushing through Lolli's body. The Green Ranger felt a stinging pain as the laser blast struck her in the forehead, piercing the thick plastic-metal armor and emerging from the back of her helmet, burning a hole into the gently curving wall behind her.

Lolli brought her hand to the already healing hole in her head, then looked up and glared at the droid, which seemed much less sure of itself. Conjuring her Blade Blaster, Lolli transformed it into blaster mode and began firing at the small hovering bot, which immediately turned tail and floated away as fast as its repulsorjets could carry it, vanishing again as it did so.

Zoey poked her head around the curve of the wall.

_I tried to lead it away. Is it gone?_

"Yes. It's gone." Lolli reached up and pulled off her helmet, sliding down the wall behind her.

"I didn't hear your morphing call."

"That's because I didn't morph," Lolli said, her face in her hands. "I don't know how that happened."

_Oh. Okay_, the dragonet said dubiously. _So..umm….what WAS that thing?_

"I'll explain everything. To everyone. Zord-1?"

"I have already contacted the others and instructed them to meet you in the Bridge, Green Ranger."

"Thank you." Lolli sighed, rising to her feet. She clipped her helmet back on, not wanting to take any chances on her way back to the Bridge.

"This isn't going to be fun, Zoey," Lolli said, as she started walking. "Deca's back."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Who's Deca?" Stephen asked.

"DECA…Draconium-powered Electronic Computing Apparatus…was the prototype for Diskette," Lolli explained to the group gathered in the Oasis' bridge. "My first experiment with Eltarian technology."

"I dare not even ask what 'Diskette' stands for," Angel said.

_That thing runs on Draconium?_ Zoey demanded. _I want it caught and scrapped NOW._

"Diskette and Pilot are powered by Draconium as well," Lolli said.

Zoey glared furiously at Lolli, but seemed beyond words.

"What exactly IS Draconium?" Angel asked.

"Draconium is a semi-radioactive substance-" Lolli began.

"It's what dragon bones are made of," Zoey fumed.

"And a small piece of it can power almost any small machine for a good century and a half," the Green Ranger continued. "But you can relax, Zoey. I found it in one of the Oasis' storage bays."

_And this should calm me down because…?_

"Because this is an Eltarian ship, Zoeyalykthetes," Zord-1 replied. "Eltarians considered any sort of aggression towards living species vulgar, which is part of the reason that they are, with the exception of Terina, extinct today. They didn't even eat meat, let alone hunt down dragons for their parts. For Draconium to have been on an Eltarian ship, it would have to have been scavenged from the body of an already dead dragon."

_Oh._ Zoey thought. _Well, that's okay then_._ It's less NOT okay, at any rate._

"You have a real thing about dragon-poaching, don't you?" Fox asked. "I mean, I guess I'd be upset if I heard about human-poaching, but you _really_ seem to take it personally."

_It IS personal_, Zoey replied. _I lost both my parents to dragon-poachers_.

"Oh," Fox said, looking as though she wished she'd never brought it up.

"Anyway…I take it this 'Deca' a threat?" Myk guessed.

"I could show you the scorch marks in the hall, if you'd like," Lolli suggested.

"No, thanks," Fox said. "But what went wrong with Deca that didn't with Diskette?"

Lolli shrugged. "I never did figure that out. She has some sort of agenda, but she's never said what it was." Lolli tapped a few keys on the console in front of her, and an image of Deca appeared on the large screen at the front of the room.

"Deca's a good deal more powerful than Diskette. She has more powerful offensive weapons, a reinforced reactive-alloy casing, stealth mode…"

"And she wants to kill us all," Angel finished. "Charming."

"Well, at the very least, she wants to kill me," the Green Ranger said. "Which reminds me. Zord-1, can you explain how it is I automatically morphed just before her blast hit me?"

"I believe so," the computer responded. "As you know, your powers have been known to evolve in new ways when needed, such as the manifestation of Jareth's Enhancing Song a few months ago. Until recently, however, this has only applied when your powers were fully active. It is my belief that as time passes, your powers will gradually integrate themselves more fully into your systems, resulting in-"

"The coins are bonding with us more deeply, so they can protect us when we're _not_ morphed now," Kalen summarized.

"To some extent, yes."

"Handy," Fox said. "So I suppose now we're off to hunt the ship for the maniacal droid?"

"Nothing maniacal about her. She's a cold, calculating, ruthless creature," Lolli grumbled.

"You should get along great," Myk sneered at Kalen.

"Actually, we Lawful Evils tend to bicker when in close proximity," Kalen replied smoothly. "And conspire against each other, of course."

"Of course," Myk muttered.

"There is one other thing you should all be aware of," Lolli said, reaching down and lifting something off the ground near her feet, placing it on the panel before her.

"What's that?" Fox asked.

"This is the container that Deca was in," the Green Ranger replied. "I had her placed in storage until I could figure out what was wrong with her. It incorporates a neutralizer that should have held all electro-mechanical systems in complete stasis."

"So what went wrong?" Stephen asked.

For answer, Lolli turned the box around, revealing the side that had been facing away from them. Some of the electronic devices mounted on the outside of the container had been severed, long slash marks marring the otherwise smooth metal surface.

"Our rogue Ranger again?" Angel guessed.

"I'm afraid so. I checked the security records, and again, they've been deleted. And again, this is the sort of thing only a magical weapon could have done." Lolli frowned. "Couldn't have been a Blade Blaster, though. The slashes are too wide for those little blades to have made. And this damage is recent. It was done AFTER the others left for KO-35."

"So…"

"So, it had to have been done by someone here. Someone whose weapon has blades. That's me, Fox, or Stephen."

"We can safely rule you out," Angel said. "As the Ruby was stolen from you."

Fox and Stephen glanced at one another.

"We can work this out later," Stephen said. "We've an evil droid to find."

"What should we do when we find her?" Fox asked.

"Capture her intact if you can," Lolli said. "If not, scrap her."

"If memory serves," Pilot said, as usual startling everyone. "I was instrumental in defeating Deca last time. I would be happy to help once again."

"The more, the merrier," Stephen said. He looked around at his fellow Rangers. "Ready, guys?"

**"Brachiosaurus!"**

**"Dragonzord!"**

**"Hammerhead!"**

**"Wolf!"**

**"Crocodile!" **

**"Eagle!"**

As the multicolored light that accompanied the morphing process faded, the Rangers turned and began to exit the Bridge.

"Ahem," came Pilot's voice from behind them.

The group stopped, turning to look at the small black laptop, which stood open on one of the nearby consoles.

"One of you _will_ have to carry me."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Finding the droid didn't prove too difficult, as _it_ was out looking for _them_. As Myk and Angel entered the ship's lounge, her sensors scanned and identified them.

"Deca," Angel said. "It is not altogether nice to see you again."

She came soaring at them from the corner, guns a-blazing.

"**Eagle Nunchaku."**

Myk whirled his weapon, the spinning stick at the end of the chain deflecting blasts from Deca's lasers, which tore small holes in the walls and sofa.

"You are impeding my goal are therefore must be destroyed," Deca said. "Demorph and surrender so that I may more easily dispose of you."

**"Lunar Cue,"** Angel summoned, the strange weapon materializing in his hand. With a few deft motions, he converted it into blaster-mode. He fired off a blast of gray light, but the droid moved slightly to the left, dodging.

"Your actions are illogical."

"I like them that way, thank you," Angel said, firing again.

This time, Deca did not move, allowing the blast instead to be absorbed by some sort of energy bubble, its shape only visible because of the way the energy splashed off of its surface.

Abruptly, two more Decas appeared, floating in midair alongside the first.

"What the…"

"Nice trick," Angel said.

Two of the droids dive-bombed the pair of Rangers, while the third swept through the still-open door.

**"Spirit Wolf!"** Angel intoned, a light-energy, spectral wolf appearing.

The wolf looked up at him inquiringly.

Angel pointed to the door. "Sic her."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"It split into three!" Myk's voice said over the intercom, interspersed with various combat noises. "How'd it do that?"

"Solid holograms," Lolli's voice replied. "Two of them aren't real."

"Is there any way to tell which two?" Stephen asked, as he and Fox patrolled the halls of the Oasis, weapons at the ready.

"Yes," Lolli replied. "Destroy them. The fakes will disperse."

"And the real one?" Fox asked into her comlink.

"Will be blasted into a bunch of electronic components," the Green Ranger replied.

"Duck!" Stephen suddenly yelled, dropping to the ground.

Fox barely had time to register what he'd said before Deca herself came zipping down the hall, being pursued by a large, smoky-looking wolf. The droid was flying backwards, firing blasts of focused light at the wolf.

The Camoflage Ranger dropped, pulling her Blade Blaster from its holster at her hip and thrusting it up into the air, in its dagger-mode, as the droid passed above her.

The blade glanced off the hovering construct's casing, sending her flying off into the wall, where she struck, bounced back, and hovered unsteadily, trying to regain her equilibrium. The wolf, unable to turn aside as it was in the act of leaping over the crouching Rangers, sliced itself in half on the raised blade, dispersing into two formless wisps of milky gray smoke.

Deca recalibrated herself, identifying the Rangers as a threat. She powered up her weapons again, moving towards them.

Fox holstered her blaster and leapt into the air, planting her hands on the semi-flat surface that was the top of the droid's head and using her a springboard, landing behind her. She drew her blaster again as she spun to face the hovering mechanism.

Stephen drew Saba from his holster at the White Ranger's belt, holding the weapon so that the tiger's head at the end of the hilt faced Deca, his eyes glowing.

Both Rangers fired simultaneously, the blasts from Fox's Blade Blaster striking the droid's front as beams of white light from Saba's eyes lanced out at her back. Neither attack seemed to do any good, as they were held back from Deca's body by a bubble of transparent energy, the bubble seeming to be half-white and half-green, reflecting the colors of the energy striking it.

"I have an idea," Fox yelled to the White Ranger over the sound of the lasers. "Stand there and be ready to swing."

"What?" Stephen asked, but Fox had already stopped firing and was running down the hall.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"All set," Lolli said, as she finished typing on Pilot's keyboard.

"And you did what again?" Kalen asked, walking alongside the Green Ranger down the hall.

"She programmed a randomly modulating harmonic algorithm for my integrated field emitter," Pilot replied.

"And you did what again?" Kalen repeated, a smile tugging at her mouth.

Lolli snickered. "I wrote a program for his field emitter so that he can create an energy field that will neutralize Deca's shields. Probably most of her other systems as well."

"Nice. Shall we join the party, then?"

"Let's."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox raced down the corridor, the small droid hot on her heels. A blast of solid light caught her in the small of the back, lancing through her armor with a surge of stinging pain.

Fox staggered, but did not fall. She skidded to a halt just past one of the hall's doors, which slid shut behind her.

The door began to glow a hot red as Deca started to burn through the space-age metal. Fox took her hand away from the healing hole in her armor, crouching down on the ground.

Touching the ground with two fingers, Fox caused a small circle of green light to appear on the polished surface. It lasted only an instant, then faded, the dim green outline visible only to her eyes.

A spark from the door caught her attention, and she stood, bolting down the hall just as the metal tore and the small, hovering droid shot through, immediately picking up the pursuit.

As soon as the droid floated over the small circle the Camo Ranger had left behind, it flared into sight, the green circle leaping into the air and closing around Deca's extended laser cannon, yanking her up near the ceiling, where she swung as though hanging from a rope.

"Gets 'em every time," Fox said, striding back towards Deca, who struggled against the magical snare.

**"Stealth Cutter,"** she summoned, the two-bladed sword appearing in her gauntleted hand.

"Your actions are illogical. Release me and allow yourself to be destroyed."

Fox blinked. "Oh, yeah. And I'M being illogical." She hefted her weapon. "Batter up!"

CLANG!

Striking with the flat edge of her blade, Fox sent the small ball of metal careening down the corridor, literally bouncing off the walls, the loop of magic that had held her shattering into beads of green-brown light.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Stephen stood there, waiting impatiently for something to happen, wishing that Fox had taken the time to explain just what she was planning.

"I trust Fox had something in mind," Saba said wisely, hovering in the air next to him. "We simply need to be ready to do our part."

"Yeah, 'to swing'. But to swing at what?"

CLANG!

The sound of metal-on-metal erupted from the hall in front of them, followed by several smaller clangs. As they drew nearer, Stephen saw why: Deca was bouncing down the hall, her metallic body striking the walls, her repulsorjets firing wildly, trying to regain some kind of stability.

Stephen's eyes widened. In an instant he grabbed Saba by the hilt that was his neck and swung the scimitar in a wide horizontal arc, neatly slicing the ovoid machine in half as she sailed through the air past him.

Two small pieces of metal feel to the ground behind him.

"Good job," Fox said as she trotted up behind him.

"Yeah, thanks," he said, as he watched the two halves of Deca dissolve, her metal shell pixelizing and leaving behind a rapidly fading digital wireframe.

"Fake."

"Yup."

"Question."

"Shoot."

"How did you know that she'd follow you, and not just attack me?"

Fox blinked. "Um. I…heh….never thought of that."

Stephen rolled his eyes.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"**Chronofl-"**

Abruptly, Angel was at his side, hand over his faceplate. This didn't, of course, prevent the Bronze Ranger from speaking, but he got the point.

"I wouldn't do that. If you freeze the ship, we could fall out of orbit," Angel said.

Myk scowled, but nodded. None of his powers seemed to be much use here. There wasn't enough room to fly, and for some reason he didn't want to draw Dorn around Angel.

The Gray Ranger leapt into the air, becoming some sort of medium-small monkey, jumping atop the nearest Deca and covering her optical sensors with his large monkey hands. Deca wobbled, trying to shake him off, unable to train her laser on him in this position.

"Cease your behavior. I cannot see."

Myk frowned and conjured his Blade Blaster, firing at the blinded Deca, aiming carefully so as not to hit Angel. A blast from a sidearm such as a Blade Blaster would do little to a Ranger, but who knew how much damage it could do to Angel when he was in one of his animal forms?

The blast struck Deca's underside. Apparently, this was where she kept her repulsors, because she immediately dropped like a stone, unfortunately landing on the soft couch.

Myk contorted his blaster into its dagger-mode, quickly strolling over to the downed droid. Angel leapt aside, returning to his Ranger-form, just as the Bronze Ranger thrust his blade down into Deca's ovoid body.

The droid twitched, then began to dissolve, its solid body breaking apart into tiny pixels.

"Nice work," Myk said.

"Thank you. I've just one question."

"Mmm hmm?"

"Where did the other one go?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Deca raced down the halls, aiming for the elevator that led to the Zord Bay. The Rangers had grown more powerful since she had been deactivated. She would have to compensate for that. She would go the Zord bay and commandeer whatever Zord was closest and had spaceworthy flight capabilities.

As she neared the elevator, she remotely overrode its mechanism, causing the doors to open.

"Going somewhere?"

Spinning to face her, Deca saw not only Kalen, but her Creator, standing next to her, holding-

Deca immediately fired a blast at Pilot, recognizing him as the agency of her downfall last time, but Lolli quickly slapped his lid shut and stuck him behind her back, letting the blast strike her instead.

There was a slight ripple of green light as the blast struck the golden vest that covered Lolli's torso, the blast of energy almost instantly rebounding upon its source.

The blast deflected harmlessly off of Deca's transparent force-bubble.

"Surrender that device so that I may destroy it," Deca commanded.

"You'd think she'd calculate the probability of us actually doing as she asks, and save herself the energy," Kalen observed, taking Pilot from Lolli's hands. She popped the lid open.

"Pilot," Lolli said.

"Running field program," the construct said.

"You are behaving illogicaslfnszqpx$#rnmq#zxr&fhwjiijff&#$&…"

Deca began to spasm as the field took effect, many of her systems seizing up entirely. She dropped to the floor as her repulsors failed, then proceeded to hop erratically as power surged through them uncontrollably. Her laser cannon popped in and out of her casing, but did not fire, and from her speaker issued a continuing torrent of gibberish. There were numerous sparks, and the smell of burning insulation filled the hall as circuits blew and servomotors burned out inside the small droid's casing. Finally, she ceased to move or speak at all, lying perfectly still.

There was a pause.

"So," Kalen said, picking the droid up. Her surface was hot enough to singe flesh, but not armored Ranger hands. "You wanna keep it?"

"Nah," Lolli replied. "She's fried."

Kalen shrugged. "Suit yourself."

The Purple ranger tossed the burned-out droid towards one of the silver panels on the wall, which obligingly opened up like a laundry chute, swallowing up the piece of hot metal and then sliding shut again.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Deca fidgeted, trying to reactivate her damaged ruplusorjets and rise up out of the garbage.

Her internal diagnostics estimated that 57.653% of her systems had sustained massive damage. A crippling blow, but not a lethal one. However, according to her internal chronometer, the ship's waste disposal systems would incinerate everything within the garbage containment unit in approximately 14.37 minutes, recycling all the matter into raw materials for the ship's engines and replicators.

The door was a mere 3.4 meters away. It seemed to be sealed shut, not only by its electronic locks, but by centuries of grime that had built up from disuse.

The door was only there as an emergency measure, so that anyone who'd accidentally disposed of anything important could come down and retrieve it, but the ship had been unused for nearly five centuries, and no one had accidentally thrown away anything valuable in the fifteen years it had been active. Deca calculated that her chances of successfully reactivating her mobility circuits and of getting that door open before the incinerator activated were roughly 167 million to one against. A better alternative would be to fly back up the disposal chute. The hatch at the top of the chute was electronically sealed, but the chances of the locks succumbing to mechanical error and failing to seal the hatch were only 112 million to one against…a much better chance.

Before she could act on these results, there was a flash of white light as the door was sliced open from outside, falling down into the garbage within and just missing her.

A figure stood in the doorway.

"Hello Deca," the figure said. "Let's make a deal."


	34. The Deal

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 34: The Deal

The rest of the journey was uneventful, apart from the odd proximity mine or motion-activated laser grid. Andros insisted that any and all conversation be kept to a minimum, which aggravated some but seemed ideal to others….particularly, Ashley and Terina. The Yellow Space Ranger had been glaring daggers at the smaller girl since the fight. Terina supposed it was because she'd been about to brutally murder someone. Not that it made much difference, seeing as Andros had gone and executed them all anyway.

Eventually, the smoldering wreckage of broken vehicles ended abruptly in a high, impenetrable-looking wall, covered with brutal spikes and mounted with automated gun turrets about every ten meters. Something about the wall's construction seemed to indicate that it had been hastily re-built. Long, dark gouges in the ground behind them showed where the wall had been placed before, and the time before that, and the time before that, until it had been demolished and pushed back by the war.

Andros led them to a door that was concealed in the detailing of the wall, opening a hidden panel. He pulled off his helmet and stared into what had to be a retinal scanner, because a beam of light shone into his eye.

Terina, despite her troubled mind, did a double-take. Andros was HOT. Especially the hair, dark with yellow streaks, pulled back into a ponytail.

"Password?" the machine prompted.

"Em Tnes Tlaw," Andros said.

There was a sudden surge of movement, and with a loud clanking sound, part of the wall retracted revealing an opening.

Beyond the Neutral Zone, the planet seemed much cleaner, if no more natural. Isolated bunkers were scattered across the landscape nearby, and farther back could be seen the rooftops of large industrial buildings.

Andros led them all to one of the bunkers, where he opened another mechanical door, this one revealing a strange, bulky blue tank. One by one, the Rangers piled in.

Surprisingly fast considering its size, the tank raced down the Kerovan streets, finally arriving at a large compound deep within what appeared to be a residential area.

The doors to the massive compound ground open, revealing a bustling hangar in which numerous mechanics were tinkering with what appeared to be advanced aircraft. Other workers were busy loading and unloading crates and materials off of ground-based transports.

The tank parked itself and everyone disembarked.

One person (a medic, to judge from the patch on his shoulder; a white circle containing a red heart, a single drop of blood falling from the bottom) ran up to them.

"Draffut," Andros acknowledged.

"Andros. We were beginning to worry. Is everyone okay? Anyone injured?"

"This one," TJ said, as he and Carlos brought up Aviarus' stretcher.

"A Sirenian! And he is in bad shape, isn't he? Hmm. I'll have to brush up on my Sirenian anatomy in a hurry. Take him to the medical wing, would you please? I'll be there shortly."

With a nod, the two Rangers carted the unconscious alien off through one of the doors at the back of the hangar.

"Terina's also been hurt," Electra said in her soft monotone.

The Yellow Ranger's head jerked up at Electra, startled. She hadn't realized that anyone had noticed. She hadn't taken her hand off her shoulder since she'd demorphed. There was no sign of any blood, but that was hardly surprising; blasters tended to cauterize the wounds they made.

"Here, let me have a look," the Medic said, rushing over to her.

"No!" Terina cried, backing away. She took a deep breath. "I mean, no. Thank you. I'm fine. It's just a scratch."

"You'd best let me be the judge of that. I'm a professiona-"

Terina's voice dropped to a low growl. "I said NO."

The Medic fell back a step, seeing the murderous look in the tiny girl's eyes.

Regaining his composure, he turned back to Andros.

"Anyway…Andros, I'm supposed to tell you and your team to report to Barthello's office. You're expected. What should be done with…?"

The Red Space Ranger looked around at the disshelved Terran Rangers.

"Take them to one of the interrogation rooms. I still need to talk with them. See that they're comfortable. And be sure to tell TJ and Carlos to come as soon as they finish with the Sirenian."

Draffut nodded.

As Andros and the others made their way through the hangar, the medic turned to the Terrans and Urchin.

"Well…come along, then." He looked them all up and down. "It has apparently been a very long day for all of you."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Not exactly the Hilton, is it?" Electra asked, looking around the interrogation room thoughtfully. It was a simple, four-sided room, too small to be comfortable, too large to be cramped. A large rectangular table stood in the center of the floor, ten folding chairs arranged around it.

Troy was busy tapping at the walls. "This is where the two-way glass should be. I wonder if they can see through the metal somehow?"

"It can be done," Urchin said. "I would not doubt that it is."

"Are you okay?" Tommy asked. The Aquitian looked pale, and was beginning to tremble slightly.

"I must rehydrate soon. That is all."

"We'll have them bring us some water when they come to talk to us," Mara said. "I could use a drink, myself."

"What do we tell them?" Troy asked, turning to face the others. "When they start to question us?"

"The truth," Tommy said simply. "We haven't done anything wrong. I think if anything, _they_ owe _us_ a ship."

"Six ships," Electra corrected. "The Mega-V Shu-"

Troy jumped across the room and slapped his hand over her mouth. Electra didn't move, but raised an eyebrow at him.

"This is an interrogation room," he said. "Let's not say anything we wouldn't want overheard, hmm?"

Electra gave an exaggerated salute, then removed his hand from her mouth.

"So how did those Terrans end up here?" Tommy asked. "You said they'd been abducted?"

"It was back before any of you became Rangers," Terina said. "One of the monsters Zedd sent abducted a bunch of teenagers from a park in California. We figured it had stowed them in a pocket dimension or something, since that had happened before, and that they'd be set free when we destroyed him, but that evidently wasn't it. After we beat him, we found out that it hadn't really been one of Zedd's monsters at all, just an alien prospector who'd stumbled upon Terra. We figured he thought humans might make good zoo animals or something. But we had no idea where he'd sent them, and since he was dead, he couldn't exactly tell us." The Yellow Ranger sighed. "I know their names because I was the one that got to deliver the bad news to their families. It should have been Deacon, he knew some of them personally, but we drew straws and I lost…anyway, this was back when we were just getting started as Rangers. Before we knew that we'd be causing so many casualties that it'd be impossible to keep up with the obituaries."

"You've caused _casualties_?" Tommy asked.

"And you haven't?" Mara replied. "That's why cities finally started building monster shelters. Well….._we_ call them monster shelters."

"What does everyone else call them?"

"Ranger Shelters," Troy replied. "You have to understand, from their point of view, a bunch of hideous monsters show up, then a bunch of freaks in multicolored armor, and they fight to the death, destroying anything in their path. Then come the giant, house-trampling robots…"

"But we're trying to _protect_ them from the monsters," Tommy stated.

"That's a bit hard to appreciate when, no matter who wins, your children have just been stepped on. Most of the people on Terra just want the Rangers and monsters to take their war elsewhere. They don't realize we're at war for _them_."

"Have you tried telling them? Issuing a press release or something?"

"We've tried everything, Tommy," Mara said. "None of it's worked. So now we just do our jobs, and let people think what they want to think. It's all for their own good, anyway." Mara frowned. Normally, when she said, she sounded much more sure of herself. Urchin's words earlier must have gotten to her.

"Anyway," Tommy said. "So they were transported elsewhere….how were they brought _here_?"

"Sirenians," TJ said, as he and the other Kerovan Rangers walked into the room.

Tommy appraised the five humans as they entered, seeing them unmorphed for the first time. Ashley was a rather attractive blonde, with a sparkling yellow gem hanging from a chain around her neck. Carlos was Hispanic, as his name suggested, Cassie was Asian, and TJ was a tall, bald black man. Andros looked human enough, unless you counted the streaks in his hair, but there was no telling whether those were natural or dyed that way. If Tommy recalled correctly, the workers in the hangar, and the medic, had possessed similar streaks, so they were probably either natural or typical to Kerovan culture.

The ten Rangers, by unspoken agreement, sat down at the table, Terrans on one side, Kerovans on the other. Urchin stood against the wall, looking tired.

"They bought us from the zoo that monster sent us to," Carlos explained, tossing a bottle of water to the Aquitian, which was gratefully accepted. "And then sold us to the Kerovans as slaves."

"You're _slaves_?" Mara asked.

"Not anymore," Cassie explained. "We were given our freedom, in exchange for volunteering to test some potentially dangerous military technology."

"Your morphers," Troy guessed.

TJ nodded.

"So if you're free, why are you still here?" Tommy asked. "Your families must be worried about you."

"Their families think they're dead, remember?" Electra pointed out.

"Sorry about that, by the way," Terina said. "If we'd been doing our job as defenders a bit better, you'd have never wound up…"

"Actually," Ashley said, glancing at Andros. "I'm okay with the way things turned out."

Andros, to everyone's surprise, actually smiled back.

"Anyway, we're free to leave whenever we want," Cassie said. "At the moment, we're working for the Kerovan military to save up enough credits to book a flight home."

"I'm not so sure I'll be leaving," Ashley said. "But anyway, we're here to talk about _you_."

"You know our story," Troy said. "We're sticking to it."

"Your story checks out," Andros granted. "Our long-range communication satellites recorded the Aquitian's distress signal, and his Serpentware license is valid. The only trouble is, what do we do with you now?"

"Send us home?" Mara suggested, as though it should have been obvious.

Andros shook his head. "If we could afford to send you home, just like that, we wouldn't have these four working off the money for transport. All our resources are dedicated to the war, and we can't spare _any_."

"We also can't replace your ship," TJ said. "Sorry about that."

"We DID recover this from the wreckage," Cassie added, smiling. She produced a heavy-looking black metal briefcase and placed it n the table before them. "Whatever it's made of survived the crash. We can't get it open, though. Any idea what's inside?"

"I have a pretty good idea," Troy said, taking the briefcase and stowing it beneath his seat.

"We can't leave yet anyway," Tommy said. "Not until we find out what happened to Jareth and Deacon."

The Kerovan exchanged glances, then turned to the Terrans.

"We received intelligence that two people were found wandering the neutral zone, near where half of your ship went down. They were captured by a bounty hunter the Darians hired a while back," TJ explained. "We know that they were taken alive, but nothing else."

"I have been authorized to make you a deal," Andros said. "We will help you rescue your friends, if you will agree to perform a few tasks for us."

It was the Terrans' turn to trade glances.

"What _kind_ of tasks?" Tommy asked.


	35. Another Meanwhile

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 35: Another Meanwhile…

"You threw them _where_?"

"The holding cells," Magna Defender replied. "They did not come willingly."

"And they will certainly not _help_ us willingly if we treat them like prisoners."

"That would be your problem, Darian. Not mine."

The young woman seated across the table from the black-armored mercenary glared daggers at him, her cold blue eyes glinting in the fluorescent lighting overhead. She gave a shake of her head, tossing back her long, purple hair, marked with lighter stripes like all her species.

"It will become your problem when it affects your fee. You know that I already feel you are overpayed. Don't give me any excuses to cut your funding."

"Cut my fee and I may just leave. Torozord can shuttle me off this rock in a heartbeat."

There was a knock at the door of the small office.

"Enter," the young woman called.

The door opened and a stunningly attractive girl entered. Her hair was long and blonde, the whole mass of it having been dyed to match her lighter stripes, so that it was all the same color. Her outfit was one that never failed to catch the male eye: form-fitting black pants and a brief, revealing leather top to match.

Verona smiled a bit upon seeing her. "Karone. What can I do for you?"

"Verona, the lab technicians are here to see you. They're ready to report on those devices you brought them."

"That _I_ brought them," Magna Defender corrected. "I trust my fee will reflect _that_?"

"That all depends on how useful the information is, as you well know. Now return to your duties. We will discuss finances later."

Magna Defender turned on his heel and headed for the door.

"Oh, and Defender?"

The mercenary paused.

"In the future, bring all prisoners directly to _me_, instead of letting them stew in a holding cell for hours on end."

Without responding, Magna Defender continued out the door, rudely shouldering aside the messenger who still stood in the doorway. She glared at him, sticking her tongue out at his back before turning back to Verona.

The moment the Magna Defender was gone, Verona's demeanor softened. "Send in the scientists. We have much to discuss. And Karone? If you would be so kind, please bring the…guests…to see me. Take a security team with you; we can't be sure of their intentions just yet. But be polite."

Karone nodded, ducking out of the room.

Moments after the young woman left, a pair of technicians entered.

"Gentlemen. What news?"

"Very little, Madam Verona," the one on the left said.

Verona raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"We've dismantled and examined the devices you provided, but they appear to contain little to no actual technology," the one on the right continued.

"Each DOES contain a disk, made from a metal we've been unable to identify. Though they appear damaged, the disks radiate with powerful energy readings…"

"But the energy is of a type we've never seen before."

"It is not the energy of a morpher?" Verona asked.

"Yes."

"No.

The two technicians exchanged a glance.

"We're not sure," Left said.

"At the very least," Right continued, "it is not the type found in the Digimorpher."

"Frankly, There aren't enough moving parts in them for them to function at all, as anything other than fancy bracelets."

"Assuming they _do_ function. Did Mr. Defender mention anything about having seen them used?"

"I'm afraid not," Verona said, her smile vanishing at the mention of the Magna Defender.

"Well, to summarize," Left said. "We're stumped."

"Thank you, gentlemen. I'm sure you gave it your best."

"We're sorry we couldn't do more," Right said, handing a steel-gray briefcase to Verona. "Here they are, reassembled and good as new."

Verona nodded again, and the two technicians left the room.

When they were gone, Verona snapped open the case, examining the two Spirit Summoners within.

"No moving parts. So how do they work?" she asked of no one in particular. "Magic?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Deacon, will you relax?" Jareth asked several hours later, as he lay on his bunk in the cell they'd been given.

"I _am_ relaxed. Don't I _look_ relaxed? Why in the world _wouldn't_ I be relaxed?"

"You've been pacing back and forth for hours."

"Yeah, well, the fumes are beginning to get to me."

Jareth smirked, applying a layer of clear top coat to his fingernails. In the time he'd been in the cell, he'd filed them into points, painted them black, and inscribed gold runes on his nails in gold gel pen. The clear coat was to keep the gold from running, should they get wet.

"I can't believe they let you keep that stuff."

"I suppose they didn't see how I could use nail polish and gel pens to escape the cell. In all fairness, neither can I." Jareth blew impassively on his nails, not seeming to care that he was locked up in an alien prison.

Deacon's eyes roamed the small cell for the sixteenth time. The walls, floor, and ceiling were solid metal, the door was firmly sealed, the air vent was far too small to crawl through, and no one seemed to care how much noise he made, so the old 'Sick Prisoner' routine wasn't going to work.

"I want out," Deacon said. "Can't you pick the lock?"

"It's an _electronic_ lock, so no," the Gold Ranger replied, blowing on his nails.

"Well, how about magic? Know any spells to get us out of here?"

"I don't have any of my spellbooks with me."

"You've had the things for months," Deacon argued. "Surely you've memorized some by now."

"Don't call me Shirley," Jareth said. "I've only memorized one, and I don't see how…"

He broke off, looking at the reinforced cell door curiously.

"Actually," he amended. "Maybe it CAN help."

Jareth rolled off his bunk, landing on all fours, then rose to his feet, taking a few steps towards the door. He began muttering and making complex hand motions.

A surge of magic rushed through the room, but the door remained as it was.

"Oops…no, that's not right….misspoke the second syllable…how did this go?…Oh, I should…right…let's try that…Oops, no, wrong finger…"

Flashes of magical energy surged with every attempt, but the door didn't budge in the slightest.

"Jareth! Dude! Stop! Forget I said anything!"

"Just one more try. I _can_ do this, really I can…"

"No, no more! Look what you've already done to the-"

Deacon grabbed Jareth's shoulder and pulled him away from the door, just as Jareth had started the incantation again. There was another rush of wild magic, but this one felt disjointed somehow, thrown off by the unexpected interruption.

Shrrrip!

Blinking, Jareth looked down at the seat of his pants. The black fabric had torn, and a long furry tail now grew from his backside, at least six feet long and covered in blue-black fur. It terminated in a fluffy tuft of metallic gold fur, similar to a lion's tail in design if not in color.

"Oh, my," Jareth said, staring at the new appendage, not sure whether to be fascinated or horrified.

Deacon, likewise, stared at the new addition in a combination of astonishment and curiousity.

"Wow. Can you move it?"

Jareth twitched the tail. "Yes. Yes I can." He waved the golden tuft of fur at the end in Deacon's face. "Look what you did."

"You're blaming _me_ for that?"

"Well, you interrupted me."

"Yeah, because it was only a matter of time before you blew us both to small gooey bits. Look what you've done to the cell."

Blinking more, Jareth looked around the small room.

"Wow."

"Wow is right. How did you manage all _this_, just trying to open a door?"

"Well," Jareth said, scratching the back of his neck. "I wasn't trying to _open_ it, exactly."

"What _were_ you trying to do?"

"Turn it into pudding."

Deacon blinked, staring at his friend. He couldn't help but feel that had that answer come from anyone else, it might have surprised him. "Dare I ask _why_ you memorized the spell for turning things into pudding?"

"Because I was hungry and wanted pudding. Duh."

Before anything more could be said, the door swung open.

Jareth frantically pulled his new tail up beneath his shirt, wrapping it around his waist where it couldn't be seen. It was so long that it had to coil around his midsection several times before it was out of sight, but his clothes were baggy enough that it shouldn't have been obvious.

As for the rest of the room…Umm….maybe they wouldn't notice?

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Karone gaped at the inside of the small holding cell. Without turning around, she could tell that the armed security guards behind her were gaping as well. It was the sort of thing one couldn't help but gape at.

Flowers were growing from the ceiling, their stems growing straight through the industrial-grade titanium. Pictures of clowns had been drawn on the walls in what appeared to be chalk, which would have been a good deal less disturbing if they hadn't been moving, turning cartwheels, making chalk balloon animals, and generally being clowns. A number of live goldfish flopped around on the two bunks, gasping for water, and the tiled floor of the cell seemed to be growing blue fur.

The two young men inside the cell stared back at her, evidently surprised at her sudden arrival. For a moment, she thought she saw something move behind the taller one, but when her eyes darted back to it, it had gone.

She hastily shook the look of astonishment off of her face, replacing it with one of (she hoped) authority.

"I am to take you to see Verona. Please come with me."

The two males exchanged a glance, then shrugged.

"Okay," the taller one said. "Who's Verona?"

"Verona's our leader. She wants to talk to you…Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Oh," the taller one said. "Well, you'll have to forgive us for that. You see…"

"You're drop dead gorgeous," the shorter one finished.

"So I'm told," Karone said coolly, but she couldn't keep from smiling. "Well, you can look all you like, but don't touch. I'm taken."

"Then your mate is a lucky creature indeed," the shorter one said smoothly.

"You've got a silver tongue, don't you?"

"He has a silver everything."

Karone raised an eyebrow. "Everything?"

"Well…actually, I wouldn't know. _Do_ you have a silver…?"

"No!"

Karone giggled. "What are your names?"

"Christopher Deacon Parrish, at your service, M'lady."

"Jareth Valentine, available for birthday parties or bar mitzvahs. Your money back if your child is turned into a toad."

"I'm Karone. Just Karone. Well, come on," the girl said, turning her back towards them (and giving them a remarkable view in the process). "Verona's waiting."


	36. Back and Forth

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 36: Back and Forth

"Gentlemen. Welcome," Verona said, as Karone escorted the two Terran Rangers into her office. The two guards that flanked her moved to stand on either side of the door.

"Please, have a seat."

The Silver Ranger sat down in one the proffered chairs, but Jareth balked. His spine no longer terminated in a coccyx, and he wasn't quite sure how to go about sitting just yet.

"Um. I'll stand, thanks."

"Suit yourself," Verona said. "First of all, allow me to apologize for your treatment at the hands of the Magna Defender. He is a bit…over-zealous…when it comes to earning his fee."

"You're telling us," Deacon said.

"Again, I apologize. I understand that the planetary defenses disabled you ship?"

"Well, if by 'disabled', you mean reduced it to scrap, then-"

Jareth kneed the back of Deacon's chair, shutting him up.

"Yes, we were shot down last night."

"And then spent all night marching through the war zone, and then all day in a cramped jail cell. You must be exhausted. I will arrange for more appropriate quarters to be assigned for your use during your stay."

"How long do you anticipate our stay will be?" Jareth asked, crossing his arms.

"That all depends. I'm afraid we don't have the resources to transport you home, and even if we did, we could not divert them from the war effort."

"We should probably find out whether the others survived the crash before we make arrangements to leave, anyway," Deacon said.

"How many more were on your ship?" Karone asked.

"Five," Jareth said.

"Six," Deacon corrected. "The Sirenian, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Six."

Verona frowned, picking up a datapad from her desk and examining it.

"Intelligence reports say that a group of seven was taken hostage by the Kerovans early this morning. Could that be them?"

"Where'd they get the extra?" Jareth asked.

"They could have found a squatter. It's not uncommon for people to get lost in the war zone…though it is uncommon for those people to survive."

"Tagging along with a group of Rangers could help with that," Deacon said.

"Rangers?" Verona asked, narrowing her eyes. "These others with you were Rangers as well?"

"Five of them were," Deacon said. "Why?"

Verona shot a glance at Karone, who nodded and quickly left the room. One of the guards half-turned to watch her leave. The other glared at him, and he straightened up.

"I will be perfectly honest with you," Verona continued.

"We appreciate that," Jareth said.

"If your friends have fallen into the Kerovans' hands, they will undoubtedly attempt to indoctrinate them into their cause. To put it frankly, they will be used as weapons against us Darians."

"And you don't plan to use us the same way?" Deacon asked doubtfully.

"Of course I do," Verona said honestly. "It would be foolish not to. Rangers are powerful resources, and the Kerovans already had us outnumbered five Rangers to two, not to mention the severe drain on our funds caused by maintaining the Magna Defender's services. I despise the man…assuming he is a man….but I cannot deny his effectiveness."

"I really doubt our friends would join them. We supposedly came to stop this war, not get involved in it."

"They may not have a choice," Verona argued. "Desperate people have a habit of resorting to desperate measures. They may threaten to injure one of the group if the others do not cooperate, for instance."

Deacon glanced at Jareth.

"If I know Tommy, he's lapsed into Fearless Leader-mode," Deacon said.

"And that's just the sort of trick that would work on him," Jareth agreed.

"Think the others'll listen to him?"

"Who can say?" Jareth asked, shrugging. "I mean, he _is_-"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"-insane! Tommy, you _cannot_ seriously be considering this!"

Tommy frowned. "Mara, we don't really have much choice."

"There has to be. We can't work for these people."

"Why not?" Electra asked.

"They're cold-blooded murderers," Mara said.

"Actually," Andros said. "Kerovans are warm-blooded."

"It's an expression, Andros," Cassie explained. "She means you're heartless and unfeeling."

Andros frowned at her.

"Killing those hostages was a necessity."

Mara jumped. She'd fully expected an excuse like that to come out of Andros, but not from the person sitting next to her.

"What?" she asked.

"They had to be killed," Troy explained. "If they'd been set free, they would have reported what they heard about the raids, which would have endangered the raiding parties."

"And why couldn't they have been taken prisoner?" the Pink Ranger demanded.

"Do you remember what Ashley said about rations?"

"She said that they'd barely afforded food shipments," Electra said softly.

"Exactly. If they can barely feed their own people, how can they afford to care for prisoners on top of that?"

"People could have, I don't know, like, cut their rations or something! He didn't have to-"

"Yes. He did," Terina said. "Troy's right."

"You know, if you guys want to talk this out, we can leave you alone for a while," Carlos said.

"Yeah," Cassie agreed. 'It's just a bit weird having you talk about us while we're standing right here."

"Just answer me one thing," Tommy said, addressing Andros. "Would you have killed those people if you hadn't had to?"

"That's not a fair question," Ashley said defensively. "You have no idea what-"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"-our people have been through," Verona explained. "Perhaps a brief history lesson is in order."

"Will there be a test?" Jareth asked.

"First of all, this isn't the home planet of our species. Our home planet's name has long been forgotten. It's said that our ancestors left there because the world had been ruined during a war against a great evil." She sighed. "War seems bred in our bones. Anyway, when our ancestors arrived here, they founded a small colony called KO-35. This implies that there are at least 34 other colonies, but we have never heard from any of them." Verona paused, looking Jareth up and down, as he was the one standing.

"You're physically similar to us. Perhaps you are from one of them?"

"Not that we know of," Deacon replied. "We come from a planet called Terra."

"As far as we know, our species originated there," Jareth confirmed.

Verona shrugged. "Anyway, for the first few generations, KO-35 thrived. But, like any civilization, it had its problems. As punishment, criminals were exiled from the colony. Some were guilty of true crimes, but the government of KO-35 was a tyrannical one, and many of the outcasts were banished for trivial matters, not worthy of such harsh treatment. Furious with the colony, they banded together and ventured out into the wilderness, until they reached the far side of the planet. There they founded their own colony, as far from the original one as possible."

"Quite a ways to travel," Deacon commented.

"Indeed. Some did not remain with the larger group, and many smaller communities were established. These will come into the story later. For now, let's focus on the main group. After a few generations, there was no one among them who even remembered life in KO-35. As they were born outside the colony, on Daria, they came to call themselves-"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"-Darians," Andros practically spat. "Thieves, murderers, rapists, criminals…it turned out they'd been living in the wilderness all that time. Gathering their forces, just waiting to strike back at the community that had banished them. The Darian colony grew, and continued to do so for centuries, until it took up fully half of the planet. All the while, KO-35, of course, grew as well, at approximately the same rate. The two met-"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

-"in the middle of the planet, roughly where the neutral zone is now."

"And they started fighting," Jareth surmised.

"Not at first," Verona said. "The Darians, familiar only with the old horror stories, did not even recognize KO-35 for what it was. The Kerovans, on the other hand, had assumed that any that were banished into the wilds had died long ago, and thus had no idea that there even WAS another civilization growing."

"So how did the war get started?"

"There is always the opportunity for war, when differing cultures meet. Resources, religious beliefs. In our case it was history. Once the two colonies recognized each other for what they were, our people decided that we were owed by the Kerovans for the poor treatment of our ancestors. The Kerovans, on the other hand, decided that they were owed by us for having used their planet for so long without permission, when we shouldn't have survived at all."

The Terrans blinked.

"_this_ is why you fight?" Jareth asked.

"No. This is why our _ancestors_ fought. That, and because in the course their expansion, the Kerovans brutally slaughtered and pillaged all of those smaller colonies that the Darians left in their wake."

"Ouch."

"So, then, why do _you_ fight?" Deacon asked.

"Mostly, out of-"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Habit," Andros said. "We've been fighting all our lives. Upbringing. We've been trained to hate them. Revenge. I've lost friends…family…especially family."

"Wouldn't it be better to end all that?" Tommy asked.

"Absolutely," Andros agreed. "By winning the war."

"That's not the only way."

"No, but it's the most likely to succeed."

"Hasn't succeeded yet," Ashley said sardonically. "How many generations has it been?"

"Too many," Andros said quietly. "But you're wasting your time. There have been too many people hurt…on both sides…for us to just lay down our weapons, forgive and forget. This war will only end when someone wins."

"But-"

"Now, are you willing to help us or not?"

"We won't kill for you," Tommy said adamantly.

"You can use nonlethal force if you insist," Andros allowed. "We weren't planning on sending you into combat, anyway. Not just yet, at least."

"Then what do you want from us?"

"We want you to help with the-"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"-raids?" Jareth asked.

"Raids," Verona confirmed. "The resources of this planet are minimal: air and sunlight. Everything else was used up, by the expansion of the colonies and the war. Everything we need, we get from traders."

"How do the traders get past the defenses?"

"One a shipment has been confirmed," she explained. "A one-time-use deactivation code is transmitted to the trader. We purchase our supplies mainly from an interstellar trading company called Serpentware. I know not where the Kerovans get theirs. The point is, when we haven't the funds to arrange for supply shipments, the factions are known to raid one anther's storehouses."

"Makes sense," Jareth said. "And this is why you need Rangers?"

"Rangers are far less prone to fatal injury than other raiders," the young woman agreed. "And far better at defending our own supplies. Zhane is an accomplished raider, so I would like you to stay and-"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"-help defend our storehouses while we're out raiding," TJ suggested. "Instead of doing the raiding themselves."

"That would work," Andros agreed. "I was a bit leery of sending you all into the field anyway."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Mara said, a bit uncertainly. "That way anyone we'd have to fight would be…'

"Trespassers and thieves," Ashley said. "Yes. Can you-"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"-do that?"

"Oh, we _can_," Deacon asked. "but why should we assist you?"

Verona frowned. "I had hoped you would see our need and volunteer."

"I don't volunteer for much of anything," Jareth said.

"If you will not help us, I'm afraid I cannot return your morphers," Verona said. "I apologize, but the addition of your powers to our resources could very well turn the tide in our favor."

"Ah, but can you _work_ them?" the Gold Ranger asked slyly.

Verona said nothing.

"Didn't think so."

"I am confident that our scientists can deduce how they operate."

"What if I told you that the morphers will only work for us?"

"Then I can still reverse-engineer the Morphers and mass-produce more of them."

"If you could do that, then you'd have more than one Ranger on your team."

Verona half-smiled ruefully. "I was hoping you wouldn't catch that."

Jareth grinned. "What can I say? I'm good."

"When are you going to stop flirting with hot alien chicks?"

Jareth glared down at Deacon. "Oh, and you weren't _totally_ hitting on Karone. You even bowed, for Hel's sake."

"It's all right," Verona said, smiling. "Everyone hits on Karone. I should warn you, though, Zhane has a habit of hitting people who hit on Karone."

"Duly noted," Deacon said, nodding.

"I can see I'm going to have to make you a deal if I am to gain your assistance," Verona said, reaching beneath her desk and taking out a small briefcase, which she set on the table.

"I will return these morphers, if-"

Tsew!

Both Rangers spun around just as one of the guards standing by the door collapsed, a smoking hole through his head. The second guard turned his blaster on Verona, firing off another shot.

Verona gasped, holding up the briefcase. The blast struck the metal surface, melting a hole into the metal.

**"Lion!"**

**"Elephant!"**

The Guard held up an arm, shielding his eyes from the sudden gold and silver flashes that brightened the room. He blinked in surprise at the two armored forms that now stood before him.

"But...you can't….your morphers…"

A shower of sparks fell to the floor as the barrel of the guard's blaster was severed by the whiling blade of a rotary diamond-saw.

Jareth pressed the astonished guard against the door, Blade Blaster held at his temple.

"What's this guy's deal?"

"He is a Kerovan spy," Verona said, getting up and walking around her desk, clearly making an effort to appear calm, though the slight shaking of her hands betrayed her. "Unless I am very much mistaken, he is here to steal your morphers. But the devices in that case obviously aren't your morphers, are they?"

"Nope," Deacon said.

"Rhetorical question, Dea," Jareth mumbled.

Verona knelt by the dead guard, her head bowed low. She gently closed his eyelids. The she seized his blaster from its holster…he'd never even had time to draw it…stood, leveled it at the spy's head, and fired.

The blast struck Deacon's hand, which had shot through the air faster than the eye could follow to intercept the shot.

"Ow," he said, shaking the scorched appendage. "Ow. OW. Ow…"

Verona glared at Deacon, then closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and walked over to her desk. She pressed a button on the call box.

"Security detail to my office. Immediately."

"Yes, ma'am."

Verona turned to the Rangers.

"Thank you for stopping me. It would have been unwise to execute him before we had the chance to interrogate him.

I make you this offer, Rangers. If you agree to guard our storehouses while Zhane is away on his next raid, I will return these devices….whatever they are….and provide you with transportation home aboard the Silver Wing."

"Deal," Jareth said. "But we're not leaving without our friends."

The doors burst open and Karone entered, followed by a group of eight security guards.

"Verona, what's going on? Oh, no," the girl said, seeing the corpse lying on the floor. "Proteus…"

"Arrest the man the Gold Ranger is holding. Interrogate him, then execute him." Verona said, sitting back down at her desk. She sighed, closing her eyes. "And…see that my cousin is given a proper burial."


	37. Shrapnel

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 37: Shrapnel

Her eyes narrowed as she spied her prey, moving about just a few feet from her face. Crouching, she prepared to leap upon it and tear it to ribbons. With muscles like steel springs, she launched herself into the air, perfectly angled to land upon her target.

Just before she landed, the small piece of twitching string was jerked away, leaving her to land softly on the soft purple carpet, empty-pawed.

Not to be beaten by a piece of string, Naylack rolled over and pawed at the air, catching the string between her paws and quickly drawing into her mouth, where she happily chewed on it with her sharp fangs.

Red, dome-shaped lights popped down from the ceiling, strobed and spun for a moment, emitting a horrible noise, then popped away again.

"Rangers, please report to the Bridge," Zord-1 asked, his deep voice resounding throughout the entire ship.

Kalen sighed, getting up from where she'd been lying, her head hanging over the foot of her bed.

Naylack looked up at her and meowed plaintively, as if to ask her where she was going.

"Probably to blow something up," Kalen replied. "I'll be back."

"Meow."

"Oh, don't be that way. You know perfectly well I'd much rather stay here with you."

The Purple Ranger straightened her clothes and left the room, the door opening and closing before her automatically.

Naylack gave the feline equivalent of a shrug and pounced again on the now unattended string.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What on Terra is _that_?" Fox demanded, eyes on he screen at the front of the Oasis' bridge.

"That is, and don't laugh, a Jupiterian Fire Turtle," Lolli replied.

"A Jupiterian Fire Turtle," Angel repeated, though his lack of intonation made it difficult to tell whether he was incredulous or just memorizing the phrase. "Looks more like a Hork-Bajir to me."

"Really?" Stephen asked. "I was thinking Tokka. You know, the big bad snapping turtle from the second Ninja Turtles movie?"

"Those two should not be mixed," Fox commented.

"Fire Turtles are intelligent reptilian humanoids," Zord-1 explained. "They are itinerant throughout the galaxy, usually preferring hot planets, but have most recently made their home on one of the moons of Jupiter. They are an extremely aggressive, warlike race, not unlike the fictional characters you know as Klingons."

"What's one doing on Terra?" Stephen asked.

"Endangering innocent Terrans," Myk pointed out.

"He...and this one IS a male…does not appear to be attacking anything," Zord-1 said.

The Rangers scrutinized the image on the screen. True, the creature was not attacking. He was simply wandering the streets, sniffing the air, as though looking for something. The Terrans around him, however, did not see it that way. Accustomed to being threatened by monsters and such, they were panicking, scattering in all directions.

"What city is that?" Kalen asked.

"San Francisco," Zord-1 replied.

"Perhaps we should go find out what he wants," Angel suggested.

"My thoughts exactly," the computer replied, atomizing the Rangers and sending their energy forms rocketing down towards the planet below.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Showtime?" Stephen asked.

"Showtime," Angel confirmed.

**"Dragonzord!"**

**"Brachiosaurus!"**

**"Wolf!"**

**"Crocodile!"**

**"Hammerhead!**

**"Eagle!"**

The usual lightshow followed the Rangers' morphing calls, transforming them from normal humans into magical superheroes.

"Hey! Umm…Mr. Fire Turtle!" Fox cried, trying to get the creature's attention.

The Fire Turtle turned to face the Rangers. He made a few sounds that seemed almost to be a language, but the Rangers' comchips provided no translation. As he spoke, his skin seemed to shimmer, changing colors almost imperceptibly.

"Do you think he understood me?" Fox whispered to the others.

"I don't think he can speak," Myk replied. "Otherwise we would have gotten a translation, wouldn't we?"

"So…do we blow him up, or what?" Stephen asked.

Abruptly, a column of blue-black flames erupted from the sidewalk nearby, fading to reveal a gray-furred, wolflike humanoid in cobalt-blue armor.

"You again?" Myk growled.

"A pleasure to see you, too," Ornyk quipped. "I still have my dagger, you know, if you wish to become acquainted with it again."

"What are you doing here?"

"Someone told me if I showed up here, now, I'd get a surprise. You?"

Angel pointed at the turtle. "We're here because of him."

Ornyk spun around, his eyes widening at the sight of the alien creature. "And just what in Creoa's name are _you_ supposed to be?"

"He's a Jupiterean Fire Turtle," came a gleeful-sounding female voice.

Everyone spun around, this time to see Panika crouching atop a nearby streetlight. She still wore her trademark black-and-red outfit, but today she was also wearing Mickey Mouse ears atop her head, tilted at a jaunty angle.

"Oh, no," Stephen said. "Her again."

Panika made the saddest face one possibly could. "I found him wandering the asteroid belt. He was _so_ lonely." She switched to a grin so quickly it was as though she were wearing a different face. "So I arranged a little play date!"

Ornyk glared up at his sister. "You sent me all the way here just to-"

A shard of sharpened bone zipped through the air, and Ornyk caught it in mid-flight, inches from his head. He turned his lupine head to stare incredulously at the reptilian, who squawked a challenge.

"You honestly wish to _challenge_ me?" Ornyk asked, sounding incredulous.

The Turtle raised his head towards the sky, breathing forth a jet of flame.

"Well, why not. I may as well get something out of this. I imagine that shell of yours will make a lovely coffee table."

Ornyk conjured his sword in a burst of dark fire and unsheathed it, swinging at the turtle, but the reptilian beast raised arms, long blades of bone extending from his wrists, meeting Ornyk's blade.

"Now's a good time to blast them both," Kalen suggested softly, purple electricity crackling between her hands.

"And interrupt the duel?" Myk asked incredulously.

"Ah, yes. Of course. Mustn't interfere with a contest of honor. How silly of me," the Purple Ranger sighed, letting the lightning die.

"Actually, I'm with you, Kalen," Angel said.

"Likewise," Fox said, a small green grenade appearing in her hand. She prepared to pull the ring and toss it to the ground at the combatants' feet.

Abruptly, the grenade flew up out of her hands, to be caught by Panika as the psychotic girl flew lazily by overhead. Panika dropped down so that she hung upside-down in midair, waving the grenade in front of the Camo Ranger's face.

"No! Bad Ranger!" she cried, sounding like a petulant three-year-old. "I didn't set all this up just so you could spoil it." Her frown vanished, slowly this time, replaced by a mischievous grin. She flipped right-side-up, idly tossing the grenade. "I suppose I'll just have to make you a playmate of your own."

She snapped her fingers, and a shimmering barrier of transparent red light shot across the street, blocking them off from Ornyk and the turtle. The floating Zornian then turned her attention to the grenade she held.

A red glow began to spread across the small grenade's textured surface, beginning at Panika's fingers and continuing until the entire device had become the same red-and-black pattern that she was. She tossed the grenade down to the street behind the Rangers.

Expecting an explosion, they all flinched, but instead of detonating, the grenade began to grow, expanding until it was the size of a person's torso. Four mechanical-looking, pineapple-patterned limbs grew from its surface, becoming arms and legs, and a head popped out of the top, resembling something like a Zippo lighter.

"Eep," Fox said simply.

No one disagreed.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Another spray of bone shards flew at Ornyk, flung by the armored reptilian. The lupine only bothered to deflect the ones that came at his head, the rest bouncing harmlessly off of his dark blue armor.

"So do you have a _name_, beast?"

Squawk.

"Well, _that_ doesn't translate well."

The fire turtle raised his head to the sky, taking a deep breath, then lowered his bladed skull and spat forth a thick jet of sun-gold flames.

Ornyk raised his sword, sheath and all, holding it in front of him with both hands. The flames struck the unusually wide scabbard, literally being sucked up by the inky blue metal.

With a toothy smile, Ornyk drew the sword, its blade now glowing with the stolen fire.

"Hmm…natural fire magic, if I'm not mistaken. I think I'll call you…Helios. What do you think?"

Helios spat another ribbon of flames. Ornyk aimed his sword directly at the oncoming beam of fire, projecting the golden flames he'd stolen. The two bands of yellow fire met midair, forming a sphere that resembled a miniature sun, brightening and warming the already hot and bright street to levels that would have been unbearable for a human, had any remained nearby.

The sun faded as both combatants ceased their attack, Ornyk because he'd used up the flames he'd absorbed, and Helios because he needed to breathe.

Ornyk flicked his sword, and it ignited again, this time with his own signature blue-black flames.

"Well, what do you know. I _am_ enjoying my play date."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Grenadon smash!"

"Tell me he did not just say 'Grenadon smash'," Lolli said incredulously.

The monster, which was evidently named Grenadon, raised his arms at the Rangers. His hands glowed briefly, morphing into large, machine gun-style cannons.

Most of the Rangers dived aside as he unleashed a barrage of laser-bullets their way, metal shells falling to the ground around him.

Lolli stood her ground, letting her eyes fall half-closed, her shield beginning to shimmer with an eerie green glow. Many of the bullets missed entirely, striking sparks as they hit Panika's firewall, but all of those that struck the Green Ranger rebounded on their target, blasting Grenadon.

The walking explosive fell back, hitting the ground with a cry of pain.

Lolli winced. "We can't do this!"

"What?" Fox asked, pausing in the act of aiming her Blade Blaster.

"She's right," Angel said. "He's a walking explosive. We can't destroy him here. He could level half the city."

"My grenades aren't nearly that powerful," Fox argued.

"Not even super-sized?" Kalen asked.

"Fair point," the Camo Ranger grumbled. "So what do we do?"

Grenadon let out an angry bellow, finally getting to his feet.

"I could try flying it out over the ocean," Myk offered. "Think it can swim?"

"And what if you drop him?" Kalen asked. "It strikes me that dropping a giant bomb on the city may not be the best idea. At least not while we're all still _in_ it."

Myk scowled, hating it when Kalen was right. It didn't help that she was right surprisingly often.

"It's the best plan we've got," Stephen said. "He'll just have to not drop it."

Another barrage of artillery blazed at them, causing everyone to scatter.

Lolli glared at him, drawing her Dragon Dagger. Raising it to her mouthpiece, she blew a single shrill note that brought Grenadon to his knees…and shattered every nearby window.

Turning back to her teammates (all of whom had their hands pressed against the sides of their helmets), she holstered her weapon and placed a hand on her hip, tapping her communicator with the other one.

"Zord-1, teleport us and the monster to the beach."

"Shouldn't someone stay to keep an eye on that?" Angel asked, pointing to the battle between Ornyk and the fire turtle

"Fine. Stephen, Myk. Stay and deal. Zord-1?"

"Monsters are immune to teleportation. You know that," the computer replied through the comlink.

"Just try anyway, please."

"As you wish."

There was a crackle of multicolored energy as multicolored bolts of light streaked skyward.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Helios curled into a small, armored sphere, his bony plates locking together perfectly, all of his limbs and his head concealed within.

Ornyk paused, cocking his head.

"So…this would be the 'turtle' part of 'fire turtle', hmm? I'm no expert in Terran zoology, but it seems a bit more like an armadillo to me…"

The ball abruptly began rolling forward, rapidly reaching the speed of a just-fired cannonball, though how exactly it propelled itself was a mystery. Even Ornyk's heightened reflexes barely enabled him to jump aside in time, the ball rocketing past him.

Concrete shattered like glass as the ball of Helios smashed through the building that was in his path, collapsing in seconds into a pile of rubble.

Ornyk stepped back to avoid breathing in the concrete dust.

"Fast for a turtle. Your aim could use some work, tho-oof!"

The armored sphere plowed back through the rubble, this time striking Ornyk's metal-plated chest. The blue-armored lupine was knocked down onto his back as the ball rebounded off him, uncurling in midair.

Helios landed solidly on his clawed feet, once again unsheathing the long, bony blades from his forearms.

"Okay," Ornyk said in a low, growling voice, pulling himself to his feet with the aid of his sword. "Hardball it is."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox shook her head the green static of teleporting faded, leaving her and her fellow Rangers standing on the sandy California beach, facing Grenadon.

"How did you know this monster could be teleported?" she asked of the Green Ranger.

"Because Panika made him," she answered. "And you don't expect quality work from someone wearing Mickey Mouse ears."

"Then why not-" Kalen began, but was interrupted as Grenadon unleashed another barrage of energized ammunition, blasting all three of them back, sizzling holes in their armor.

"Is that ALL you do?" Fox asked angrily, struggling to her feet.

"Grenadon smash!"

"He does that," Kalen offered.

"Well, here's what I do," Fox growled, drawing her blade blaster in its gun-mode.

Blasts of ruby-red light lances out from the weapon, burning smoking craters into Grenadon's armor. Grenadon let out a strange, metallic roar, raising his artillery and launching another blizzard of energized bullets.

Taking shelter behind a sand dune, the four Rangers conferred briefly.

"This is still no good," the Camo Ranger said, holstering her gun. "If he explodes here, he'll still take out all the beachfront property."

"And us," Angel pointed out.

"And us," Fox agreed.

"We need to get him into the water," Lolli said. "That should dampen the explosion."

"Why don't we try the old dome-and-chrome?" Angel suggested. "It's worked before."

"Worth a shot," Lolli agreed.

"What's the old dome-and-chrome?" Fox asked, confused.

"Watch and learn," the Green Ranger replied.

Leaping up atop the dune, she gestured towards the ocean, mentally lifting a large sphere of water up from the surface. Thrusting her hands towards the monster, she caused the sphere to elongate into a darting coil of liquid that encircled the beast, coalescing into a coherent dome with Grenadon at its center.

"You're on, Angel."

Angel's reply was to shapeshift into a gray cheetah and leap over the dune, sprinting towards the encapsulated monster. Resuming his Ranger form, he placed both gray-gloved hands against the water's surface.

The transparent fluid quickly became opaque, a cloudy silver flowing out from the Ranger's touch until it had transformed the entire dome into a wall of metal.

Fox blinked, surprised. She emerged from the concealment of the dune, coming to stand next to Angel. Staring at him, she gestured to the dome.

"What did you just _do_?" she demanded, as Lolli and Kalen came to stand alongside them.

"Transmuted water into steel, as near as I can tell," Kalen answered for him, brushing her fingertips against the surface of the dome. "Can you transmute anything else? Or just metal?"

"Anything inorganic," he replied. He laid his hand alongside the metal dome. Before their eyes, it transformed into concrete, then gold, then, briefly, glass, revealing an extremely confused Grenadon in the center, before turning back into steel.

"Impressive. This has potential."

"I'm not turning lead into gold for you," he said flatly.

Kalen crossed her arms and pouted at him, managing to convey the effect despite her helmet.

There was a sudden, muffled WUMPH, and the dome tilted, half of it sinking sideways into the sand.

"Uh-oh," Fox had time to mutter, before the sand next to her exploded upwards, Grenadon leaping up into view. With a backhanded blow, the monster sent both Fox and Kalen flying. One of his hands shot forward, enclosing the Gray Ranger's torso in one enormous fist and picking him up.

"How?" Angel inquired.

"Broke through bottom," Grenadon replied thickly. "Metal thin there."

"Ah."

Grenadon began to squeeze, attempting to crush the Ranger, but in his apparent stupidity, he overlooked Lolli, who leapt at him and jammed her dagger into one of the joints of his mechanical arm.

Grenadon let out a howl, dropping Angel, who immediately shapeshifted into a large gray horse and began to gallop to a safe distance, pausing only long enough for Lolli to leap aboard his back.

The Rangers regrouped, once again finding themselves behind the shelter of a convenient sand dune. Grenadon's howls continued in the distance unabated; apparently his clumsy fingers weren't up to the relatively delicate task of pulling Lolli's dagger free.

"Back to plan A," Lolli suggested. "Get him into the water, kill him there. No explosion."

"I can throw him out to sea, if you three can keep him distracted," Angel said.

"Peek-a-boo!" shouted a triumphant, yet stupid, voice.

The Rangers looked up to see the animate explosive standing atop the dune, his turrets pointed down at them.

"Found you!"

"Go!" Fox yelled to Angel, as she, Lolli, and Kalen ran towards the water. The Gray Ranger ran the other way, away from the ocean.

Grenadon paused stupidly, trying to work out whom to follow.

A laser blast from near the water struck the dune on which he was standing, causing it to crumble and him to tumble to the sand.

"I presume you missed on purpose?" Lolli asked.

"Didn't miss at all," Fox replied. "I was _aiming_ for the dune."

The monster thrashed around on the sand for a while, his mechanical limbs not designed to bend in any way that could help him to right himself.

"Oh, you're kidding me," Kalen said. "He can't get up?"

"Apparently not," Lolli said, sounding amused.

A loud trumpeting sound split the air, and a surprisingly large elephant appeared as if from nowhere, stampeding over to the helpless monster. Wrapping its trunk around the construct's pineapple-textured body, the elephant hefted the monster, trotted over to the water, and gave a mighty toss of its head, throwing Grenadon far out to sea.

With a wail, the monster flew through the air, finally striking the water with a titanic SPLASH! And sinking like a stone.

"That went well," Fox said, as the elephant rapidly shrank down into the form of the Gray Ranger.

"I concur," Angel said, dusting off his hands.

"Now, someone just has to dive in and finish him off," Lolli said.

One by one, every head turned to Kalen.

Kalen blinked. "What?"

"You're the one in the fish suit," Fox pointed out.

Kalen glared at her. "I happen to know for a fact that _you_ can walk on water."

"We need someone to go _under_ the water," Fox pointed out.

"And I suppose crocodiles don't swim?"

"We happen to be freshwater animals, thank you very much."

A small argument broke out, only to end when Angel resumed his elephant form and threw the Purple Ranger headfirst into the ocean.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Like a laser through jam, Dorn's shining white blade effortlessly sliced through Panika's firewall, carving a neat, man-sized circle out of the thin but supposedly impenetrable barrier.

"Nice sword," Stephen said.

"Thanks," Myk replied, causing the magical weapon to vanish once again. "I like it."

"Ahem," Saba said, sounding offended. "If you're going to go around ogling other swords, you could at least have the decency to do so behind my back."

"Well, could _you_ have cut that barrier?"

"Well, no," the sentient scimitar huffed, as the two Rangers climbed through the hole, emerging onto the sidelines of Ornyk and Helios' battle. "But that's hardly the point."

**"Chronoflash!"** Myk intoned. Abruptly, all motion stopped apart from that of the two Rangers, the world becoming grainy and faded, like the world had been bleached.

"Hey, I didn't freeze," Stephen observed.

"I managed to exclude you from the effect," Myk said. "Wasn't easy, though."

"Thanks for that," the White Ranger quipped, pulling Saba free from his sheath. "Now, shall we take care of these two?" He gestured towards the frozen combatants. Ornyk held in his claw a handful of blue-black fire, obviously about to throw it, whilst Helios appeared halfway through the act of throwing a spray of sharpened bone-shards. Indeed, some of the shards had already left his hand, and were frozen in midair inches from his reptilian claw.

"Weird to see frozen fire, don't you think?" Stephen asked, poking the flames Ornyk held. His finger sunk through the surface, as though he were poking free-standing water, but there was no heat, and when he removed his finger, the hole he left failed to close.

"Stand back," Myk advised. "I'm going to unfreeze Ornyk."

"What? Why?"

"Wouldn't be fair to beat him while he's frozen," Myk replied, as though it were obvious.

"Wouldn't be smart not to use any advantage you can find," Stephen argued, in the exact same tone.

"You're starting to sound like _her_," Myk said, emphasizing the word 'her' as though it were a slur.

Stephen glared sharply at Myk, and was about to make a scathing reply, when the Bronze Ranger was abruptly seized by some unseen force and flung neatly back through the hole he'd made in the barrier that still stood behind them.

There was a sharp crackle of energy, like the striking of a match, and the hole closed over. Where the hole had been, the red, filmy light still swam and flowed, a bright, garish red, unlike the dull, frozen light that made up the rest of the wall.

Stephen paused, wondering whether _he'd_ done that. Was this some new power he'd developed? The ability to toss people around with a glare?

Then Panika drifted into view, looking quite satisfied with herself.

"Your friend talks too much," she said.

"How are you not frozen?" Stephen asked.

"That which enters the area of a localized temporal stasis field _after_ said field has been established is immune to its effects," she answered in a cheerful, teeny-bopperish voice. "Like, _duh_!"

Stephen tightened his grip on Saba, but the red-and-black clothed Zornian didn't seem like she waned to attack….not that she was very predictable.

Abruptly, Saba flew out of his hand…not under his own power, as he usually did, but torn away by Panika's power as she idly waved her hand. Saba was flung towards the barrier, where his blade sank in, his hilt vibrating almost comically back and forth with the impact. Stephen could almost hear the cartoonish 'Twang!'.

"Stephen! Help!" Saba yelled. "Free me from thismmph-!" Saba's protests were cut off as a ribbon of crimson energy appeared, wrapping itself around his jaw and binding the weapon's mouth shut, tying itself across his nose with a large bow.

Panika smiled, making a come-hither gesture towards Stephen, who found himself lifted up off the ground. She lifted him up to her level, then walked forward on air, her stride as obviously seductive as possible, removing her Mickey Mouse ears and tossing them aside carelessly.

"Hello again…Stephen, isn't it?" she said, as she drew uncomfortably close to him. "I've been hoping I'd get the chance to meet with you again….alone."

Stephen found that he couldn't move. It was as though he was pinned in place by an invisible, form-fitting force field…which, he realized, was probably the case.

"What do-"

"Shhh…" Panika laid her finger against his mouthplate. "Talk is cheap."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kalen flinched, unable to keep from expecting a massive splash and the chilling rush of cold water, but her body entered the sea as if the water was completely frictionless, and she remained perfectly dry and comfortable. Her velvety cloak vanished instantly upon impact with the water, as it always did, leaving behind her form-fitting purple armor, which suddenly appeared to have taken on the texture of a wetsuit, as opposed to the flexible metal it was normally composed of. The finlike blades on her calves and forearms seemed to grow longer and sharper, ideal for slicing through the liquid surrounding her.

Kalen took a brief moment to collect herself. Squashing down a lifetime of experience that told her that the best way to swim was to move her arms and legs, she instead surrendered to the instinctive knowledge the Power provided.

Extending her arms straight forward and locking her legs together, Kalen blasted forward through the water like a torpedo, angling down towards the bottom of the ocean, the dark, murky waters no impediment whatsoever to her eyesight.

As she wasn't far out to sea, she didn't have far to go before reaching the ocean floor. And there he was…big walking red pineapple, sluggishly walking along the sandy bottom, trying to head back inland.

His movements seemed so clumsy to her now, she wondered how she'd ever considered him any sort of threat. Ironically, the phrase 'fish out of water' came to mind.

She stopped cold, floating upright in the water, staring down at him.

"Staff of Aquarius!" She invoked, the long purple staff appearing in her open hand.

Spying the flash, Granadon turned up to her, evidently surprised to see her floating there. He raised his turret-arms up, trying to fire another volley…but nothing came from the rotating barrels but bubbles and murky black ooze.

Making a mental note never to hire anyone wearing Mickey Mouse ears, Kalen aimed the dark green jewel at the end of her staff at the creature, and fired.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Panika pouted pathetically, evidently quite disappointed that she hadn't been able to remove Stephen's helmet. She circled him slowly, coming back around to stand before him.

"Oh, well," he said quickly. "Guess you'd better just put me down now."

"Oh…but I'm not done with you yet." The wild-eyed, supernatural playing card-esque girl tilted her head. "I can still have a little fun with you. For instance…" Panika's hand was at the back of his helmet in an instant, pulling his head forward into a kiss, her other hand encircling the small of his back beneath his shield.

Power Ranger armor, Stephen decided, was a funny thing. While it effectively decreased pain by a remarkable amount, is was, in all other respects, just as sensitive as human skin. This meant, of course, that Stephen actually felt Panika's lips against his faceplate.

So surprised was he at the unexpected sensation that he barely even noticed her hand slipping from his back, tracing along his side, running down the front of his stomach…

And tapping the Power Coin embedded in his belt.

A rush of magic surged through his armored body, red mixed with white, clouding his vision…then it faded. He found that he could move again, though he was still suspended a good twenty feet in the air.

"There!" Panika said, as though she'd won a prize. "All fixed!"

"Fixed…what?"

"Fixed _you_!"

"I'm fixed? I was broken?"

"Don't I even get a thank you?" Panika asked, sounding more like a toddler than the seductress she had been just a few moments ago.

"A thank you for _what_? What did you _do_?'

With the usual speed, Panika switched emotions, going from excitement to seething fury in less than half a second.

Pain shot through Stephen's body, his eyes blinding by red light. Before he knew what had hit him, he was sliding down the wall of the building behind him.

Panika dropped to the ground as well, landing neatly on her feet, her heavy, thick-soled, knee-high black boots crunching the broken glass that lay underfoot from the frozen battle nearby. She raised her gloved hands, a ball of crimson energy appearing between her palms, growing rapidly larger.

Sill on the ground, his back against the building, Stephen brought his hand to the center of his chest, activating his shield and willing it to project a force field in front of him that would protect him from the attack…but nothing happened. What has she done to his powers?

Just as Panika was about to throw her 'ball-o'-death', the time-stop effect ended, all of the sounds and color of a world in motion returning to their surroundings.

The ball dissipated as Panika turned in surprise, barely managing to duck as Ornyk was thrown their way, crashing into the building just above where the White Ranger was crouched. Stephen let out a cry of surprise, rolling aside as Ornyk collapsed to the ground right where he'd been sitting.

Pressing his advantage, Helios ran forward, rudely shoving Panika aside, bringing one of his bony blades down at Ornyk, who, having misplaced his sword, blocked it with an armored forearm.

Caught off-guard, Panika fell to the ground, scraping herself on the concrete and broken glass.

For a moment, it looked as though she were about to explode, the fury on her face implying that there were only moments to get to safety before she went on a full-blown, fire-and-brimstone, death-to-all type rampage, but then she simply burst into tears.

Stephen, strangely, had to stifle the urge to go over and comfort her.

She got up and stomped angrily. "Mean boys! _Mean_!" she yelled, before teleporting away in a column of crimson fire.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So," Fox said, as she and her three fellow Rangers sat idly on the beach, gazing out at the water. "Do you think she's beaten him yet?"

"I could always become a squid or something. Go and help," Angel offered.

There was a sudden, muffled BOOM, and a plume of water burst up from the otherwise smooth surface of the ocean.

"Or not," he finished.

Moments later, Kalen emerged from the ocean, her armor perfectly dry.

"Can we go home now?" she asked.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Saba struggled to free himself from the wall of solid light in which his blade was embedded. He could hear Panika and Stephen speaking, but he couldn't see what was happening from this angle, and his head wasn't made to turn. Nor could he speak, his mouth was bound shut, and he had no hands with which to untie it.

Abruptly, a surge of smoky white light shone through him. He felt himself begin to change, his blade becoming longer and thinner, losing its curved edge and straightening into a thin, cylindrical rod. His hilt changed as well, becoming a handguard, and he felt his head shift like clay, his neck lengthening, eyes moving to the sides of his head, his nose and ears vanishing entirely and some sort of protuberance pushing out from his forehead.

"All fixed!" he heard Panika exclaim.

Renewing his struggles to extricate himself, Saba found that his new blade was able to wiggle a bit inside the wide groove that had fit his old blade so snugly. Squirming with all his might, the sentient…whatever he was now…managed to pull himself free, twisting around midair to have a look at the fight above.

He zeroed in on the figures in midair, just in time to be dazzled by a burst of red light. The sound of something solid striking the building to his right reached him, followed by Stephen's groan of pain. As his vision cleared, he saw Panika walking towards the downed White Ranger, a massive energy ball building between her hands…

Saba started to fly forwards, intent on somehow stopping her, but just then Myk's (Where _was_ Myk, anyway?) time-stop effect ended, letting the world come back to life. After a brief scuffle involving Helios and Ornyk, Panika vanished.

"Stephen! Over here!" Saba called.

The White Ranger turned and squinted at the weapon. "Saba? Is that you?" the Ranger said, as he trotted over. "What happened to you?"

"You look a bit different yourself," Saba said, motioning for Stephen to turn towards one of the few unshattered windows in the area.

Stephen turned. Upon seeing his reflection, he blinked.

He looked like nothing so much as a humanoid Titanis. Every trace of the White Tiger was gone from his armor, replaced with the image of his zord. His helmet bore the face of a brachiosaur, its mouth his visor, its eyes at his temples, and something on his forehead resembling a handle: the protuberance through which brachiosaurs, when they'd lived, had once breathed. His bracers and boots now bore golden claws, purely ornamental, which seemed pattered after Titanis' fore and hind paws. His shield no longer bore the White Tiger image, but was now the spitting image of his massive zord's chestplate, a row of five circular cannon barrels. A pair of laser cannons, albeit smaller ones, were mounted on his back, clearly designed to swing down and sit on his shoulders, much like those formed by Titanis' tail.

As for Saba, he had gone from a tiger-headed scimitar to a staff of some sort, his head and neck those of a brachiosaurus. The only thing unchanged about the pair was their color. Both were still a pure, snowy-white, with their detailing done in a brilliant gold.

"She fixed us," Saba said. "She realigned us with the animal on your coin, Stephen. I didn't think it was possible."

"So what do I call you now?" he asked. "The Brachio Staff?"

"I think I look more like a rapier, personally," Saba replied. "But I'm still me. Saba will do."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Myk drew Dorn, and was once again about to slice his way through Panika's firewall, when the barrier crumbled on its own, shattering into beads of red light which vanished as they bounced off the asphalt below.

On the other side, Ornyk and the Fire Turtle were still going strong, sword and bone striking with enough force to shatter stone…an impression that was proved more than once as a blow was dodged, striking the concrete instead and carving deep furrows into it.

Also on the other side, calmly watching the fight, was-

"Stephen? Is that you? What happened to-"

Stephen waved the question aside. "Long story. What took you so long?"

"Hmm? Oh, Panika summoned a few dozen Tengas on the other side to keep me busy," the Bronze Ranger explained. "I think she was just after _you_. Any idea why?"

"What? Um. No. Not a clue," Stephen said, somewhat nervously.

The sounds of battle abruptly ceased.

Myk turned back towards the pair of combatants. Ornyk had Helios in a sort of a headlock, the blade of his sword against the reptile's throat. Helios had gone limp.

Ornyk calmly released him. Helios took a few steps away from him, then turned and bowed.

"He yields the battle," Myk said.

"Yeah, I got that," the White Ranger quipped.

Multicolored flashes lit the street as the others reappeared alongside Myk and Stephen.

"What'd we miss?" Fox asked.

"Ornyk won and Stephen got a makeover," Kalen guessed.

"And now, I'm off," Ornyk said, sheathing his sword. "It's been fun, but I've places to go and people to…well, the details would only upset you."

"What about him?" Angel asked.

"He's going to stay with you for a while," Ornyk said.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I can't believe we're actually keeping him," Myk said.

"Well, you heard Ornyk. He's right, we couldn't just let him wander San Francisco by himself. And you were the one against killing him," Lolli said.

"He didn't deserve-"

"Yaya, I heard the spiel when you said it the first time," the Green Ranger cut him off, finishing the program she was writing.

"There we go," she said to the assembled group of Rangers on the Oasis' bridge. "The simudeck should now perfectly simulate his ideal environment. We can keep him there until either the others get back, or the repairs to the Astro Megaship are finished, and we can shuttle his scaly ass back home."

"Why not just teleport him?" Fox asked.

"We can't. His molecular structure has gone…weird…it's shifting randomly, making it impossible for the teleport system's harmonics to get a lock on him…"

"What?" Kalen asked.

"To be perfectly honest, I think it's something Ornyk did to him during the fight. Something that got triggered the moment we transported him onto the ship."

"Meaning that Ornyk _wants_ us to have him aboard," Fox said. "Any idea why?"

"Afraid not," Lolli said. "But I'll be keeping an eye on him. Meantime, Stephen, you need to go down to the Magitech Lab. Angel and I want to work out exactly what Panika did to you."

Stephen nodded, walking off the bridge.

"While we're on the subject of teleporting," Kalen said. "You said you _knew_ that Panika's grenade monster could be teleported?"

"I was fairly certain, yes," Lolli said. "Why?"

"So why," Kalen asked, "Didn't we just teleport it into deep space? Or the sun? Or somewhere equally not our problem?"

Lolli started at her for a moment, mouth open, then snapped it shut and glared at her. "I'm not talking to you anymore," She said petulantly, turning back to her terminal.


	38. Conversational Interlude IV

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 38: Conversational Interlude IV

"Terina? Terina, wake up!"

Terina sat bolt upright, looking around wildly. Her eyes…hazel, supposedly, but they shone yellow, like a cat's, when the light struck them right…scanned the quarters the female Terran Rangers had been given. Mara still lay in her bed, sound asleep, perfectly oblivious.

Electra took a step back, looking visibly relieved that the Yellow Ranger was finally awake. She ran a hand through her dyed-blue hair nervously.

"You were having a nightmare. Took me like ten minutes to wake you up."

Terina swallowed, then nodded, breathing deeply.

"That was a pretty bad one. I didn't even know you could _do_ that with toast."

Terina's eyes widened again. Her head swiveled up to face the Black Ranger.

"You saw? You saw my dream?"

Electra shrugged nervously. "Well, yeah. Sorry. I couldn't help it. You were dreaming so loudly, it woke me up."

A stabbing pain lanced up Electra's arm as Terina grabbed it, her small but strong fingers squeezing the limb.

"Electra, please, you have to promise not to tell anyone. You _have_ to, I haven't told anyone about _your_ secret, you can't-"

"Terina, _stop_!"

Electra jerked her arm away, rubbing the sore part with her other hand. The alien girl was absurdly strong, especially for one so small. There would be bruises there tomorrow, she could tell.

"First of all, ow. Second, I don't _know_ any secret. All I saw was a nightmare. A bad one, granted. A weird one, definitely. But no secret. And whatever it is, it's clearly _not_ a happy secret, so I think I'm better off not knowing what it is."

"But…what about that time you went inside my head? Didn't you see…"

Electra shook her head. "The things you see in dreams and hallucinations aren't easy to interpret. Even normal thoughts can be tricky. It's all symbolism and subtext….and I don't care what psychiatrists say, not _everything_ in a dream _means_ something. Sometimes a flying cupcake is just a flying cupcake. So I know nothing. Okay?"

Terina nodded slowly, resting her head back against the pillow.

There was a somewhat awkward pause, then Electra spoke.

"Look, it's none of my business, but…you've been a bit loopy ever since we were ambushed. Are you going to be okay?"

"You…noticed that, huh?" Terina absently rubbed the makeshift bandage on her arm. It was often hard to tell just how aware Electra was of her surroundings, given the perpetual air of woolgathering she gave off.

"Yeah, well, you're not exactly hard to read," the Australian replied. "If you're in a good mood, like you usually are, you skate around the ship smiling like an idiot. If not…"

"Your eyes don't match," Terina said.

Electra smirked. "All hail Terina Loren, queen of the non sequiter. You have no room to talk, by the way. Your eyes are YELLOW."

Terina giggled. There was no real cause for it…she just felt like she needed to giggle.

"To answer your question…yes. I'm going to be fine. This has happened before. I'll get over it. Just like last time. And all the times before that."

"No offense, but if this has happened before and it still does this to you, then you haven't really gotten over it."

With that, Electra walked back over to her own bed and climbed in, pulling up the covers and snuggling into her pillow.

"Electra?"

"Mmm."

"Sorry about your arm."

"I'll live. But only if you let me sleep."

Terina smiled, then snuggled down into her own pillow, not to rise again until late the next morning, when the smell of breakfast wafted into the room.


	39. Guard Duty

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 39: Guard Duty

"So how's this for logic?" Jareth asked, pulling aside the long coat that came with his Gold Ranger armor, revealing his posterior. "I put on the lion suit, and LOSE the tail."

"Very strange. Now please stop pointing your ass at me," Deacon said.

Jareth sighed, letting his coat fall back into place. The warehouse they were guarding was huge, but relatively empty. Small wooden and metal crates were stacked here and there, marked with unreadable alien letters.

"So what do you think is in these?" the Gold Ranger asked.

"Don't ask me. You're the one who can read any language."

"I don't have my contacts when I'm morphed. Hel, I don't even think I actually have eyes."

"What?"

"I have a theory that we don't actually have heads while in Ranger form. I mean, we don't have anything else, lungs, hearts, whatnot. Why should we have heads?"

"But we can _see_ that we have heads when we remove our helmets."

"Just the liquid magic, given the appearance of our heads by our residual self-image."

Deacon stared blankly at him for a moment before replying.

"You've put _way_ too much thought into this."

"I guess that's why I don't have my tail anymore. The change was made to my human form, not my Ranger form…"

"Once again, too much thought."

"Oh, I think about all kinds of stuff."

Deacon tilted his head, rattling off a few suggestions. "Why didn't the crew of Gilligan's Island just fix the hole in the boat? Why don't they make the whole airplane out of that indestructible black box stuff? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

"Nah, I know the answers to those. It would have ended the series, it'd be too heavy to fly, and the egg."

"How do you know it's the egg?"

"Because dinosaurs laid eggs, and they were around before chickens."

"Ah. They never specified a _chicken_ egg, did they?"

"Nope!" the Gold Ranger said, grinning smugly beneath his helmet. "Besides, even if they had, anyone who understands how evolution works knows that at some point, a chicken egg was laid by something that wasn't a chicken. The egg came first anyway. So how are we sure that this is the warehouse that will be raided?"

Accustomed to his best friend's mannerisms, the Silver Ranger wasn't even phased by the abrupt change in topic.

"Verona had the contents of all the local warehouses moved into this one. If they raid anywhere else, they'll get…air."

"Gasp! Not our precious air!" Jareth joked. "Hey, wait a minute…," he said, looking around at the pathetic number of boxes. "Are you telling me that this is ALL they have?"

"In this sector, anyway. A few hundred miles."

"They really have fallen on hard times, haven't they?"

"A-yup."

Jareth wandered over to where Deacon sat atop one of the nearby stacks of crates, peeking over his shoulder at the datapad the Silver Ranger held in his gauntleted hand.

"What are you reading, anyway?"

"History homework," Deacon said. "Remember that peace conference thing Zord-1 mentioned? I got to thinking…_both_ leaders were killed, right? Well, if I belonged to one of the factions, and wanted to assassinate the other side's leader, the conference would be a good venue for it…but why take out my own leader?"

"Hmm." Jareth rubbed the chin of his helmet. "Supposing I was next in line for leader. And I didn't like the way the current leader did things. I could usurp the throne, _and_ strike a blow to the enemy by killing both."

Deacon tilted his head to the side. "That's a pretty good theory. So our suspects are Verona and Barthello, then…"

"Who?"

"Barthello. He's the guy running the Kerovan forces." The Silver Ranger sighed, setting aside the datapad. "I just know there's something off about this whole story. Like the reason Verona gave that the whole war started in the first place. Seems a bit lame, don't you think?"

"A bit, yeah, but keep in mind that's not necessarily the real reason," Jareth said, picking up the datapad and perusing its files. "It's just the story as Verona was told it. The real reason for the initial conflict is so far buried under all the blood that it really doesn't matter anymore."

The Silver Ranger nodded.

"You know, we really aren't charging enough for helping out," the Gold Ranger said, trying to steer the conversation towards something slightly less morbid. "Check out how much Magna's getting paid."

Deacon glanced at the screen, letting out a low whistle. "This is, what? His monthly income?"

"Oh, no. No way the Darians could afford that. This is how much they've paid him since he started working for them…hmm."

"What?"

"Seems he started working for them about a year ago, right after the assassination. Before that, he worked for the Kerovans."

"The Darians must have offered more."

"I guess…"

Any further conjecture was cut short as the far wall of the warehouse exploded inward, allowing a large, bulky blue tank to steamroll inside, skidding to a halt.

There was a moment's pause.

"What in Hel's name is _that_?"

"Trouble," Deacon said grimly, summoning his swords.

The doors of the Megatank opened and five people in monochromatic suits emerged; one each in Red, Blue, Black, Yellow, and Pink.

"The Kerovan Power Rangers, I presume?" Jareth asked, hand on the black, lion-headed sword-hilt that hung at his side.

"Cassie, Carlos, start loading," the Red Ranger said.

The Pink and Black Rangers nodded, beginning to snatch up crates and load them into the tank.

The other three drew the small blue guns from their holsters and fired them at the Gold and Silver Rangers.

Jareth grabbed the edge of his coat and pulled it around in front of him, Dracula-style, the energy blasts glancing off the enchanted fabric, whilst Deacon simply stood still, allowing his vest-shield to absorb the attacks.

"I'll take these three. You save the goods."

"Gotcha," Jareth said. He dropped his coat and raced forwards, leaping up over the Red, Blue, and Yellow Rangers' heads, doing several pointless midair flips, and landing in front of the Megatank's entrance, facing the Black and Pink Rangers as they were on their way in, arms full of crates.

Jareth grinned, drawing the sword-hilt from his belt. In a snap, a long shaft emerged from the small handle, and a curved blade swung out, forming a scythe.

"Hello. I'm the Gold Ranger, and I'll be your executioner this evening."

With a crash, the blade of the Lyonscythe flashed through the air, knocking the crates out of both Rangers' hands. As they hit the ground, Jareth cackled like a madman, twirling his weapon like a baton.

**"Lunar Lance!"**

Sparks flew as the black metal rod stopped the scythe in its tracks.

"Ooh, you have toys, too, huh?"

The Black Ranger let out a grunt as he hooked the crescent-moon at the end of his lance with Kyra's curved blade, then yanked, jerking the weapon out of the Gold Ranger's hands. The crescent-moon was then thrust forward against Jareth's throat, pinning him to the wall of the Megatank.

Had the Black Ranger been paying more attention, he may have noticed that there was never any sound of metal striking the ground, as there should have been after a weapon was thrown across the room.

The Gold Ranger raised his hands in surrender, but there was laughter in his voice as he spoke.

"All right, I give!"

Twin beams of gold light lanced through the air, striking the Black Ranger in the back. He screamed as the powerful rays pierced his armor, emerging from his chest and leaving a pair of holes in the metal walls of the Megatank, just missing Jareth's head.

The Gold Ranger held out his hand, and his scythe eagerly flew back into his grip.

"But I don't," Kyra said smugly, his leonine face grinning.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Astro Axe!" **

Deacon turned around just in time to duck as something resembling a blue tornado whizzed past him. Realizing that it had missed, it slowed to reveal itself as the Blue Ranger, holding out a large, high-tech blue tomahawk.

Decompressing one of his diamond-saws, Deacon threw it like a large shuriken, the whirling blade striking the axe and dragging it, along with the Blue Ranger's arm, into the wall, where it stuck between the axe's blade and its handle, pinning it to the metal.

The Yellow Ranger pulled her gun on him, but before she could fire, he dropped down into a crouch.

**"Razor Rush!"** he invoked, his voice echoing upon itself.

Right before his opponents' eyes, the Silver Ranger melted into a silver streak that flashed through the air faster than the eye could follow, leaving behind a trail of 'shadow Rangers'. It blasted past the Yellow Ranger, and before she could even cry out at the stabbing pain in her hand, her Astro Blaster was falling to the ground, sliced into three separate pieces.

It continued to rocket past, each time striking sparks from her armor…though the Blue Ranger got some too, as he returned to the fray, finally having removed his axe from the wall.

Andros squinted, drawing his own Astro Blaster. Splitting it into two separate guns, he took careful aim and somehow managed to time his shots so that…

TSEW! TSEW!

A pair of small explosions appeared, showers of red and silver sparks falling to the floor, followed shortly thereafter by the Silver Ranger, one laser blast having pierced his head and the other leaving a scorch mark in the front of his shield.

Andros reassembled and holstered his blaster, turning to Ashley and TJ.

"Are you both okay? TJ? Ashley?"

"We're fine, Andros," Ashley said.

"Then let's go help Cassie and Carlos deal with-"

TJ let out an abrupt scream as a stabbing pain lanced up his leg.

Looking down, Andros and Ashley saw that his foot had been pierced by a short, silver sword with edges carved from clear crystal. Blood was pouring out from around the blade, and TJ's screams only intensified when Deacon pulled the sword free, causing the Blue Ranger to fall to the floor.

The Silver Ranger got to his feet, what remained of the holes in his armor visibly healing.

"No way," Ashley said, sounding awed.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Carlos!" the Pink Ranger cried. Her gaze shifted from the fallen Ranger to the one still standing before her.

"Oh, relax. It's just a flesh wound."

**"Satellite Stunner!"** The small, pink, dish-shaped ray gun digitally synthesized itself into existence in the Pink Kerovan Ranger's hand. She brought it to bear on Jareth.

Instinctively, Jareth took a deep breath, then let it out in a scream. The air rippled in front of his metal mouthplate as the shout blasted forth from his face as a deafening roar, meeting the shining pink energy rings midair.

The rings shattered under the force of the blast, the wall of amplified sound slowly driving back the flowing row of pink circles. Just as the scream reached her, the Pink Ranger ceased her assault and leapt aside, rolling to her feet, allowing the scream to strike the column of crates that stood behind her. The thin, weak metal of the containers burst instantly under the force of the sonic blast.

Jareth stopped screaming, blinking as small, sealed food packets from within the exploded crates rained down around him.

"Sonic scream," he mused, mostly to himself. "Well, that's new."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Ashley, get TJ out of here!"

"But-"

"Go!"

The Yellow Ranger frowned at Andros, who was engaged in a heated swordfight with this mysterious Silver Ranger, then down at the wounded Blue Ranger.

His armor was fading, as always happened when one of them experienced enough pain to overload the neural interface of their morphers. He was bleeding...a lot…and probably wouldn't survive without medical help.

But Andros seemed to be holding his own. She knew, better than just about anyone, that he could take care of himself.

A determined look settling on her face, Ashley picked up her friend and raced towards the Megatank, leaving the Red Ranger to fight alone.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was a groan from the ground near Jareth's feet.

The Gold Ranger looked down at the wounded Black Ranger, frowning. He should have healed up and gotten back on his feet by now. Instead, he was lying on the ground as though mortally injured.

Abruptly, his armor began to fade, the solid black metal being replaced by a glowing, neon green digital wireframe. Beneath was a Hispanic-looking man who looked as though he was barely conscious. The wireframe faded out entirely, and Jareth was startled to see a pair of holes in the man's shirt, right where Kyra's blasts had pierced his armor. The dark fabric looked wet, and had it not been black, Jareth had little doubt that he'd be seeing bloodstains spreading across the material.

He looked frustratingly familiar.

Jareth sighed in resignation, crouching next to the fallen Ranger. He placed his armored hands above the Black Ranger's wounds, a nimbus of golden light beginning to shine from his palms.

"Satellite Stunner-Booster Mode!"

A row of shimmering pink rings caught him upside the head in his moment of distraction, knocking him to the ground.

_What_, he thought, _does everyone have against my head?_

Shaking it off, he raised his legs and kicked back up to his feet, to find the Pink Ranger pointing her gun at him. The gun seemed larger this time; evidently she'd combined it with the small blue sidearm she carried, making a more powerful weapon.

**"Ray of Ho**-ack!" Jareth began to invoke his special attack, only to be blasted by the weapon again, this time in the stomach.

Before he could retaliate, the Pink Ranger rushed forward and scooped up Black, carrying him into the Megatank.

Moments later, the Yellow Ranger ran past as well, carrying the Blue Ranger in her arms, his armor in the beginning stages of fading out, the wireframe visible. As soon as she entered the tank, the doors slid shut and the vehicle screeched to life, reversing out through the hole it had made in the wall, turning around, and motoring off as fast as its multiple wheels could carry it.

Jareth blinked. "Umm…Yeah! You'd better run!"

A flash of red caught his eye, and he saw that there was still one more Ranger to contend with.

"Well," he said to himself. "Wouldn't want to miss this…"

And with that, he ran over to Deacon's side.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Of the five Kerovan Rangers, only the Red one was left standing.

Deacon and Jareth exchanged a glance.

"Match you for it?" Jareth asked.

A quick game of rock-paper-scissors followed.

"Heehee. Mine!" Deacon announced victoriously.

"I gotta stop throwing scissors every time," Jareth grumbled. "All right, go beat him up."

Jareth wandered off to the side to watch as Deacon took a step towards the Red Kerovan Ranger.

**"Silver Swords!"**

**"Spiral Saber!"**

Thus called, the weapons materialized in their respective Rangers' hands.

Andros rushed forwards, trying to impale the Silver Ranger on the spinning point of his drill, but Deacon nimbly stepped aside, planting a boot on the Red Ranger's posterior as he passed and sending him sprawling.

"Oh, come on," Deacon said. "If I knew you were this bad, I'd have left you to Jareth."

"Hey!" Jareth said.

"What? It's true!"

Andros pulled himself to his armored feet and leapt at Deacon, swinging his drill-sword. The spinning metal cone struck sparks from the diamond-edge of Deacon's blade.

Grinning, the Silver Ranger swung low with his left hand, using his second sword to carve a deep gash in the armor covering Andros' torso.

Andros staggered back, clutching the wound. Both Jareth and Deacon were astonished to drops of blood….actual, red, human blood…fall to the dirty floor of the warehouse.

"What in the…"

"Yeah, these guys actually bleed when you cut them," Jareth confirmed. "Go figure."

Andros growled, drawing the small blue gun from his side. In a twinkling, he'd combined it with his Spiral Saber to form a rifle-type gun. A digital wireframe, similar to the one that had appeared when he'd first summoned his weapon, appeared at the pointed tip, forming a dual-pronged attachment, which quickly became solid.

"Spiral Saber-Booster Mode!"

The drill began to spin, rotating the prongs.

As energy crackled along the length of the drill, forming an orb of light between the spinning prongs, Andros took aim at the Silver Ranger and fired.

Deacon leapt aside, rolling to his feet as he hit the ground. Andros fired again, and this time Deacon ducked…allowing the softball-sized sphere to fly right over him, striking Jareth smack dab in the middle of his visor. The Gold Ranger was blown back into a pile of crates, which splintered under his weight.

"Jareth! You okay?"

"No I'm not okay!" the Gold Ranger yelled, crawling free of the wreckage. His helmet was dented inwards, and large cracks spiderwebbed across the normally glossy black surface of his visor. He massaged his sore faceplate as the metal began to undent, the cracks slowly sealing themselves seamlessly. "That's the third time in the last two days someone's shot me in the head! Do I have a freaking bullseye painted on my forehead? Should I start throwing paperclips at people?"

"Chill, I got this." Deacon stowed his swords and drew one of the tiny disks from his belt. In an instant, it grew from the size of a coin to the size of a radial saw blade, its razor-keen edges composed of pure diamond.

Deacon twisted his body, then turned and threw the blade like a Frisbee…right at Andros' head. The Red Ranger ducked just in time, the blade passing harmlessly over him. Standing, he prepared to fire again.

The diamond-blade struck the far off wall of the warehouse, rebounding off of the steel, the crystalline edges striking sparks from the metal. The blade bounced at an angle, careening off the rectangular walls and heading back towards the Rangers.

Just as Andros was about to fire, the blade whizzed past him, neatly slicing off the pronged tip of his weapon. Deprived of its focusing tip, the rifle exploded, knocking Andros onto his back.

Deacon deftly caught the soaring blade when next it flew past him.

Jareth shook his head. "Did you actually _plan_ that?"

"You know, I actually _did_," Deacon replied, sounding just as surprised as his friend.

Not beaten yet, Andros rose to his feet and raised his arm, fist towards the ceiling, revealing a small morpher-shaped device attached to his right wrist.

**"Red Ranger-Battleize!"**

The Red Ranger punched a button on the device, prompting to announce to the world, in a digitally rendered voice, "**Three**!'

A powerful surge of energy rushed through the room, the Red Ranger's armor glowing a violent crimson. Seeming to appear from out of nowhere, solid pieces of thick red armor appeared, clamping onto his body. Something resembling a jetpack appeared, snapping onto his back, a pair of transparent red wings snapped out from the jetpack's casing. Twin missile launchers materialized on his back, and a headpiece snapped down over the Red Ranger's faceplate.

Firing the jets on his back, Andros lifted into the air and hung there, hovering.

"Woah," Jareth said. 'How'd you _do_ that?"

A missile to the torso answered his question, blasting the Gold Ranger back into the wall.

Deacon flinched, feeling the heat of the blast through his armor.

"Okay," he said, twirling his swords. "We can play rough."

One of the Silver Swords flew through the air like a rocket, bridging the short distance between the Silver and Red Rangers, but Andros deftly knocked it aside, swinging his leg in a wide arc and striking the side of the blade with his foot as it flew, deflecting the missile and causing it to bury itself to the hilt in the wall.

Deacon dived towards Andros, swinging his remaining blade, but the Battlized Ranger caught the diamond-edged weapon effortlessly, twisting his wrist and snapping the metal column in half, leaving Deacon holding a useless sword-hilt.

Or almost useless. A small section of blade remained attached to the handle, ending in a jagged point where it had been snapped off, and this point Deacon rammed home, piercing Andros' ribs. Fortunately for the Red Ranger, his battleized armor was a good deal thicker than his ordinary Ranger suit, and though there was an inch of diamond blade remaining, less than a centimeter of it has actually sank into his skin.

Still, a centimeter of sharp crystal and metal stabbing into one's side is enough to send a surge of pain through just about anyone.

Andros gritted his teeth against the sudden, stabbing pain. Throwing aside the broken blade he still held, he reached forward with his left arm, grasping the Silver Ranger's helmet and holding him at arm's length. Making a fist with his right hand, he directed red energy down his arm and into his fist until the appendage glowed like a crimson star, then delivered a supercharged punch to Deacon's stomach, sending the Silver Ranger flying back to land several feet away, facing the ceiling.

As Deacon struggled to regain his footing, the headpiece on Andros' back fell forward over his helmet, the targeting sensors within his visor locking in on his opponent. The missiles mounted on his wings snapped down into position.

Deacon had been about to draw his circular saw-blades, but seeing that Andros planned to fire at him, he grinned and replaced the tiny discs at his belt.

The fiery red missiles streaked across the room, striking the Silver Ranger…but instead of creating the devastating explosions they should have, each released only a tiny sphere of fire and smoke, and even that was quickly absorbed by the ornately engraved shield that Deacon wore, the deep grooves glowing as they channeled the energy of the missiles down into the diamond in the center of his chest.

Deacon smiled, the stylized elephant's-head in the center of the diamond shining like a miniature sun.

"I really _love_ it when people try to shoot me," he said.

Andros was stunned, and even if he hadn't been, there would have been no time to react before Deacon curled into a ball, the energy he'd taken lifting him up into the air.

Jareth, having seen this coming since Deacon had first put his saw-blades away, grabbed the edge of his coat and dropped to the ground, pulling the protective garment up to cover his entire body as Deacon flung his limbs wide, a sphere of silver flames erupting from his body, annihilating everything in its path.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Andros staggered to his feet, his head spinning, covered with dirt and soot from the blast. His Battleized Red Ranger armor had been replaced by his normal clothes, a red shirt covered by a gray jacket, with pants to match, a patch on his left breast displaying the same row of five colored squares that he'd had emblazoned across the front of his armor. The outfit was torn and ashen, and a slash had been torn across the stomach of his shirt, revealing a deep slice across his skin from where Deacon had struck with his sword. Fresh blood trickled from the newer wound in his side where the Silver Ranger had stabbed him.

Deacon abruptly fell from where he'd been hovering, his feet striking the armored floor of the warehouse with a loud metallic clang. The blast hadn't injured him, of course, since he'd been the one who'd created it, but he seemed somehow winded, breathing hard in order to remain standing.

"You're still standing?" he asked, astonished, as the wounded Red Ranger met his gaze. "I _am_ impressed."

Behind him came a rustling sound as Jareth emerged from the folds of his protective coat, rising to his feet and dusting himself off.

"You want to warn me next time you're going to do that?"

"Eh, where'd be the fun? Now," he Silver Ranger asked, turning back towards Andros. "What do we do with him?"

"Take him prisoner, I guess."

"Never," Andros managed to growl. He looked ready to fight them to the death, despite the fact that he seemed to be struggling just to stand. He raised his hand in Deacon's direction, glaring at him.

Deacon took a few steps towards the defeated Kerovan, then paused, wondering why he was no longer moving forward. Glancing downwards, he saw that his feet were no longer touching the floor, his entire body being suspended a few inches above the ground.

"Woah…how'd you do _that_?" Jareth asked, sounding fascinated.

Making a backhanded motion as though to slap someone, Andros telekinetically threw Deacon back into the Gold Ranger, sending them both flying across what remained of the warehouse to crash into a pile of rubble that had once been a wall.

"Ow! Oooh," Deacon grumbled. "When I get my hands on you…I was gonna go easy on you, too…"

"Just get off me," Jareth grumbled.

Deacon climbed out of the rubble, searching wildly about for the Red Ranger, but he appeared to be gone.

A moment later, something red rocketed across the sky…Andros, once again wearing his super-armor, complete with wings.

"Looks like he got away," Jareth said, straightening his coat.

"And I think we're in trouble," Deacon added, gesturing towards the remains of the warehouse.

The far side of the long, rectangular building was still intact, apart from the hole that had been made by the Megatank's entrance. The near side, however, had been completely decimated, the walls a smoldering ruin where walls still remained, most of the ceiling gone entirely, and all of the supplies, of course, ruined. The sky outside was a putrid yellow-gray, years of pollution from the war obscuring all traces of the sun or stars from above, making the situation seem still more bleak. As if to emphasize the damage, a single lighting fixture, hanging from the broken ceiling by one tenuous cable, chose that moment to fall to the ground with a small crash.

"Who's 'we'?" Jareth asked. "_You_ did it."

Deacon groaned.

"Well," he said. "Let's get back to Verona. She'll want to hear about this."

"You go," Jareth replied. "You can explain what you did to their goodies. I'll stay here in case they come back."

The Silver Ranger sighed, but didn't argue. He turned and left.

Once he was gone, Jareth sat down on one of the remaining, only slightly damaged crates. Had he had time to examine the contents of the boxes that had filled this corner of the warehouse before the blast, he'd have known that this section had been used to store munitions. Had he been able to read Darian script, he'd have recognized the label etched into the metal surface of the crate as a biohazard symbol. Had the box been sitting at a different angle, he may have noticed that one corner was torn open, a faint, barely visible green mist shimmering into the air from the rupture.

None of these things were the case, however, and the Gold Ranger noticed nothing of the sort. Instead, he recalled the battle that had just taken place. Specifically, that trick the Red Ranger had pulled. He toyed idly with the Summoner on his wrist.

"'Battleize', huh?" he asked of no one in particular. "I wonder…"


	40. Exposure

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 40: Exposure

The seconds seemed to tick by, excruciatingly slowly. Cassie paced back and forth anxiously, her fingers crossed.

After an eternity, the doors to the operating room opened and Draffut emerged, stripping off his bloody gloves.

"How are they?" the Pink Ranger asked, rushing over to him. "Are they okay?"

"That depends on your definition of 'okay,'" Draffut replied, but he didn't seem terribly concerned. "I'd rather not repeat myself…where are the others?"

"Andros and Ashley are in the conference room," Cassie replied.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Andros produced a small remote control and pointed it at the screen at the front of the large conference room. The screen clicked on, displaying the battle between the Kerovans and the Silver and Gold Rangers.

"Two new Rangers," the Red Kerovan Ranger said.

"And powers like nothing we've ever seen before," Ashley agreed. "The style of their armor…it sort of matches the Terrans. Do you think these are their friends? The ones we agreed to help rescue?"

The large chair at the end of the conference table in the center of the room swiveled around, revealing a young male Kerovan with piercing green eyes and jet-black hair, striped with streaks of walnut-brown.

"If they are," he said in a decisive voice. "Then the deal is off. These two are clearly working for the Darians. They're not hostages at all."

Andros and Ashley exchanged a glance.

"With all due respect, Barthello," Andros said. "It might not be wise to back out on our deal with the Terrans. Not now that we've seen what they can do."

"I'm with Andros. It wouldn't be smart to upset them."

"Well, there's a shock. You're on your boytoy's side," Barthello said snidely. "I'm not wasting any resources trying to help those two. Especially not after they landed two of ours in the hospital wing." He considered. "But you do make a good point. It would be most unwise to incur their wrath, after we've seen the sort of power they wield. We should lead them to believe that we still intend to honor our end of the deal."

"But-" Ashley began.

"But nothing. With the sort of power they have at their disposal, they're clearly resources we can't afford to lose. Ashley. I want you to take them to the science department. See if you can figure out how their powers work. Perhaps we can replicate their technology."

"Okay…"

"And not a word about this little encounter. If they ask, tell them that Carlos and TJ were injured during a scuffle in the Neutral Zone. Incidentally, do you know either of them, Ashley? One of the Terrans...the short one, the female…she mentioned that the one called 'Deacon' had met you?"

Ashley frowned. "No, I never knew a Deacon. I don't know what she was talking about. Frankly, that little Yellow Ranger seems a bit unstable."

"I noticed that, too," Andros said. "Ever since our fight in the Neutral Zone, she was acting as though she were on the verge of a breakdown. But she's been fine since she woke up this morning."

"That wound of hers healed quickly," Ashley said offhandedly. "There's nothing left now but a tiny scar. I wonder why she wouldn't let Draffut look at it. Maybe she didn't want us wasting resources, if she knew how quickly it'd recover."

"Did I hear my name?" a voice asked, as the doors opened and Draffut walked in, followed by Cassie.

"How are they?" Ashley asked immediately.

"Carlos and TJ are both stable," Draffut replied, and Ashley let out a breath of relief she hadn't been aware she'd been holding.

"However, there are a few things I'd like to talk to you about. First of all, TJ's surgery went well. The reconstruction of the bones in his foot is complete, and he will walk again, perhaps even fight. But not for at least six months."

Barthello cursed under his breath.

"What interests me more, at the moment, is Carlos' condition."

"Why's that?" Ashley asked.

"Now, I don't know what hit him…"

Andros quickly rewound the video and replayed the scene of Kyra's blasts piercing the Black Ranger's torso.

Barthello let out a low whistle. "Right through neo-titanium armor. Remarkable weaponry."

"It also pierced the Megatank's hull. Went right through it," Ashley said.

"Ah. Well. The blasts, for some reason, did not cauterize the wound like a blaster normally would. His heart was pierced. He should have died within minutes. But his wounds appear to have…healed, somehow. It's as though they occurred weeks ago, if not months."

"How is that possible?" Barthello asked.

"It's not," Draffut replied.

Cassie frowned. "Wait…the Gold Ranger. He did something."

"Did something?" Draffut repeated.

"The Megatank's onboard camera caught everything," Ashley said. "Play it, Andros."

The fight played out on the screen again.

"Right there. Rewind it."

Curious, Andros rewound the scene again and let it play, this time watching as the Gold Ranger laid his hands on Carlos, the amber light shining from his palms.

"Zoom in," Barthello ordered. "Enhance."

The camera lens zoomed, focusing on Carlos' wounds. As Jareth's light shone on him, the wounds healed, growing visibly smaller, the flow of blood slowing.

"A Ranger with healing abilities," Draffut said. "Most remarkable. Some sort of radiation, perhaps, that accelerates cell regeneration."

"If I'd known what he was doing, I wouldn't have stopped him," Cassie admitted, looking guilty. Ashley laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"If we had that Ranger," Barthello mused. "We could restore the Black and Blue…no pun intended…Rangers to full fighting capacity. As well as any of our other injured soldiers."

"So will we be retrieving the Terrans' friends after all?" Andros asked.

The Kerovan leader considered. "First thing's first. I want that scientific evaluation. Find out if we can replicate this technology. Find out if all the Rangers have it, or just Gold."

"And if we can't? If Gold is the only healer?" Cassie asked.

"Then he's far too valuable to let remain in Darian hands."

"Excuse me," Draffut said. "Am I to understand that you are considering reneging on your deal with the Terran Rangers?"

"Not that it's any of your business, medic," Barthello replied coldly. "But our agreement with the Terrans stated that we would help to rescue the Darians' hostages in return for their assistance. These two are clearly not hostages, now are they?'

"A technicality. Shaky ground at best. It does not excuse-"

"Thank you," Barthello said. "Haven't you patients to look after?"

"I do at that," Draffut said, acid dripping from his words. "Good day, Andros, Rangers. I will keep you posted on the condition of Carlos and TJ."

The medic turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.

Andros sighed, tossing the remote down on the conference table.

"You really shouldn't annoy our staff like that, sir," he said. "Draffut's the best we have."

"And you shouldn't go around throwing things. That remote is expensive." Barthello frowned down at the table. "And you're making a mess. When was the last time you washed your hands?"

Andros looked down at his hands, the palms of which were covered in fine red dust. Some had also rubbed off on the remote. Andros frowned, embarrassed, rubbing his hands on his already red shirt.

"Now then," Barthello said, turning to his remaining three Rangers. "About those scientific evaluations….."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I've gone over every possible contingency," Verona said, setting down her datapad and looking up at the people who stood in her office. "And there's simply no possible way that happened in that cell could have happened."

"You're not seriously suggesting that these people used _magic_, are you?" The man standing nearby asked. He was tall and muscular, his hair a closely cropped mass of blonde spikes. His shirt was silver, and over it he wore a black jacket, matching his pants.

"I'm suggesting that these Terrans possess something, some force, some technology, _something_ that we have never seen before. And that it doesn't seem to follow any physical laws that we know of. And until we know more about it, magic seems as good a name for it as any."

"You didn't see what happened to that cell, Zhane," Karone said. "There were flowers growing from the ceiling."

Zhane gave an almost imperceptible twitch. From anyone else, he'd have assumed that he was being made fun of, but his girlfriend was honest to a fault.

"Well, assuming that it _does_ exist, it sounds way too unpredictable to be of any real use."

"Only when Jareth does it," came a voice from the doorway.

Zhane's head whipped around to see Deacon leaning against the doorframe, his helmet under his arm.

"Deacon?" Verona asked. "Aren't you supposed to be-"

"Yeah…guarding. About that…"

Deacon relayed the tale of what had happened in the warehouse.

"And so you destroyed half the supply stores you were meant to be guarding," Zhane said, arms crossed, glaring at Deacon.

Deacon frowned, setting his helmet down on Verona's desk and sitting down in one of the available chairs.

"Yes. They're pretty much scrap."

"At least the Kerovans didn't get them," Karone said, in a look-at-the-bright-side voice, her hand resting on Zhane's arm.

"We _needed_ those supplies."

"Adjust," Deacon advised.

Zhane looked as though he were about to give Deacon the dressing-down of his life, but Verona interrupted.

"General Zhane," she said. "May I remind you that Deacon is not your subordinate. For the time being," the purple-haired Darian turned to Deacon, shooting him a piercing look. "…he works for _me_. And Karone is right. It's better that some of the supplies be lost than allowed to fall into Kerovan hands. Now, tell me, Deacon." Verona took a deep breath, as though afraid to ask what she was about to. "Which part of the warehouse was destroyed?"

"The south end."

Verona closed her eyes, sighing. "Very well. Deacon, please return to the warehouse. I want you and Jareth to examine the area, then report back. Tell me if any containers bearing this symbol…," Verona held up her datapad, on the screen of which was displayed a strange-looking insignia. "Have been ruptured."

"Zhane, locate the Magna Defender. I need the two of you to raid. Tonight. We need supplies, now more than ever."

The two Silver Rangers nodded, then exited the room.

"Karone, I need you to go and fetch Kinwon. He and I have matters to discuss."

Karone nodded. On her way to the door, she paused.

"Verona," she asked. "Is everything okay?"

"I hope so, Karone. I hope so. Please hurry."

Karone bit her lip, then turned and rushed out the door.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When one encounters a scene of recent destruction, one rarely expects to hear the cheerfully sung strains of Disney music….unless, of course, one happens to know Jareth.

"Even those who are gone, are with us as we move on…one family under the sun…Your journey has only begun…tears of pain, tears of joy, one thing nothing can destroy…is our pride, deep inside, we are one…"

"You never run out of Disney songs, do you?'

Jareth glanced up at the gaping hole in the wall, through which the Silver Ranger was entering.

"May the day never come," the Gold Ranger replied, shifting his position so that his legs hung over the edge of the crate upon which he was sitting, rather than being tucked under him. His lion-paw-shaped boots made rapping noises against the side of the crate as he kicked his legs lazily.

"Whatcha doing?"

Jareth held up his datapad. "Trying to get more info. A lot of this is restricted, though. I'm no slicer."

Deacon started picking up pieces of the shattered crates that littered the floor, examining them before tossing them back over his shoulder carelessly.

"Looking for something?"

"Yeah, Verona said to check for a symbol….she didn't seem too mad, surprisingly."

"Go figure." Jareth growled at the datapad. "I, on the other hand, am getting annoyed."

Deacon pondered as he tried to rub the carbon-scoring off of a piece of metal with his bracer. "Why not call and have Lolli slice in for you?"

Jareth tilted his head. "Because comm signals are jammed, remember?"

"I thought that was only short-range?'

Jareth slapped his helmeted forehead. "Duh. You're right, it is. Have you seen my brain? It's never around when I need it." He tapped the side of his helmet, opening his commlink. "Gold Ranger to Oasis. Come in. Actually, DON'T come in, this is my head, that ship would never fit, the pain would be unimaginable-"

"Oasis here, Lolli speaking, and quit babbling or I'll program elevator music to play through your comchip 26/7."

"McGuire! Just the Ranger I wanted to talk to. I need you to do some slicing for me."

"Oh? Any slicing in particular, or should I just open every computer file in the galaxy?"

Jareth explained what he needed.

"Aww, come on. I thought you had a challenge for me."

Abruptly, all the restricted files opened to him, his datapad exploding with activity.

"There ya go. Your little terminal now has unlimited access to every file on the planet. Enjoy."

"Thanks, Lolli. I owe you one."

"I'll call it in, no doubt. Later."

The comlink went dead as the Green Ranger hung up on her end.

"Now then….let's see what we can find…"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zhane absently typed a few keys on his cellphone-shaped Digimorpher, awaiting the arrival of the Magna Defender. He frowned…the bounty hunter had yet to be on time for anything. He really was being paid far too much.

A gaudy flash of crimson caught his eye, and he glanced up to see the very Ranger in question, standing in front of the Silver Wing's entry port.

"Are you ready?" the Manga Defender asked.

"Ready? I've been waiting for you."

"I had other business. Let's go."

As the two ventured up the entry ramp, the Magna Defender spoke up.

"This really is an impressive zord. I don't suppose you would allow me to drive it for once?"

Zhane shook his silver-helmed head. "You know the rule. Only the Silver Ranger drives the Silver Wing. Now strap in and pipe down."

Zhane smiled as he settled in to his comfortable pilot's seat and strapped himself in, the Magna Defender taking one of the seats behind him. Zhane closed the entry ramp, then keyed in the codes that opened the massive door in front of the zord, which opened like another ramps, folding down. The Silver Wing rolled forward on its treads, down the ramp until it was clear of its small holding bay, sitting on the ground outside, then folded down its wings.

"And we're off," Zhane said, grinning, as he gunned the engines, the large silver zord lifting up off the ground and rocketing through the atmosphere.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Only minutes after being dismissed from Verona's office, Karone entered a large, high-tech-looking laboratory. One of the female scientists glanced up from her work.

"Karone? What brings you here? Wash your hands before you come in, there are delicate materials in here."

Startled, Karone glanced down at her hands. They seemed to be covered with some sort of fine pink powder. She rubbed her fingers together curiously as she moved towards the chemical-wash sink that stood near the door. Now, where had she picked up pink powder?

Shrugging, she rinsed it off and turned back to the scientist.

"Taikwa, is your father here? Verona needs to speak with him."

"Speak with me regarding what?"

Karone turned, blinking in surprise as an older male scientist appeared in one of the many doorways leading from the main room to the smaller, single-project labs.

"There you are, Kinwon.

"If this is about those morphers she had Orpheus and I look at, I'm afraid we haven't made any more progress."

"I don't know, she wouldn't say. But she needs to talk to you."

Kinwon shrugged. "Very well. Lead on."

Taikwa barely noticed the two of them leaving, so intent was she on the small bubbling container that stood on the table before her. As she reached out to adjust the temperature of the flame burning beneath the beaker, she stopped, blinking.

Shaking her head, she stood and walked over to the sink, turning it on and letting the water rinse the irritating white dust from her hands. Chalk or some such, no doubt. Now who would be foolish enough to leave a contaminant like that lying around a lab?

It had nearly ruined her experiment.


	41. Poison Ivy

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 41: Poison Ivy

"This is so. Boring," Mara said sighing as she lay down atop the crates, staring at the network of pipes and cables that ran along the ceiling of the warehouse she and the others were supposed to be guarding.

No one appeared to be listening. Electra was sitting in the corner, humming softly to herself, lost in whatever world she lived in. Troy was walking around the warehouse in rigidly defined patterns, as though he were patrolling the place…which, quite probably, he was.

Terina was sitting on the crate next to Mara, idly kicking her feet against the side. She paused, looking around the warehouse appraisingly, then crossed her legs, bringing her feet within easy reach.

Mara blinked, her fashion-statement-alert going off: Terina was wearing sneakers. The Yellow Ranger was never caught wearing anything on her feet but rollerblades or heels…to compensate for her shortness, Mara presumed. But now the Eltarian girl was wearing sneakers…pure-white sneakers, obviously new, with butter-yellow laces and a few dark smudges, probably from their recent trek through the neutral zone. That place had been filthy.

The shoes had unusually thick soles, and Mara soon learned why: Terina pressed a few hidden buttons on the shoes and small wheels popped down.

"Oh," the Pink Ranger said. "Neat."

"Thanks. Saw them in the mall last week and couldn't help myself."

The Yellow Ranger hopped down from her crate and began skating around the warehouse, doing tricks equal to those of an Olympic figureskater.

"So how much longer do you think Tommy's going to be?" she asked, looping Troy a few times as he marched past.

"I don't like leaving him alone," the Blue Ranger said, sounding slightly annoyed at Terina's antics. "We shouldn't have split up."

"Someone had to stay behind for those tests the Kerovans wanted to run," Electra said softly. "They only needed one."

"Someone should have stayed with him."

"We couldn't afford to look like we didn't trust them," the Black Ranger reminded him. "Even though we don't," she added.

"I wouldn't mind getting to know Andros a little better," Terina said, smirking, skating in backwards circles.

"He IS cute, isn't he?" Mara agreed.

"Mmm," Electra chimed in. "Yummy."

Troy shook his head, sighing.

Abruptly, sparks erupted from the wall, as though someone were cutting through the metal with a powerful blowtorch. The slice in the smooth steel grew larger, forming a circle…though one much too small for an average human to pass through.

All four Rangers were instantly alert, facing the wall, morphers in hand.

The sparks came full circle, and the metal disk fell into the warehouse with a loud clatter, leaving a perfectly round hole in the wall…and a hovering object floated in, black, oblong, and about the size of a soccer ball.

"Diskette?" Terina asked.

The small droid floated down to them, her optical sensors shining brightly.

"I have been looking _everywhere_ for you guys."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Brachiosaurus!"**

With a dazzling white flash, Stephen's human body was replaced by…

"Hey, wait a minute…," he said.

"You're back to normal," Lolli observed, pointing something at him that he sincerely hoped was only a scanner.

Stephen glanced down at himself. The new Brachio-armor Panicka had given him was gone, he wore the same tiger-armor that he always had. Saba was once again a tiger-headed scimitar, and his shield bore the symbol of the white tiger.

"Well, that's a shame," Stephen said. "I was just getting used to that Brachio-mode."

FLASH!

Stephen blinked. "What was that?"

"Ahem." Lolli pointed to Stephen's armor.

The White Ranger looked down at himself.

"We've transformed again, Stephen," Saba said, once more a dinosaur-rapier.

"And it happened when I said….hmm. I wonder…**Tiger-Mode**!"

FLASH!

**"Brachio-Mode!"**

FLASH!

**"Tiger-Mode!"**

FLASH!

**"Brachio-Mode!"**

FLASH!

"Yes," Stephen said. "I think I get it."

"if I'm reading this right, your powers are stable," Lolli said, consulting the scanner. "It's as if a new ability has just been tacked on…sort of. You said your force-fields didn't work in Brachio-mode?"

"Right."

"Hm. Seems to me that each mode is technically a different Ranger, so should have its own abilities."

"So…what powers do I have in Brachio-mode?"

"No idea," Lolli said, flicking back her long blonde hair and closing the antennae on the scanner. "We'll have to do a few more tests. Really, you should know automatically. The whole instinct thing."

Lolli stuck the small device back into a convenient drawer and began pawing through its contents, most likely hunting for some other gadget to point at him.

The White Ranger looked around idly at the various tools that hung on the walls, each one having some unknown scientific purpose, but looking like a piece of medieval torture equipment. This impression was only enhanced by the body of the partially-dissected Pirhannatron that lay strapped to a slab in the corner of the room. Add the arcane runes and circles that had been painted on the floor by the Gold Ranger for use in magical experimentation, and the room looked decidedly creepy.

Stephen suppressed a shudder as his eyes ran across one of the shelves, examining the sickly-looking specimens that floated serenely in their preservative fluid, along with a few more gadgets and artifacts. One jar held a disembodied eyeball, another some sort of lizard. Next to those was a weird arcane gizmo that looked like someone had tried to breed a compass, a knife, and a spyglass.

Stephen poked at a piece of ivy that lay on the shelf alongside that, wondering how it managed not to dry out and die. Frowning, he realized that it wasn't lying ON the shelf, but was actually growing up from behind it.

As soon as his armored white finger touched the plant, it seemed to wake up, jerking forward and winding tightly around his finger.

"Hey!"

"You shouldn't touch this stuff. Some of it's not-" Lolli stopped short, frowning as her eyes fell on the plant. "Vines? What are those doing here?"

"Climbing up my hand!" the White Ranger replied. For the ivy was, indeed, growing, snaking its way up his arm, coiling more and more tightly.

Lolli held out her hand, and emerald green smoke spiraled down her arm, solidifying in her open palm as her rectangular silver Power Morpher, the golden coin embedded in the center gleaming in the overhead lights.

Before she could actually use it, however, Another vine appeared, seemingly from nowhere, coiling around the arm that held the device and yanking, dragging her roughly to the ground.

The blonde-haired Green Ranger let out a cry of pain as her elbow struck the rock-hard floor of the lab. Blinking through the sudden pain, she cast her gaze about and realized that the vines were everywhere, climbing up every available surface and growing like crazy.

Stephen drew Saba from his holster at his side and began slashing at the plants, but the strong vines just coiled around the long, pointed blade.

"Switch modes, White Ranger!"

"What? Oh…right. **Tiger-mode!"**

FLASH!

The vines abruptly parted as Saba's smooth, needle-tipped point was replaced by his broad, flat, sharp-edged scimitar's blade.

Lolli squinted, and, realizing that the ivy hadn't managed to rip away her morpher, closed her eyes and concentrated.

**"Dragonzord!"**

The sudden surge of green energy burned away the vines that had already started to envelope her, enabling her to leap to her feet.

The ivy shrank back momentarily, letting out some sort of strangled hiss, but quickly recovered, snaking back across the floor towards her.

**"Ruby Ray!"** she invoked, a thin bean of ruby-red light lancing out from the small, diamond-shaped gem embedded in the forehead of her helmet, neatly severing the vines.

"Zord-1" she demanded. 'Where is this coming from?"

"Where is what coming from?" the computer responded, sounding puzzled.

"This ivy! The murderous vegetation that is currently engaged in trying to turn us into fertilizer!"

There was a pause, broken only by the sounds of plant matter being slashed and burned, followed by Zord-1's reply.

"My sensors can detect no such substance, Green Ranger."

"You can't see it?" Stephen asked, incredulous. "Then what do you think we're fighti-hey!"

In his moment of distraction, one of the vines coiled around the White ranger's ankle, lifting him right up off the ground.

"No, I cannot," Zord-1 replied. "However, as I do not see how else you could manage to hover in mid-air with one of your legs pointed straight up at what looks like an extremely uncomfortable angle, I must deduce that the ivy you speak of is, indeed, present."

"Thanks," Stephen said wryly, trying to reach up and slice the vine with his scimitar.

"We're getting nowhere," Lolli said. "We need to regroup. Find someplace where the ivy isn't. And Zord-1 can't help us, because he can't see it."

"On the contrary, Green Ranger," the computer said. "Now that I am aware of its presence, I can fine-tune my atmospheric regulators to detect minor alterations in air pressure-"

"Where can we go?" Stephen demanded, still upside-down, grateful that he had no blood to rush to his head.

"The disturbance seems to be confined to the habitat level. That is, the living quarters, lounge, magitech lab, and a number of storerooms. However, the Bridge appears to be safe, as is the arena, the simudecks, the Zord Deployment Bay-"

"We'll take the Arena," Lolli said. "Contact the others and have them meet us there."

Lolli ran for the door to the lab, slicing any vines that tried to bar her way with her Dragon Dagger, the enchanted blade seeming to spin on her finger as she moved it through the air.

"Lolli!" Stephen yelled.

The Green Ranger stopped short, turning.

"Forgetting something?"

Lolli rolled her eyes, for a moment considering letting him hang there.

**"Ruby Ray!"**

Zrrt!

With a resounding crash, Stephen hit the ground, head-first, barely managing to regain his footing before the vines seized him. Diving for the door, he followed Lolli out of the lab and ran racing for the elevators.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"…But then their trail went cold, just outside the barrier between the Neutral Zone and Darian territory. I couldn't get a bead on them, so I came for you guys, instead." Diskette sighed as she wrapped up her tale, then looked around. "Where's Tommy? He did survive the crash, didn't he?"

"Yes. We all did. Aviarus is pretty beat up, but they say he'll live," Mara replied.

"The Sirenien? I say let him die. That bastard…you know I scratched my casing against the wall of my hiding place during that battle?"

"You poor thing," Electra said, smiling.

"So what can you tell us?" Troy said.

"Not much…although I did pick up on a coded comchip transmission back to Terra. Couldn't make out what was said, but it means at least one of the others is alive."

"Hopefully Deacon," Mara muttered.

"You two are the worst twins ever, you know that?" Terina said. "You should really…wait. Do you guys hear that?"

"I don't hear any-"

"Shh!" the Yellow Ranger shushed Electra, then brushed back her hair, her sharp Eltarian ears listening carefully.

There was a pause…then a massive explosion rocked the room as one entire wall of the warehouse was obliterated, the shock wave of pressurized air sending Diskette spinning wildly. She came to a rocky landing amongst the storage crates, and, for the moment, decided it was wisest to stay there.

The others braced themselves against the wave of blistering heat, but in a few seconds it had calmed down, allowing them to turn and see what had happened.

A large Silvery-White vehicle stood where the wall had been, looking something like a tank with enormous wings. The hatch opened and out strode a pair of armored figures. One wore silvery-white, a row of green squares across his chest, his helmet a metallic chrome. The other was dressed in black, his armor modeled after a bull or some similar creature, short golden horns emerging from the sides of his head. His armor was thick and bulky, and over it he wore a cape that was black on the outside, but lined in a vivid scarlet.

The Rangers exchanged glances.

"Showtime?" Electra asked.

"Showtime," the others agreed, the Rangers' annoying habit of speaking in unison acting up yet again.

**"Mastadon!"**

**"Pterodactyl!"**

**"Triceratops!"**

**"Saber-toothed Tiger!"**

The intruders paused, astonished by the brief lightshow.

"It's them," the Silver one said.

"We knew this was coming," the other replied in a disinterested voice, producing what appeared to be a large, black, high-tech rifle.

"Take them down, then load the supplies before reinforcements arrive," Silver stated.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Multicolored light reflected off the metal walls as Angel, Myk, Fox, and Kalen materialized in the room.

Myk blinked, taking in his location. The Oasis' arena was huge. The arena itself was a circular, sandy pit about thirty meters across, surrounded by amphitheater-like bleachers, but the term 'arena' was generally used to describe the entire room, of which the arena itself was only a part. The rest of the massive chamber consisted of a fully equipped gymnasium, swimming pool, and the various sporting courts that had been constructed according to standard Terran specifications….as well as a few more exotic courts designed for non-Terran sports, such as Terina's Eltarian Zero-G Jetball game.

"Why are we here?" the Bronze Ranger asked. "Don't we usually meet in the Bridge?"

"It's one of the only safe places. Most of the ship," Lolli said, pulling off her helmet. "Has been enveloped in ivy."

"Monsterous ivy?" Fox asked.

"Monsterous ivy, evil ivy, supernatural ivy, call it whatever you freaking please, it's ivy and it's bad," Stephen replied. "We have no idea where it's coming from or how to stop it, and Zord-1 can't even see it, so we can't possibly teleport it elsewhere."

"How can Zord-1 NOT see it?" Fox asked, incredulous.

"Magic," Angel explained simply. "It would take a powerful spell to fool Eltarian magitech like the Oasis, but that doesn't mean it can't be done."

"Yeah, okay, but how did it get _inside_ the ship?" Stephen asked.

"The easiest way would be to use a sleeper," Kalen said. "Plant a time-released spell on something then sneak it aboard."

Everyone stared at her for a moment.

"What?" she asked. "Only Angel and Jareth can study magic?"

There was a sudden lurching beneath their feet.

"Zord-1?" Fox asked warily. "Problems?"

"I am experiencing a number of critical system failures, Rangers, including failures related to the engines which keep the ship in orbit. One of my engines has been crushed, and another is clogged with what can only be vegetable matter, leaving only one left to keep us aloft, which is not sufficient."

"We've got to find what's causing this and get rid of it," Lolli said. "Kill the roots…or, if it IS a spell-"

"It would have to be a spell," Angel said. "There isn't enough organic material, water, or sunlight on this ship to sustain a natural plant."

"Then we have to find what's causing it."

"My money's on our rogue Ranger," Myk said.

"Can't be," Fox said. 'The only one of us with plant-powers is Terina, and she's off on another world." As an afterthought, she added, "And I don't think she could do anything this big, anyway."

There was a pink-and-purple flash, and a fuchsia dragon appeared on the sand nearby, looking exhausted. Cradled in her claws was a small gray kitten who looked around, mewing plaintively. The kitten squirmed free when it saw Kalen and bounded over to the Purple Ranger, who picked it up and cuddled it.

"Zoey?" Angel asked, kneeling by the wyrmling. "Are you okay?"

_Yeah…I'm fine. Just a little tired. _The dragon shook her head wearily. _I don't know what those vines are made of, but they don't burn very well, not even under dragon-fire. Is Naylack okay?"_

"She's fine. Thanks," Kalen said.

_No problem. _Zoey stretched, shaking her scaly limbs to get all the kinks out. _I'm just glad Zord-1 has organic components. He couldn't hear telepathic speech otherwise, and I needed him to teleport us here. That stuff had me surrounded. _Zoey coughed up a puff or two of purple smoke. _And I'm out of fire._

There was a sickening crunch that resounded throughout the ship.

"There went the last engine, Rangers," Zord-1 said. "Unless the source of these vines can be stopped, allowing me to effect repairs, I calculate less than an hour before atmospheric re-entry. Repairs will take approximately forty-five minutes."

"Wait…you're saying we have fifteen minutes to stop this…"

"Or the Oasis will plummet to the planet's surface, completely destroying itself, anything in its path, and anything in the surrounding vicinity. Yes, Fox. That is exactly what I am saying."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Super Silverizer!"**

A black, gauntlet-shaped device materialized around the Silver Ranger's right forearm, extending forward into a blunt, snub-nosed blaster.

The four Terran Rangers scattered as the two intruders showered them with energy blasts, bolts of solid light ricocheting off of the polished floor and shattering the nearby supply crates.

Taking cover behind one of the crate piles, Troy made a fist, his rectangular shield of red light flaring to life on his left arm. Drawing his Blade Blaster from its holster on his leg, he leapt out from behind the stack of crates and fired back, bolts of red light lancing out at the intruders.

The Silver Ranger was struck in the chest, falling over backwards with a shower of blinding white sparks, but the black one stepped back, melting into the shadows and becoming almost invisible, despite the garish colors of his costume.

Zhane winced as his back struck the metallic floor. He'd taken laser blasts before in the course of his service as a Ranger, but most glanced harmlessly off of his neo-titanium armor. None had ever struck with as much force as that one, hard enough to knock him off his feet, hot enough for his skin to feel scorched beneath his chestplate.

He kicked himself up to his feet, converting his Super Silverizer from blaster-mode to sword-mode with a flick of his wrist. Leaping forward, he curled into a ball and rolled to avoid the shots the Blue Ranger was still firing, then slashed horizontally with his blade, cutting beneath the Ranger's light-shield.

A shock vibrated up his arm as his blade, instead of slicing off both of the Blue Ranger's legs at the knees, rebounded off of his armor, leaving only a small nick in the polished blue surface…a nick that, as Zhane watched in astonishment, instantly healed with a spark of blue light.

Still, the attack had apparently surprised the Blue Ranger, and he was forced to holster his gun and power down his shield, neither of which was really suited for close-quarters fighting.

**"Tricera Lance!"**

Zhane quickly backflipped from his crouch at the Blue Ranger's feet to a standing position some distance away, and not a moment too soon, for the triple-bladed end of a long blue lance had just smashed down against the floor where he'd been.

The Blue Ranger brought his weapon down on his knee, as though to break it in half, but instead of snapping in two, the weapon separated into a pair of short blue sticks, each one with one bladed end.

Sparks flew, both blue and silvery-white, as the two weapons collided more times than could be counted. The shimmering neo-titanium blade of the Super Silverizer made countless slashes against his opponent's armor, but each one healed almost instantly, leaving not a scratch behind.

Zhane gritted his teeth. There was one spot where no one could take a hit and shrug it off. Leaping up into the air, Zhane flipped over backwards, slicing two clean slashes across the ceiling as he did, neatly severing a section from one of the pipes that ran across the length of the warehouse. He landed on his feet flawlessly, bending his knees to absorb the impact, then in one seamless motion, simultaneously rose to his full height and turned, delivering a sharp kick to the section of pipe as it fell, launching the small cylinder of metal at the astonished Blue Ranger.

The pipe rocketed through the air with the force of the Silver Ranger's kick, striking the Blue Ranger right in the visor, the glossy black glass shattering, deep cracks spreading across the polished surface.

Troy staggered back, dropping both halves of his lance and clutching at his face as the damage translated into a burning, piercing pain in his eyes, as though someone had thrown a handful of ground glass into his face. Shockingly, between the armored blue fingers of his gloves he could still see, a fractured image of the world, almost like the compound eyes of an insect.

What he saw, in the form of a thousand tiny images, was the Silver Ranger, blade leveled at his head, preparing to rush forward and drive the Super Silverizer right through his faceplate.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Okay, let's look at this logically," Lolli said, pacing back and forth.

"Might just work. We've never tried it before," Stephen said. He and the other Rangers present, as well as Zoey and Naylack, were sitting on the benches, watching the Green Ranger panic.

"Let's go with Kalen's sleeper idea, since it's the only theory we've got. Zord-1, how many objects are on this ship?"

"Without a specific definition of the word 'object', any answer I could give would be approximate at best."

"Approximate is fine, lay it on me."

"About 200 million," the computer stated.

"Way too many to check out. Angel, how long can a sleeper spell stay on an object before activating?"

"Centuries, if it's done right. If done in a hurry, perhaps a month."

"Okay, Zord-1, how many objects on this ship have been off of this ship within the last month?"

"Counting articles of clothing and the contents of pockets, 4,516."

"Better, but still way too high," Lolli said, sitting down heavily on one of the benches. "Wait…This whole thing started on the habitat level….Zord-1, of that list of 4,516, eliminate all objects that were not on the habitat level when Stephen and I first encountered this stuff in the lab."

"That narrows the list down to 2, 412."

"Compile a list and divide it for us," the Green Ranger commanded.

Angel shook his head, as though coming out of a reverie. "I have something at home that may help. Spellbooks and whatnot. I'll see what I can do," he said, vanishing in a streak of gray light.

"I just don't see how we can possibly check all those objects in less than ten minutes. If only we had some way…to…stop…time…"

Every head turned towards Myk.

"What?" he asked.

"How long does your Chronoflash attack last?" Lolli asked.

Myk smiled wryly. "It's very hard to say, since every clock in the area stops when I use it."

"Estimate."

"Five minutes at the most."

"Can you use it repeatedly?"

"A few times. It's draining, you know. Especially if I push for maximum duration. And if I were to keep all of you exempt from the time-stop, that would be even more pressure. I could only do it three times at the most."

"Well, that's not much, but it's the best shot we have. You stay here and keep everything on the ship frozen, while the rest of us go object-hunting…"

"Hw do we know the object when we see it?" Fox asked. "Will it be glowing or something?"

"I certainly hope so, because none of the scanners on the ship seem to be able to see it."

"But would that help?" Stephen asked. "The time-stop, I mean. He can only freeze a small sphere of space, right? And what's inside it can be affected by what's outside it, like Terra's gravity, so wouldn't the entire time-field and everything in it still go crashing down onto the planet?"

Lolli's mouth dropped open for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. She could sulk about having missed that detail later. "Yes, it will, but at least the time stop will keep the vines frozen. It'll be easier to find the spell without having to hack our way free every ten seconds."

"I suggest you act quickly Rangers, we have only seven minutes remaining."

Four slips of paper appeared, one each in Fox's, Stephen's, Lolli's and Kalen's hand: lists of the suspect items.

"Okay guys," Lolli said. "It's showtime."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fully expecting the Blue Ranger's visor to heal, just like the rest of his armor had, Zhane pointed the long blade of his weapon at his opponent's face, aiming right for the weakened surface of his visor. He began to run forward, bracing himself to drive the weapon through the Ranger's helmet before he could regain his sight.

It didn't quite pan out.

A spray of sharpened metal sang out through the air, striking his arm, one of his legs, and several to his torso. As he staggered, surprised, a black tether shot out from nowhere, coiling around the Blue Ranger and yanking him aside, allowing Zhane to pass by harmlessly.

Zhane glanced around, not seeing anyone nearby who could have come to the Blue Ranger's aid. The Pink and Yellow Rangers were engaged in fighting the Magna Defender in another part of the warehouse, near the Silver Wing. That left…

Even as Zhane's mind arrived at the answer, the air nearby rippled, revealing the Black Ranger as she reeled her grappling cable back into its launcher on her arm.

The Silver Ranger converted his Silverizer back into blaster mode, meanwhile using his other hand to pull the small black shurikens free from the surface of his armor. Luckily they were small, their blades not penetrating far enough past his armor to do more than lightly scratch his skin.

He tossed the small projectiles to the floor, where they landed with a clatter.

Allowing himself a slight smirk, he produced his Digimorpher and flipped it open. As he keyed in a quick code, a green targeting grid displayed itself on the inside of his visor, neatly dividing the battlefield.

"Silver Wing. Target grids 314x612x470 and 314x612x490. Fire on my mark."

The Blue and Black Rangers barely had time to process what Zhane was doing before he said the magic word.

"Mark."

Faster than the eye could follow, the large, wing-shaped weapon array atop the Silver Wing rotated, aiming itself towards Troy and Electra. Before either could move out of the way, a series of powerful energy blasts lanced forth, knocking both of them back with sufficient force to drive their armored bodies through the solid metal wall behind them.

Zhane spun, turning to face the fight going on in the other corner. The Magna Defender was putting up a valiant fight, but it was time to pull the plug.

"Silver Wing. Target grids 114x127x233 and 123x127x267…"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"This plan is thoroughly ridiculous," Kalen complained, climbing through the tangle of dense vines that obstructed the Oasis' hallways. "Even if it IS a sleeper, and even if we do find it, just what are we supposed to do with it?"

"Your 'teleport into the sun' idea ought to do it," Fox replied.

"Hmph."

"Uh-oh," Fox said as color began to return to the world. When Myk's Chronoflash attack was in effect, something about stopping the flow of time altered the way light traveled, making the entire world dull and faded, like a photograph that had been left in the sun too long. That the color was returning meant that the time-stop was fading.

Fox had an easier time of this part than Kalen did, as her weapon…her powers, really…were ideally suited for hacking through overgrown terrain. She twirled her two-bladed sword as the vines around her came back to life, slicing apart the tendrils that reached for either her or her companion. Small pieces of vegetation flew everywhere…and then froze in midair as Myk's Chronoflash was reactivated.

"That's two," Kalen said. "We've got one good freeze left."

"How many items have we checked?"

Kalen glanced down at the list in her hand. "About two dozen. If the others are keeping up, that's less than a hundred items, total. Out of over two thousand. We're not going to make it."

"Don't be so negative."

"I'm being realistic," Kalen replied, as she and the Camo Ranger entered yet another room on the habitat level. "We're wasting our time."

"Yeah, well," Fox said. "As long as time is frozen, this is time we wouldn't have had anyway."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Yellow Ranger stuck her head out from behind her crate, risking a glance at the rest of the warehouse.

"Troy's got Silver covered," she said. "Where'd the other one go?"

"Let's find out," Mara replied. **"Firecloud!"**

A spray of acrid pink mist poured forth from between the Pink Ranger's palms, filling the area of the warehouse.

Terina flinched as the acidic vapor itched at her armor. "Ow."

"Sorry. I tried to keep that part to a minimum. But look."

Mara pointed. Outlined in the vapor was the form of the Magna Defender, who dropped his shadow-cloak when he realized that it was no longer effective.

Jets of green light blasted at the Rangers as he fired his rifle-like blaster, forcing them to duck behind the sparse storage crates for cover.

"Friendly type," Terina muttered.

Mara conjured her bow in a flash of pink light. "Yeah, well, this oughtta soften him up."

Turning, the Pink Ranger lifted up into the air from behind her crates and fired, her shining pink arrow slicing through the air and embedding itself into the Magna Defender's shoulder.

The black-clad warrior let out a cry, then reached up and pulled the arrow free, aiming his blaster at the hovering Pink Ranger.

**"Zephyr Blade!"**

Terina leapt out from her hiding place, arms outstretched, palms facing forward.

Immediately, a wind whipped up from out of nowhere, a wind that never should have been able to build within a confined space like that of the warehouse. The wind quickly worked itself up into an inexplicably yellow-colored whirlwind that raced forward, enveloping the Magna Defender.

Mara gracefully lowered herself to the ground.

"'Zephyr Blade'? THAT'S you're special attack?"

"Yup," Terina said, dusting off her hands.

"Where's the 'blade' part?"

"Where's the 'fire' in 'Firecloud'?

"It's acid, so it burns like fire. So there."

"Hmph."

Mara turned to the whirlwind that encased their opponent, smirking at her victory.

"So how long can that hold him?" she asked.

As if on cue, a sword-blade shot out through the wall of whirling wind, parting the tornado. Like a severed skein of ribbon, the tornado unraveled, dissipating into nothingness.

"Umm…not long."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Let's see….pencil?"

Lolli looked around at the still-present vegetation. "Nope. Not it."

Stephen picked up the next item on his list from the desk in Lolli's room. "Eraser."

"Nope."

"Wait…how will we know if we find the right item?"

"Well, there's a decent chance that just touching it while morphed will cause our magic to disrupt its and break the spell…"

"Yeah, but will we see any-"

"Results with time frozen? No. We'll just have to keep checking random items and hope that one is the right one."

"How much time is left?"

"No telling, not with Zord-1 frozen….uh-oh."

The Green Ranger unsheathed her dagger, preparing to fight off the vines as the scenery flickered to life again.

Taking his cue from her, Stephen grabbed Saba's hilt…but was abruptly deprived of anything to hit as the vines shrank away, as though they were growing in reverse, dissolving into nothingness.

"Oh. Hey."

"One of us must have gotten the right item," Lolli surmised.

"Judging by the sudden change in air pressure, which indicates that roughly six tons of matter have vanished from the ship entirely, I believe we can safely say that the ivy has been disposed of. I am effecting repairs to the engines now."

"Were we in time?" Stephen asked.

"To prevent the cataclysmic impact between this ship and the planet below, yes. However-"

A horrible, piercing whine filled the ship as a number of dome-shaped lights popped down from the ceiling, strobing red.

Zord-1 silenced the alarms. "However, perhaps you should report to the Bridge. We have…activity….down on Terra."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Magna Defender lurched, tearing free of the yellow-green vines that held him entangled. He tumbled to the ground, retrieving his fallen Magna Saber, then spun around to strike back at the Yellow Ranger…and received one of her Dino Daggers to the torso, the sharp blade embedding itself in his armor.

With an angry grunt, he ripped it free, tossing to the ground…and it immediately zipped through the air, returning to the Yellow Ranger's hand. She spun the twin daggers idly on her fingers, smirking beneath her faceplate.

"This is getting old. Drop the sword, devil-boy," Mara said, an arrow nocked at the Magna Defender's head.

The Magna Defender froze, but retained his grip on the saber.

"What, are you deaf _and_ goofy-looking? I said-"

Mara never had the opportunity to explain what she said, because at that moment, the Silver Wing's weapon array fired, blasting both her and Terina to the ground.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The monster on the screen was grotesque, bizarre combination of a human being with absurdly large ears and…

"Ivy," Lolli said. "It's an ivy monster."

"Because we haven't dealt with enough ivy today," the White Ranger grumbled.

Myk, Lolli, Fox, and Kalen turned to stare in astonishment at Stephen.

He blinked. "What?"

"If you honestly believe that this is a coincidence," Kalen said coldly. "I'm going to slug you."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Well, that could have gone better," Zhane said, as he and the Magna Defender tore across the sky in the Silver Wing. "I hadn't expected them to be so strong."

"I find it odd that they are so different from one another," the Magna Defender agreed. "Most groups of Rangers have roughly the same powers. I wonder…"

"Wonder what?" Zhane asked.

"Nothing. A passing notion."

"Well, at least we're not going back empty handed," the Silver Ranger said, glancing at the screen that displayed the contents of the Wing's cargo bay. A small number of crates had been stowed aboard, all that the Magna Defender had managed to load before being unveiled by the Pink Ranger.

"I trust-"

"Yes," Zhane interrupted in an exasperated voice. "Your fee will reflect that."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What happened here?" Tommy asked as he entered the warehouse, the Kerovans having completed their examination. The lighting was flickering erratically, the power supply cables seeming to have been damaged. One of the walls was missing entirely, another had two holes in it, almost comically shaped like a pair of bodies had been thrown through it. Still another wall had had a neat circular hole cut in it, through which a shaft of moonlight now streamed. The other Four Terran Rangers, now de-morphed, were attempting to clean up the mess and take stock of which supplies had been stolen.

"Darian raid," Troy replied. "They didn't get away with much. Five or six crates."

The Blue Ranger quickly gave a condensed version of all that had happened that night in the warehouse, beginning at Diskette's entry through one wall and ending at the Silver Wing's leaving through another.

Tommy nodded, frowning, then brought up what no one else had seemed to notice.

"So," he asked. "Where's Diskette now?"


	42. Coffee and a Kidnapping

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 42: Coffee and a Kidnapping

Verona sighed as she sipped her morning cup of cinoa. The refreshing cinnamon-vanilla taste of the beverage was just the thing to help one wake up in the morning, its warm, delightfully smooth texture was perfect for helping one forget one's troubles.

If only she had that luxury.

Karone sat across the circular table from her, perusing her datapad, going over the intelligence reports from the previous day, as always. Today, though, she was wearing a light leather jacket over her brief top, as if she were trying to conceal more of her body than normal.

Verona tried to convince herself that Karone was just trying to cut down on incidents between Zhane and the ogling males in the complex. She failed, of course, but she tried. She knew what Karone was really hiding. The Terran Rangers had found the ruptured container the previous night, and told her all about it. It would only be a matter of time before it became common knowledge…

Verona frowned as she felt the slipperiness between her hand and the handle of her mug. She herself was beginning to show the early symptoms, the fine, powdery dust that formed on the hands. The purple-haired Darian leader wiped her hands on one of the napkins that littered the tabletop, hastily erasing her frown as Karone glanced up at her. It wouldn't do to worry her. Not yet, anyway.

One of the nearby doors whooshed open and Deacon strode in, running a hand through his sleep-tangled hair.

Karone smiled up at him. "Good morning, Deacon," she said pleasantly.

"Morning," Deacon replied drowsily.

Verona couldn't help but smile. Even with her mind occupied by her own problems, even with her planet at war and the world in chaos, and even to a complete stranger, Karone managed to be one of the sweetest people she'd ever met. It never ceased to amaze her.

"Would you care for some cinoa, Deacon?" Verona offered.

Deacon raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, sure. Why not." The Silver Ranger sat down at the table, accepting the Styrofoam-ish cup Verona handed him with a "Thanks."

"The raid last night wasn't a complete failure," Karone said conversationally. "Six crates. Three food, two med supplies, one munitions. Fairly low-grade, but still. Oh, and some sort of disk."

"Disk?" Verona asked curiously.

Karone nodded. "The tech boys said it looked like some sort of experimental service droid, but they haven't had a chance to dismantle it to find out yet."

"We have one of those back home," Deacon said. "Her name's Diskette."

"Her?" Karone asked curiously. "Your drone is female?"

"Well, she's technically an it," Deacon admitted. "But she acts and sounds like a her."

"A sentient machine," Verona mused. "Interesting."

"Oh, we've got at least three of those. But I can't tell you much about them. You know, it's _classified_," he said, shooting a mock-glare at Verona, who grinned slyly. That had been her answer when they had asked, not unexpectedly, what had been inside that ruptured crate.

"I understand the Magna Defender was responsible for collecting them," Verona said, sighing. "That means a bigger drain on funds. I do wish it had been Zhane. How is Zhane, by the way?"

"A few scratches," Karone answered. "He's had worse. The only thing that worried him was that those stars might have been poisoned."

"Stars?" Deacon asked.

"You know, the throwing stars that the Black-" Karone broke off. "Umm... that… those… black-hearted Kerovan's use."

Verona rolled her eyes. Sweet and beautiful, but WAY too honest. It didn't look like Deacon was buying it either, but he let it slide. Good. It wouldn't do for it to come out that the Terrans were essentially fighting against their friends. Not that they'd be able to keep it a secret much longer.

"Ah-huh," Deacon said, squinting. "Well. No offense, but Zhane probably had it coming. That guy's got an attitude on him."

"You will have to forgive Zhane." As always, Verona sounded wise, but exhausted. "Like most of us, he has had a difficult life."

"What's his deal?" Deacon asked.

"He takes this war rather personally. It took away his best friend."

"Who?"

"Andros," Karone replied. A look of profound sadness came into her eyes.

"When Zhane was thirteen, the age at which children are finally allowed to contribute to the war effort, he was assigned to one of the retrieval teams that attempt to scavenge useful materials from the neutral zone. He was separated from his team, no one knows how, but none of them were ever seen again. As he wandered the wreckage, trying to find his way back, he met Andros, who was in a similar situation.

The two helped each other to survive for months. When they were finally found by one of the Kerovan retrieval teams, Andros ran to them, while Zhane ran to hide. It was then that they both realized that they were on opposite sides."

"Can't imagine that was very pleasant," Deacon muttered, still cradling his cup.

"It wasn't," Verona said flatly. "Andros was recognized and welcomed by the team, but of course, Zhane was not. They pursued him, and would have slain him, had Andros not distracted them by setting off one of the nearby traps. During the confusion, Andros asked Zhane to abandon the Darians, to come with him, but Zhane refused to betray his faction."

Verona took another sip of her drink. "When next the two saw each other, they were both armed, and fully aware of what the other was. Both were, furthermore, two of the best warriors this planet has ever seen. Of the two teams that met that day, only Zhane and Andros returned. They refused to slay each other, though they did not hesitate to strike down everyone else. They remained friends, as much as they were able. I believe that they would have continued to be for the remainder of their lives. But then, Zhane took away the most important person in Andros' life."

"Who?"

"Me," Karone replied, a sad smile on her face. "Andros is my brother."

"Then...you're Kerovan?"

"I was. Until I met Zhane."

"When Karone decided to leave with Zhane, Andros saw it as the ultimate betrayal. Not only had Zhane turned out to be Darian, taking away his best friend, but now he had also corrupted his sister, and caused her to serve his hated enemies."

"I don't regret my decision," Karone said. "But I do regret how it's hurt him."

"Did you know what Zhane was when you-"

"Fell in love with him? Yes. I knew. And I fell anyway." Karone sighed. "What can I say? Love can be a dangerous thing."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Deacon grumbled. Cautiously, he took a sip of the steaming liquid from his mug. The drink was actually quite pleasant, tasting strongly of cinnamon and vanilla.

"Hey, this is good. What is it?"

Verona smiled. "Your friend likes it, too. He's had about half a dozen cups since breakfast. It's called cinoa. A specialty of KO-35. It's quite popular, especially due to its properties as a stimulant. A lot of people use it to help them wake up in the mornings."

Deacon froze, his cup halfway to his lips. His eyes widened in apprehension.

"Coffee?" he asked.

"Excuse me?"

"You gave Jareth _coffee_?!"

"Is there a problem?" Karone asked.

"Jareth is the biggest caffeine addict on Terra. We actually held an intervention for him last year. If you thought he was weird before…"

"Oh, dear," Verona said. "What sort of things is he likely to-"

"Verona! Lady Verona!" A Darian rushed into the room, looking quite out of breath.

"What's the problem?"

"It's one of the Terrans! He's gone mad! He's been ransacking the store rooms and he's doing something to the Silver Wing!"

"Something like that," Deacon replied in a resigned voice.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Jareth! Where are you?" Deacon called, upon entering the hangar where the Silver Wing was kept, Verona close behind him. The rectangular hangar was on a lower level than the rest of the complex, meaning that when entering from the main building, one emerged onto a large catwalk that surrounded a recessed area in which the Zord was stored. The steel grating Deacon currently stood on was on about the same level as the top of the large vehicle.

"Dea?" Something that appeared to be a small golden puffball on the end of a long blue-black stick popped up out of the open maintenance hatch at the top of the large zord. "I'm in here," the Gold Ranger called, waving his tail back and forth like a flag.

"Zhane is going to kill you. You realize this."

The tail vanished, only to be replaced by Jareth's head, which appeared in such a manner that Deacon had to resist the urge to grab the nearest blunt object and play whack-a-mole.

"Nah, he'll thank me. Just you watch." The head vanished again, and Jareth's voice echoed within the hollow interior of the zord's works. Between the echoes and the bizarre speed of the Gold Ranger's speech, it was almost impossible to work out what he was saying, but Deacon's long years of experience dealing with this sort of thing helped considerably.

"See, I found the original plans for this thing when I was looking for more info, you know, on how to stop the stupid war and stuff, and I found out that it was never actually finished, the guy who designed and built it died before it was done. Kinda like Edward Scissorhands, but less cool. Anyway, there wasn't much left , just something that had to be hooked up on the inside, like one button left undone, so I figured why not, I'd hop in and finish it. The only trouble is I'm having a little trouble _finding_ the one part that still needs to be connected…Ow! Who put this here?!"

There was a wrenching sound and an important-looking engine part flew out through the hatch, landing noisily on the catwalk next to Deacon.

The Silver Ranger bent down and picked it up.

"What exactly will this do once you've fixed it?" Deacon asked dubiously.

"I'm not sure. It didn't say. Rather an important bit of information to leave out, don't you think? If I ever build something like this, not that I could right now, but seeing as I'm a Ranger and Rangers live forever I guess there's a chance that someday I may gain the necessary skill to build something like this, if something doesn't kill me first, that is, which is a pretty big 'if' seeing as there always seems to be something that wants me dead, I'll be sure to leave detailed instructions on what it is and what it does, just to help out anyone who decides they want to do what I'm doing now-"

Deacon shook his head to stop his eyes from crossing. "How much of that stuff have you had?"

"Stuff? What stuff? I've had lotsa stuff dude, you'll have to be a lot more specific."

"That drink. Cinoa."

"Oh, that. About fourteen cups. Good stuff. Tastes a lot like cinnamon. Vanilla too, but mostly cinnamon. I mostly just drank it for the vanilla, was never that fond of cinnamon, you know? But the two go nicely togeth-Ow! Stupid pipe!"

Another vital-looking component flew out of the hatch, this one landing on the ground beneath the catwalk, near the Zord's tank-treads. The sound it made seemed louder than it should have, and when Deacon looked below, he saw that this was because the piece had fallen into a pile of other parts that had clearly also been thrown aside. Evidently, the Gold Ranger had been doing this for quite some time.

"You do realize that that stuff was full of caffeine?" Deacon pointed out.

"Was it really? Well, I guess that explains why I'm talking so fast. And here I thought I'd just… Ow! Son of a monkey! Get out of my way before I reduce you to a pile of scrap metal suitable only for sitting there being a pile of scrap metal! And possibly as the counterweight for some sort of complicated-but-interesting-to-look-at pully system!" And another engine part joined the others.

"How did you get past the security people? Did they just let you walk in and start doing this?" Verona asked.

"Someone said they called in sick. Mentioned that a lot of people have called in today. I think there's something going around. You haven't been giving them shots, have you? There's no surer way to be sure that someone gets sick than to give them a shot for it. Besides, needles creep me out."

Verona hastily wiped the alarmed expression off her face. "Listen, Jareth, you need to come out of there before-"

Unfortunately, just then, the door that led from that lower level to another part of the building opened and Zhane walked in, followed closely by Karone, who'd obviously been trying to keep him away.

"No, really, there's no reason to come this way…why don't we go and...umm… check the…uhh.."

"My Zord!"

"Aw, crap," Karone muttered, slapping her forehead. She stood aside in resignation, allowing Zhane to walk into the room, his expression positively livid.

It didn't help his mood any that he quickly had to jump aside to avoid being clobbered by another flying stray engine part.

"Who's tearing apart my Zord?!"

"Jareth," Karone said sheepishly.

"Why? What's gotten into him?"

"About fourteen cups of cinoa," Deacon called down to the other Silver Ranger.

Zhane's response was a string of unprintable expletives, followed by: "Terran, if you don't get down from there, right now, I am going to tear your stupid tail off and _feed it to you_!"

"Just a sec, I'm almost done. Just need to slide this into place, like so, and…presto!"

There was an expectant pause.

"Did anything happen?" Jareth's voice asked.

Zhane twitched. "No! Nothing happened! But something's _about_ to happen!" He grabbed one of the fallen, pipe-shaped chunks of engine and started to mount the Silver Wing's access ladder.

Jareth's head appeared. "I'm sure I hooked it up right, but I think it's still not working because so many parts are missing. It's a lot roomier in here now, though, than it was when I started. Still not what anyone would call cozy, but at least it's no longer cramped. No, not that one."

The Silver Space Ranger paused. Correcting his choice of skull-bashing implement was not the proper reaction to being approached by an angry Power Ranger. He glanced from the pipe in his hand back up to the Ranger, then down to the pile of parts.

"The other one, the one that's shaped like a horseshoe. Bring that one up, it's one of the important ones, and we'll never get this thing fixed if you put the pieces back in the wrong order. Sheesh, I thought you were a mechanic? Someone mentioned that you did all the work on this thing yourself, you should know which parts go where."

Zhane blinked, astonished. His brain cast around blindly for a response, but all he could come up with was:

"I…but…what's a horseshoe?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Taikwa trembled as she entered the restroom of her workplace, checking all the stalls, one by one, to make sure she was alone. The young Darian female sighed with relief when she realize that she was the only one present, then walked over to the sink and rolled up her sleeves, revealing her forearms.

It had started as a fine, powdery white dust that had covered her hands, which had been annoying enough. But it didn't stop there. Now patches of the skin on her forearms were turning white. The texture was also changing, the patches felt rougher than the rest of her skin, more solid, almost like they were turning to rock or bone. It itched. Badly.

The dust had washed right off. The patches, needless to say, did not. Worse still, she was sure they were getting larger. The itching was getting worse, and it had started itching on other parts of her body as well, luckily parts that were covered by her clothing.

Where had this come from? Had she badly botched on of her chemical experiments? And was it only happening to her? What would happen if someone found out? Would she be dissected, examined, quarantined? She shuddered.

Taikwa nearly jumped out of her skin as the door to the bathroom opened and one of her co-workers walked in. She frantically rolled down her sleeves, not bothering to dry her hands. She exchanged a nervous greeting with the co-worker as she exited the restroom, headed for her father's office. He was the head of her department, she'd just…well, she couldn't tell him the truth. She'd say she wasn't feeling well, get the day off, Perhaps even the week. Yes….that was best.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Well now. Are we ready to begin?" Orpheus asked.

"I do believe we are," Kinwon replied. He lifted his screwdriver and-

The door opened, his daughter entering, looking most distressed.

"Da- Dr. Kinwon," she said, correcting herself mid-word. "I'm not feeling very well. Would you mind if I took a few days off?"

"No, not at all," Kinwon agreed. "You go, get some rest."

"Thanks."

The two scientists turned back to the table, the bright lights overhead shining down on the small, disk-shaped droid that sat before them.

"Now then," Kinwon said, applying his tool to one of the screws that held together the small device's casing. "Let's find out what makes you-"

The machine flickered, then vanished, like a light that had been switched off.

"…Tick?"

"A hologram?" Orpheus asked.

"But…it was solid," Kinwon said, sounding mystified.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zhane, astonishingly, did _not_ bludgeon the Gold Ranger to a bloody pulp. Instead, he sat down with him and, together, they began to rebuild the interior of the zord. This meant, of course, that Zhane had to listen to Jareth's incessant cinoa-fueled babbling about anything that crossed his eclectic little mind, but otherwise he would have had to do it all himself.

"That's about it," Zhane said, tightening one last bolt as he tried to tune out the Gold Ranger's babbling about how important it was to raise a Growlithe up to level 49 before using a Fire Stone to evolve it.

He paused, squinting. In the dim light that shone into the zord from the access hatch, the bolt seemed to be made not of shiny, silver neo-titanium, but of…

"Jareth? Have you been adding your own touches in here?"

"…because that way it learns both Flamethower AND ExtremeSpeed…huh? No, not really. Why?" Jareth asked in his rapid-fire speech.

Zhane lifted his flashlight, shining it on the bolt. "Because for some reason, this bolt seems to be gold."

"Solid gold, gold-plated, or just colored gold?"

"I'm going to guess just colored gold, because using one of the softest metals in the world to make machine connectors would just be stupid." Zhane shrugged. "It just seems weird," he said, examining the rest of the machinery with his flashlight. "There are dozens of those bolts in here, but only the one gold one."

"Maybe it's special," Jareth said, grinning. "Gold looks better than Silver, anyway."

Zhane cocked an eyebrow at him for that, then shrugged it off. "Well….it's not that important, really. Not as if this was a vital system, anyway."

"So we're done?"

"Yes."

"Good. Let's go eat."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Diskette whizzed down the narrow halls of the Darian base, flying low to the ground. She'd lost track of the Silver and Gold Rangers before, but then they'd been separated from their Summoners, weakened….now that they had them back, they stuck out like a pair of sore satellite antennae.

She came upon the entrance to a large room, which was evidently some sort of zord storage bay. A young man with short, spikey blonde hair was climbing down a ladder that led from the zord's access hatch to the ground.

Had she lips, Diskette would have frowned. Her scanners couldn't seem to lock down his species….he was obviously a human, or at least a human-derivative, but his DNA didn't match any human subspecies she had on file. He turned around as he got off the ladder, and Diskette would-have-frowned more. That was the Silver Ranger…the Darian one, obviously, not Deacon. He'd demorphed when he and the Magna Defender had arrived back here at the Darian base, staying to oversee the stolen goods being sorted while the Defender wandered off, muttering something about collecting a stipend.

Ah, there was Jareth now, following him down the ladder….eh? What in the name of the Maker was that thing sticking out of his butt?

Disregarding that for the moment, she hid herself behind a nearby toolbench and linked to the comchip embedded in the Gold Ranger's head.

_Yo! Goldilocks!_

"…as a sword, not a shard, because you can learn Ultima from the Paladin Shield and if you take it as a sword, you can wager it at the coliseum for the Illumina…"

What the…if she didn't know better, she'd swear he'd been hitting the coffee again. She hadn't heard him talk that fast, or that incoherently, since the days of triple-shot expresso.

_Jareth! I'm talking to you!_

"No, you're not, your voice is in my head, you're clearly thinking at me, or transmitting at me, or something similar, but since there's no actual sound being Hey wait a minute…who's speaking?"

_It's Diskette, transmitting to your comchip. Don't say anything in front of that guy about me, though._

"Oh, it doesn't matter, I'm almost positive he stopped listening to me about an hour ago, never mind that, where have you been and how did you get here and-"

_Lose the stooge, then we'll talk._

"Hey, Zhane? You know, I'm not really all that hungry after all. You go on ahead, I'm gonna go…find my friend."

"You sure? Some food might help to dilute the cinoa a bit."

"Yeah, I'm good."

Zhane shrugged, then assuming Jareth had been referring to Deacon when he'd said 'friend', added, "I think he's in the lounge talking to Verona. See you later." And left.

Jareth stood where he was as the Silver Ranger walked across the room towards the exit, fidgeting because he couldn't have sat still if he tried. As soon as the door closed, he blurted, "Okay, Diskette, you can come out now."

Diskette zoomed out from her hiding place and floated on eye-level, directly in front of Jareth.

"First thing's first, what's your deal? You're acting like you've got jet fuel running through your veins."

"They gave me caffeine without telling me that it was caffeine-"

"Yeah, okay, that's what I thought. Second thing: You ARE aware that your new friend over there…" The hovering droid extruded a mechanical arm and jerked its thumb back at the door through which Zhane had just left. "...and the guy who blasted me a new exhaust port earlier just had it out with the others last night?"

"Yeah, I did kinda figure that, because if these guys decided that guard duty was the best place for Deacon and I then it was probably the best possible option and therefore the option the Kerovans were most likely to have chosen-"

"Slow down, dammit. I have a 7.3 quadrillion bps processor and I can barely keep up. Where's Deacon?"

"You…heard…Zhane…He's…in…the…lounge…talking…to…Verona…"

"Okay, you can speed it up a little. Who's Verona?"

"She's the leader of the Darian forces," Jareth said, still a bit on the fast side, but considerably more comprehensible. He whipped a small datapad out of one of his numerous pockets and typed a few keys, then held it up, the screen displaying the image of a purple-and-lavender-haired Darian female.

"You can access the profile of the Darian leader from your datapad? Isn't that classified?"

"Lolli sliced the whole planet for me. I can get anything."

"That explains that transmission I got earlier…lemmee see that."

Jareth handed Diskette the small device, which she promptly jacked herself into, producing a small plug and inserting it into one of the ports on the side of the handheld computer.

"Let's see…Verona…age 27….young for a commander…ah, here's why, her mother was one of the leaders killed at that aborted summit, about a year ago…she stepped in to take over…."

"Who was the other one?" Jareth asked, moving to see the pad over Diskette's proverbial shoulders.

"Says here his name was Yatru." The screen came to life with the image of a young Kerovan male, his blue eyes shining like fiery stars, his dark brown hair laced with jet-black stripes.

"Hey, wait…that's Barthello. I recognize his picture from when I was looking up stuff before."

Diskette blinked, shutters momentarily falling down over her shining optical sensors. "No, it's Yatru. See?"

"Bring up Barthello."

"It's pronounced 'Bartello'," Diskette nitpicked. "The H is silent." But she did as he asked.

The data on the screen changed, this time displaying the current Kerovan leader.

"See? Same guy."

"No it's not. The hair's different, the eyes are different…"

"Green eyes instead of blue, contacts. And his stripes are inverted, black on brown instead of the other way around. Minor cosmetics. I use a pigmentazer on my hair at least once a week to keep it growing in black, otherwise it'd go back to brown." "

"I suppose it's possible…all you humans look pretty much alike to me."

"I'm not exactly fully human anymore, or I'd take offense to that," Jareth said, waving his tail at the hovering droid.

"Yeah, I meant to ask you about tha-"

The small hovering droid wasn't able to finish her sentence before a bolt of light shot across the room, striking the Gold Ranger in the small of the back. His emerald-green eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed, falling leadenly to the floor.

"Jareth? What-"

Diskette spun about, only to have a second blast hit her right between the optical sensors. Instead of slicing cleanly through her casing, like a blaster would, the blast seemed to shut her down, her sensors going black and her small ovoid body dropping to the floor like a brick. The last thing her sensors saw before she lost consciousness altogether was a pair of blurry human forms approaching and leaning down to pick up the Gold Ranger.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Deacon," Verona began, a sly smile on her face. "Tell me something. How did Jareth know that the Silver Wing was incomplete?"

Deacon froze, well aware that Jareth had accessed restricted files to obtain that information. He was also aware that he couldn't tell Verona that, or she'd demand that they hand over the datapad Lolli had sliced, giving the Darians access to every 'secure' Kerovan file and turning the tide of the war.

"Umm…magic," he answered lamely.

"Ah, yes. Of course," Verona said, clearly not buying it. "Magic."

"Wait…how did you guys _not_ know that it was incomplete? Didn't you build it?"

"Yes…and no. The Silver Wing, and the Digimorpher, were created by a brilliant Darian scientist named Cydwon, as were…other things. I was only five when he passed away."

"War casualty?" Deacon guessed.

"No, actually, it was a natural death. Something all too rare on this world."

"Huh. So…where did the Kerovan Rangers' morphers come from?"

"They were bastardized from a stolen copy of the Digimorpher's schematics. Another of KO-35's great minds was responsible for that. I forget his name, but he had a long-standing rivalry with Cydwon. He did make one remarkable discovery, however….the Battleizer."

"That thing that Andros did, where he pulled a Sigma on me? Yeah, I was wondering about that."

"Evidently, it acts as something of a second morpher, enabling an already morphed Ranger to become …double-morphed, if that makes sense. We've been unable to duplicate the effect."

"Pity," Deacon said. "I'd love to be able to do that. Wonder what I'd look like?"

Verona strode over to the table in the center of the lounge, where she, Deacon, and Karone had had cinoa that very morning. It was now littered with cups, plates, eating utensils, and scraps of food.

"Such slobs. Deacon, will you help me clear these away?"

"Yeah, sure." Deacon picked up a stack of trash and dumped it into the recycler.

His eyes fell on one of the tables that contained a neat row of fourteen Styrofoam cups, all empty, but all obviously having recently contained cinoa.

"What, Jareth couldn't have re-used the same cup?" Deacon shook his head.

Verona laughed. "I wondered that myself when I saw him doing it." She tilted her head to the side, curiously. "But where did he get the gold one?" she asked.

"Eh?" Deacon looked back at the row of cups. Standing among them was a single cup made, not of Styrofoam, but of solid gold.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Barthello smiled as he entered the room, the two agents within rising to greet him. One was male, the other female, both with gray eyes and golden-yellow hair, streaked with light brown.

"Draiya. Meerid. I trust you have results?"

"See for yourself," Draiya said, smiling, pulling aside a sheet, which covered the long table that occupied the center of the room.

Strapped to the table was an unconscious humanoid. He fit the general description of a Terran….just like a Kerovan, but with monochromatic hair. Except…

Barthello frowned. "You idiots. This can't be the right one."

The faces of his agents fell. They exchanged a worried glance.

"Are you certain, sir?"

"Did you even watch the video files I sent you of our Rangers' fight with the Terrans?"

"Of course, sir-"

"Well, then answer me this, Meerid. Did either of them have tails?"

"No, sir," Meerid muttered.

"What was that?"

"No, sir," Meerid repeated, more loudly.

Well, then, how could this…thing…which _clearly_ has a tail…possibly be Terran?"

"We scanned for energy signatures like that of the Terran Ranger you had studied, sir-"

Barthello waved the argument aside. "Get the equipment checked, then return to the Darian base. Bring me the right one this time."

"B-but sir, we just barely avoided being seen by the Silver Ranger this time-"

"Then the practice will do you good."

Meerid sighed in resignation. "As you wish, sir."

"What should be done with this one?" Draiya asked, eying the sleeping form on the table. The form stirred restlessly, which was a surprise; the ray they'd hit it with should have kept it out for at least twelve hours. Energetic specimen.

Barthello considered. "Throw him in one of the interrogation rooms. He's not what we're after, but he might be useful anyway. For starters, I want to know what he is….if those Darians are creating more experimental life forms…but be sure none of the Terrans goes near him. We can't risk the Terrans finding out that their friends have joined the Darians, and this…specimen…may have made contact with them at some point."

With that Barthello turned and left the room.

"Well," Meerid said glumly. "Let's cart him off to the cell, then."

"A pity I couldn't keep him for a while," Draiya said, grinning mischievously. "That tail has…possibilities."

"There are some images I don't want, and my sister violating herself with someone else's tail is one of them," Meerid said, looking disgusted. "Now help me with this," he added, grabbing one end of the table and wheeling it towards the door.

"If you insist," Draiya said, pushing the other end. "But I still say you need to relax more. Maybe if you found someone of your own to violate…"

Meerid rolled his eyes, then turned his attention back to lugging the heavy table.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Diskette let out an electronic groan as, for the second time since arriving on this blasted planet, she rebooted. Her optical sensors powered up and focused…to find themselves staring up into Deacon's face.

"Diskette? You okay?"

"I've been better," she replied, hovering up off the ground unsteadily. "Oog. That was…not pleasant."

"What happened? How did you get here?"

Diskette related her tale of waking up in the scrap heap in the Neutral Zone, following their trail until it went cold, locating the other Rangers, then getting herself loaded along with the stolen supplies in the hopes of being brought back to Deacon and-

"Jareth! Where is he?"

"Jareth?" Deacon asked. "Last I saw him he was with-"

"He said he was going to find you," came another voice. Diskette turned to see the spikey-haired Darian Silver Ranger…Zhane, Jareth had called him.

"Someone took him," Diskette reported with certainty. "The last thing I saw before I blacked out from that ray was someone…picking him up….what WAS that ray, anyway?"

"Ion-neutralization beam," Verona said, stepping up to the small droid. "It effectively nullifies electrical transmitters. If used on a machine, it causes instant shutdown. If used on a living nervous system, the same."

"You're Verona, yes?"

"And you must be Diskette," Verona replied. "Deacon here has mentioned you, in passing."

"Who could have kidnapped Jareth?" Deacon asked. "And why?"

"Rangers are valuable commodities on KO-35," Verona answered. "I believe Jareth may have been taken by Darian spies or saboteurs, like the one you apprehended in my office."

"Then he's been taken to the Kerovan base?"

"And we can't save him," Zhane said. "Don't even ask. We've lost hundreds of soldiers trying to storm that base."

"None of those soldiers were _me_," Deacon said grimly.

"Verona!"

Everyone turned to look as Karone entered the Silver Wing's bay, and stood in the doorway, looking stricken.

"What is it, Karone?"

"It's Taikwa…something's happened to her." Karone scratched her leather-covered arm nervously. "I…I think you should come and see this."

Verona closed her eyes. "Very well," she said, keeping her voice carefully controlled. "Lead me to her."


	43. The Coral Plague

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 43: The Coral Plague

Verona closed her eyes sadly as she stood above the bed of what had once been Taikwa, the young daughter of the head of the Darian science division. Nothing remained of her now but a solid statue of white, bony material, unmoving, and as far as anyone could tell, unliving.

"What happened to her?" Zhane asked.

Verona glanced at Kinwon, who stared at the remains of his daughter. For all that he moved, he could have been petrified as well.

"The Coral Plague," Verona answered in a carefully controlled voice. "Taikwa was killed by the Coral Plague."

Standing next to Zhane, Karone's eyes widened.

"What's the Coral Plague?" Deacon asked.

Verna sighed. "The Coral Plague is a biological agent, originally designed to convert organic waste into a form of non-polluting, long-burning fuel known as Quantum Coral. But, like most scientific discoveries, it was quickly adapted into a weapon. All that had to be done was to fine-tune the agent to target only specific forms of DNA. As a weapon, it could not only decimate the enemy, but convert their bodies into a valuable resource."

"And this strain targets Darians?" Deacon asked. "So what are you doing with it?"

"Darians and Kerovans are the same species, which is why we never unleashed it. It draws no distinction between the factions. As for why we have it, it was acquired from a Kerovan storehouse in a raid nearly a year and a half ago."

"Just before the summit," Diskette said, hovering nearby.

"Yes."

"Then this was what was in that ruptured container," Deacon guessed.

"Yes."

"You knew about this?" Karone asked, horrified. "You knew, and you didn't…"

"There was nothing I could really do. I asked Kinwon to begin work on a vaccine, but I fear we were doomed before he began. You can see how quickly it acts…barely a day, and we're already suffering losses."

"Is there no cure?" Zhane asked.

"None that can save Taikwa, I'm afraid. She's pure coral, all the way through. The coral first corrupts the skin, then slowly spreads inward, halting the function of vital organs."

Verona turned to Kinwon. "Kinwon…I am sorry for your loss. And I am sorry to have to ask this, but….You must return to work. If there is any chance you could cure the rest of us, before we, too-"

"I'll….I'll do my best. Excuse me," Kinwon replied unsteadily, quickly vacating the room.

"Are we all infected then?" Zhane asked. "Even.." Zhane broke off, glancing at Karone, who lowered her head. She rolled back a sleeve of her leather jacket, revealing patches of solid pink coral that were growing on her arm.

"Yes," she said softly. "Even me."

Zhane stared at her numbly.

"Diskette is immune, of course," Verona stated. "So is Deacon, not being Darian. The Magna Defender's race I do not know, but since he never demorphs, it is safe to assume that he is immune as well." The purple-haired leader took a deep breath, as though reluctant to add one more shock to a day already full of them. "And so are you, Zhane."

The Silver Space Ranger blinked.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Barthello. What do you want this time?" asked the shadowy figure on the small screen.

"Can the attitude, Destin," Barthello demanded. "I want to know what's going on, and I want to know _now_. I _know_ SerpentWare is responsible for this."

"Responsible for what, pray tell?" Destin asked.

Barthello angrily rolled up his sleeves, revealing patches of crusty white coral. "This! What is this!"

Feathers fanned up behind Destin's ears in surprise. "Well, well….that's a bit ahead of schedule. The Coral Plague wasn't due to be released until your planet had been completely stripped of its resources."

"I _knew_ it! I _knew_ you were behind this! I thought we had a contract? Your agent helps me to seize control of the Kerovan faction, and you got exclusive shipping rights. Ring any bells?"

"But of course," Destin replied, sounding unconcerned, even bored. "However, you must understand that any arrangements made prior to our contract with you would supercede said contract."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm terribly sorry, but it would be unwise to say more. Suffice to say, being that every Darian on your sad little planet will be starship fuel in a matter of days, our contract is at an end. Farewell, Barthello, and please. Don't call again."

The screen on the small communicator went blank.

A low growl built up in Barthello's throat, growing into a furious roar. He flung the communicator across the room, the delicate screen shattering into innumerable fragments which rained down to the floor.

He would _not_ be defeated. Not like this. He would cure himself, then he would teach those double-crossing Serpentware officials that the leader of the Kerovans was no one to trifle with. There had to be something on this planet that could fight off this unnatural disease, something that could heal him…

"Heal…" Barthello mused, a smile growing on his face.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What do you mean, I'm not Darian?" the Silver Space Ranger demanded. By unanimous decision, the group had relocated to the Darian base's lounge for this discussion, because it was A) more comfortable and B) lacked any disconcerting coral corpses.

"It's true," Diskette said, swiveling around midair to face him. "Your DNA doesn't match any of theirs."

"But...I was born here! You said my parents were killed…"

"All true," Verona said. "But if you'll think back, I believe you'll recall that I never used the word 'parents'. I said-"

"Father," Zhane finished. "My father died twenty-two years ago. Who was he? What…what am I?"

"Your father was Cydwon," the Darian female replied.

"The guy who designed the Silver Wing? And the Digimorpher?" Deacon recalled.

Verona made a small, sad smile. "I did mention, did I not, that he'd made other things? Along with the Silver Powers and Zord, he designed the perfect Silver Ranger."

"He's a construct, isn't he?" Diskette asked. "An engineered being. No wonder he didn't fit any profile I had on record."

"Zhane, you were created to be the perfect soldier. Every gene, every cell, every chromosome selected to make you ideal for using the Silver Powers. That was why my mother chose you, when you were old enough, to become our Silver Ranger. It wasn't because of your accomplishments, though these were remarkable. And it was certainly no accident. The fact of the matter is, the Digimorpher was coded to your DNA. You were the only choice."

"I need to sit down," Zhane stated matter-of-factly, planting his ass in the nearest chair.

"Actually," Diskette said. 'What we need to do is mount up, get over to the Kerovan base and find the other Rangers."

"They'd shoot us on sight," Zhane said automatically, not really taking in much of what was being said.

"The other _Terran_ Rangers," the droid clarified. "I think I know what's going on. The nearest branch of SerpentWare is nearby. It's on a small asteroid a few orbits back from this planet. If the others still have the Mega-V shuttles, we can take them and go."

"Why would we want to go to SerpentWare?" Zhane asked. "What do they have to do with this?"

"Everything," Diskette replied.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Her smooth plastic wheels grinding against the tiled floor, Terina skated idly down the halls of the Kerovan base. It was a bit surprising that they Kerovans had allowed her and the other Terran Rangers….who, really, had no loyalty to the Kerovans…to wander unchecked through their secure facility. It was almost as if the Kerovans were afraid to make them mad.

Made sense. They _did_ kick ass, after all, Terina thought, grinning to herself as she lazily looped a passing guard.

Her smile quickly vanished as her sensitive Eltarian ears caught a strain of a conversation as she passed a door.

As quickly and quietly as she could, the small girl reached down and closed her wheels back into the soles of her shoes, tiptoeing back to the door. She couldn't read the writing on it, but above the inscription was a row of five colored squares…the symbol of the Kerovan Rangers. Maybe this was their quarters?

"I can't believe he did this," Cassie's voice came from behind the door. "Making a deal is one thing, but kidnapping?"

"Cassie, haven't you been listening? He's not one of the Terrans. He's some Darian bio-experiment," Andros' voice replied.

"It doesn't matter what he got, the fact is, he was _trying_ to abduct one of the Terran Rangers. When Barthello said we had to have him, I figured he was going to make him an offer. Not throw a net over him."

"We need his healing power, Cassie," Ashley argued. "Would you rather have Carlos and TJ _stay_ in the medical wing?"

"So why not offer the Gold Ranger a deal, like we did the others?"

"Because he's already working for the Darians," Andros said. "Besides, he's the one who put Carlos in the med wing to begin with. The least he can do is heal him."

"He was trying to," Cassie said. "He _wanted_ to heal him. I really think he'd help us if we just asked him."

Terina's eyes narrowed. So, their friends had fought the Kerovans…and won, from the sound of things. And now Barthello was after Jareth.

Popping her wheels back out, the Yellow Ranger sped down the halls, Kerovans having to dive out of her way to avoid being run down.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Okay. So Yatru killed everyone at the summit, then disguised himself as Barthello….but why?"

"It kind of kills our 'wanted power' theory. Yatru was already the leader."

"Yeah….and if Yatru killed everyone at the summit, he'd want his own people to know…he'd be a war hero, or something like that."

"Maybe not. He _did_ kill _everyone_ at the summit, including the other Kerovans, the guards and such…maybe he didn't expect them to die as well…"

"So he changed his identity to avoid persecution…and yet still keep power. That works…"

"It's a theory, anyway, which is more than we had before. Now, back to the matter at hand….how do we get out of here? I don't know about me, but I'm getting sick of sitting this cell talking to ourself."

"Yeah, me too."

Jareth sighed, stretching as far as he could, trying to glance out through the small plated window. No good, all he could see was the wall across the hall from the door. It was even plain old white. No help there.

He squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. The tail may have been a nifty new feature, but it made sitting down a pain in the-

Blinking in surprise, the Gold Ranger abruptly eased back into the chair to which he was shackled, as a pair of armed guards appeared outside the window, sliding a keycard through the lock and entering the cell. They parted, standing on either side of the door, raising their blasters at his head.

"Hi," he said warily, not moving.

A Kerovan entered the room, his face easily identifiable from his pictures.

"Barthello, I presume?"

"You presume correctly." The Kerovan leader turned to the guards. "Leave us."

The guards turned and left without a word, closing the door behind them.

"Gutsy move, Barthello." Jareth cocked his head to the side. "Or do you prefer Yatru?"

"Yatru?" Barthello let out a mirthless laugh. "You think I am Yatru? An easy mistake to make, so I will forgive your ignorance. Yatru was my brother."

Jareth blinked, absorbing this fact.

"So what do you want?"

"What I want," Barthello said, beginning to pace back and forth in front of the Terran. "…is the Gold Ranger."

"I-"

"No excuses. You come from the Darian base, that's where you were taken from. I know that he has been staying there. You will tell me everything you know about him. Now."

Jareth narrowed his eyes, unable to hold back his everpresent smirk. "Oh, I will?"

"Yes. You will. I don't see why you'd have any loyalty to him…it's not as though he's one of your kind." Barthello eyes Jareth's twitching tail. "Just what _are_ you, anyway?"

"I'm..." Jareth's eyes darted around the room briefly. "Uhh...a Fraggle."

"Never heard of one of those. Were you created by the Darians?"

"Actually, I was created by a couple of Terrans."

"Truly? I hadn't thought them capable of any such thing."

"Well, it WAS an accident."

Barthello scowled down at Jareth, who looked up at him innocently. "Where is the Gold Ranger now? Is he still at the Darian base?"

"No."

"Where is he?"

"Closer than you'd think."

"What are his weaknesses?"

"Coffee, hot alien girls, and Disney movies."

"Hot alien gir-…are you mocking me?"

"Probably," Jareth said, grinning.

Barthello shot him a withering glare. "Ordinarily, I would leave you to stew in this cell for a while. A few days with neither food nor water and most people are quite willing to talk. I am, however, pressed for time. I will find out what you know, Fraggle. And I will have that Ranger. Mark my words."

The Kerovan leader turned on his heel and stormed out of the room. As soon as the door closed, Jareth collapsed into a fit of hysterical laughter that did not end for quite some time.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"They fought Deacon and Jareth?" Electra asked.

"Yep. Jareth put one of the Kerovan Rangers in the medical wing."

"I thought two of them were in there?" Mara asked.

Terina shrugged. "Deacon must have done that one. Anyway, what do we do?"

"Maybe we don't have to do anything," Troy said, sitting back on the bunk he'd been issued by the Kerovans. The entire party of five was assembled in the bunkroom that had been given to the males, where Terina had found them.

"What?" Mara asked.

"This could be the Kerovan's way of keeping their end of the agreement," the Blue Ranger pointed out. "If they bring Jareth here, Deacon is sure to try to come to his rescue. Bam, our friends are out of Darian hands and back with us where they belong, as promised."

Terina shook her head, her shoulder-length brown-blonde hair falling around her face. She pushed it back impatiently. "That's not how they made it sound. It was more like they were trying to abduct him. They wanted to use his healing ability. I don't think they even planned on telling us they had him…"

"We can't let that happen," Tommy said. "We're here to stop this war, not become a part of it."

"And a great job we're doing," Electra said sarcastically.

"Action, people. What do we DO?" Terina asked again.

"We could confront the Kerovan Rangers. They're Terran, they may side with us…especially if we can offer them a ride home," Tommy suggested.

Mara cast a sidelong glance at the Red Ranger. "But…we CAN'T offer them a ride home."

"Lolli's bound to fix the Astro Megaship eventually. We could call for it."

Troy shook his head. "Too many problems. It'd have to get through the planet's defenses, which it couldn't do….and if the Rangers turned on the Kerovans, we'd all need someplace to stay. Besides, if-"

"All right, all right, bad idea," Tommy conceded.

"We could still go to them. Maybe they could help us covertly," Terina said. "Cassie didn't seem thrilled with what they were doing."

"We'll list that as a maybe. Another option would be to take the initiative. Go and rescue Jareth and Deacon ourselves," the Blue Ranger said.

"How would we go about doing that, exactly?" Mara asked.

"Ooh! The creature!" Terina said.

"What?" Tommy asked.

"The creature, the thing they accidentally caught instead of Jareth! It came from the Darian base, it might know a way in….umm, assuming it can talk."

"But where is it?" Troy asked. "How do we find it? This place is huge."

"I have my Power Scan….but I'd have to walk the halls morphed to scan the whole place…might be a little conspicuous," Tommy voiced.

Terina cast a sidelong glance at Electra, with the vague notion that she might be able to telepathically 'scan' the area, but the Black Ranger caught the Eltarian's eye and gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. So much for that notion.

"What about Cassie?" Mara asked. "Maybe this is how she can help us. She can tell us where it is."

"Yes," came a voice from the doorway. "I can do that."

The Terran Rangers spun around to see Cassie standing in the doorway, looking very not happy.

"You know," Terina said. "This place should really invest in soundproof doors."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Silver Wing screamed across the sky, hurtling over the thick barren strip of land that encircled the planet, separating the two factions.

"We're nearing Kerovan territory," Zhane said, eyes focused on the controls. "I hope you have a plan for when we get there."

"I AM the plan," Deacon said.

"Do you mean to tell us that your entire plan for breaking into the enemy stronghold and getting back out with both yours and Jareth's asses intact is to go diving in, swords drawn, slicing open everything that gets in your way?" Diskette asked.

"Erm," the Silver Ranger replied. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Can't we do a little better than that?"

"Umm…Oh! Magna. You used to work for the Kerovans, right? Any inside info that might help?"

The Magna Defender turned from the porthole out of which he was staring and glanced at the Terran.

"The Kerovans are not fools. They will have changed their security codes."

"Is there anything they wouldn't have changed?" Diskette asked. "Something semi-permanent that could help us?"

The black-clad warrior tilted his head. "Perhaps. Yes. The main building is large, but only has adequate housing for a small task force. When I worked there, a new team would come to man the building every twelve hours, with only the major operatives remaining in the structure."

"Meaning…"

"If you disable the intracommunication system, those within the base will be unable to summon reinforcements. You will only have to defeat perhaps two dozen soldiers, rater than the entire Kerovan army."

"I can jam transmission signals-" Diskette began, but the Defender cut her off.

"There is no signal to jam, and if there were, it would already be jammed by the planet's scrambling field. No, the system is firmware. Wires will have to be cut."

"Where are they?" Zhane asked.

"I know where they are. I will attend to the mater…"

"For a price?" Zhane asked wryly.

"Of course."


	44. Introspection

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 44: Introspection

Jessica McGuire hated it when things didn't add up.

She lived for the elegant beauty of a complex equation, the sublime elegance of a masterfully crafted hypothesis. But whenever she tried to take her ideas from the drawing board to the workbench, reality had a way of throwing the proverbial monkey wrench into things. There was always some small, unforeseeable factor that threw everything off, that made even the most perfect theory completely implausible.

The modifications she'd made to the Oasis' thrusters were brilliant, in theory. They should have doubled the speed of the vessel. How was she supposed to know that the endolimiters weren't frictionless, and that the whole system would burn out on startup? Her experiment to crossbreed and surgically graft Pirhannatron and Quantron parts together to form a new breed of warrior that could be mass-produced and set against Zedd's soldiers should have worked, DID work…on paper. Who'd have thought that Quantrons were deathly allergic to Pirhannatron blood, that the new crossbreed would only live for a few minutes before melting into an unappealing pile of slime? There was always some minute, stupid fact that got in the way.

In this case, it was a lack of vital information that had her stumped. Trying to work out what was behind all the unpleasant and dangerous events that had taken place on the Oasis over the last week without more information was like trying to build a solar converter out of wristwatch parts. She simply didn't have what she needed.

With a sigh, the Green Ranger read through the list she'd compiled of the relevant facts, hoping the answer would come to her that hadn't the last fourteen times she'd read it.

**The Phantom Ruby had been stolen. The security footage of the Ruby being stolen had been erased. Only a Ranger could have erased said footage. **

**The Delta Megaship had been sabotaged. Once again, there was no footage, meaning a Ranger had to have been responsible.**

**DECA had been released by someone who used bladed weapons AFTER the other Rangers had left aboard the Delta Megaship. Again, no security files.**

The first three lines all seemed to point towards one thing: That one of the Rangers still on Terra had been responsible for at least one of the above acts: Stealing the Ruby, damaging the ship, and freeing the droid. All the Rangers who'd stayed behind had been checked, though, and the ship searched, meaning that the Ruby must have been stolen by one of the Rangers who'd gone to KO-35. The fact that it wasn't on the ship and that they couldn't detect it on the planet meant that it had probably been taken along to the war-torn planet. But which of them had taken it, and why?

It wouldn't have made any sense for the Ruby thief to have damaged the Megaship, either. Someone had mentioned that they may have done it to throw the others off their trail, but there was no guarantee that the damaged ship would have survived that ion storm. Except for the ever-unpredictable Jareth, who never needed a reason for anything, there was no reason for any of them to deliberately risk their lives like that. So the saboteur had to be one of the Rangers who'd stayed here. Meaning they had not one, but two rogue Rangers on their hands, one here and one there. But why try to kill all the Rangers on the ship? Had the thief beaten the saboteur to the Ruby, stealing it to keep it safe? But then why would the saboteur try to destroy the Megaship, and the Ruby along with it?

Then there was DECA. The blade used to slice open her containment pod was too thick to be anything on the ship but the Dragon Dagger, Stealth Cutter, or Saba. Lolli knew for a fact that she hadn't done it, so that left Stephen or Fox.

Stephen's alignment, no matter what he might say to the contrary, was Evil; Zord-1 had been quite specific about that. But being evil didn't necessarily mean he went out of his way to hurt anyone. It just meant that his priorities, first and foremost, revolved around himself. As long as he wanted to convince himself that he wasn't evil, he would….and Lolli suspected he'd have a hard time convincing himself that he hadn't stolen anything, especially if the Ruby was there staring him in the face, proving him wrong to himself.

Then again, he HAD somehow convinced himself that Kalen actually liked him. Deluding himself was undeniably a talent he'd invested in. Hmm. Ah, but then there was Saba. The sentient weapon had a far more solid grasp of morality than his wielder. Had he been used to perform such an act, Saba would have likely ratted Stephen out.

As for Fox…Lolli didn't mean to be rude, but the girl wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. Not that anyone seemed especially intelligent to Lolli, who could calculate genetic code in her head the way most people calculate the price of a cheeseburger. But she really doubted that the Camo Ranger had the brains to operate behind the scenes like this. Fox was open and honest, both with her words and actions. If she felt a certain way, anyone could tell, because she'd be sure to tell them. Even in battle, she was always forthright. Slice, dice, slaughter, no muss, no fuss. Covert ops? Not her thing.

Leaving…what? She was out of options. Sighing, she continued down the list.

**A strange tangle of ivy tried to strange the ship, and when the spell creating it was broken, an ivy monster appeared down on Terra.**

Not quite relevant to the first three, but still odd. As far as Lolli knew, no one had been able to breach the ship's defenses in all the time it had been online. Kalen's 'sleeper' idea held merit, but that didn't explain the monster. There had to be a connection between them, it was too much of a coincidence for an ivy monster to just happen to show up, right after the Oasis was nearly crushed by the damned vegetation. Had the monster created the ivy? If so, how had it breached the ship's magitech defenses? Or had the spell somehow, in being broken, created the monster?

Cursing magic in all its logic-defying forms, Lolli frowned, rubbing her arm. That hadn't been the usual monster, either. It was strong. Very strong. It had taken them almost an hour to defeat it. She'd have bruises for a month. She'd always been prone to bruising.

Ah…there was one small event she'd left off the list, something so minor she'd nearly forgotten it entirely. Fingers moving across her keyboard faster than the eye could follow, she added it to the list.

**A strange note appeared in the lounge, written in Australian, reading 'send yourself to the moon'.**

The very first inexplicable event, before the Ruby had even been stolen. No one seemed to know who'd written it. Electra was the obvious choice, as she was the only Ranger who could read or write in Australian, but though the stationary was hers, she'd claimed that the handwriting was not. A few Rangers had text-translating contacts, Kalen, Angel, and Jareth among them, but those only enabled one to read other languages, not write in them. So who had written it? And what did it mean, anyway? 'Send yourself to the moon'? What kind of message was that? An insult, perhaps? Something along the lines of long walks and short piers? Was this note in any way related to everything else? Or had Electra just been trying to screw with her head?

If that was the case, it was working. The Green Ranger slammed her blonde-headed head down on the keyboard in frustration.

"Green Ranger, I realize that the situation is something of an open-ended threat, but you will be no good to any of us if you damage that excellent brain. Perhaps you should get some rest. Or perhaps something to eat," Zord-1 suggested gently.

Lolli pushed her hair back behind her ears, closing her list. "Both," she said resolutely. "And some asprin. Good night, Zord-1."

"Goodnight, Lolli."

The lights shut themselves off as Lolli exited the Bridge of the Oasis, the electronic doors opening and closing for her.

The room was silent for a few moments, then the lights gently brightened again.

"She has returned to her room. You can come out now," the computer said.

Out from beneath one of the computer consoles, a contorted, black-clothed figure painfully emerged, shaking her arms and legs to remove all the kinks.

"I thought she'd never go," Electra said, hoisting the high-powered watergun she held and checking to see that it had not been crushed or damaged.

"You should learn to be more careful, Black Ranger. You know what is at stake here."

"I will, don't worry. I have no desire to go through THAT again." The Black Ranger sighed. "Okay. I'd better head back to base camp. Remember, you never saw me."

With a black flash of energy, the blue-haired girl vanished.

Now that the room was truly empty, the lights dimmed once again, this time staying down.


	45. When Factions Collide

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 45: When Factions Collide

Barthello scowled, pacing back and forth in the large conference room that also served as his office. The creature they'd captured hadn't answered any of his questions… not helpfully, anyway. He hadn't heard a word from Meerid or Draiya, the agents he'd sent to retrieve the Gold Ranger from the security of the Darian fortress. Perhaps they'd been captured. Or perhaps they'd succumbed to the plague. Or maybe they had simply failed and were afraid to show their faces back here again. Whatever the cause, he was no closer to obtaining a cure.

And his infection was growing worse. Already the coral patches on his skin were spreading, he could feel the flesh beneath the surface calcifying. The itching was unbearable, but in some places there was only a horrible numbness, a lack of sensation that could only mean that the tissue was dead.

Before he could further reflect on the severity of his situation, crimson lights began to strobe overhead, an urgent siren blaring throughout the base.

Barthello stormed across the room to the small panel embedded in his desktop. He flipped a switch and the face of a panic-stricken Darian appeared.

"What is going on?" the leader demanded.

"I..I don't know, sir!" the sentry replied. "The security grid is flatlining! All the cameras are offline, the electronic locks are open throughout the entire base…It's almost as if-"

The screen abruptly went black, a field of snowy static replacing Barthello's underling.

"Let me guess," Barthello sighed. 'Communications are out as well?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"There," Cassie said, closing the top of the control panel. "That should do it."

"What did you do?" Terina asked, flippantly seated atop one of the other panels that filled the security room of the Kerovan base.

"Disabled everything. Except the alarms, nothing I could do about those. They're blaring throughout every room of the base, except for this one."

"How do you know how to do that?" Troy asked.

"The war's left us shorthanded," Cassie replied. "I've had to repair these systems myself more than once. I know which wires lead where."

"But now they'll know you've helped us," Tommy said. "Even if they don't suspect we had help killing the security grid, one of those workers you ordered out of here will figure it out."

"Yeah, I know."

"So what are you going to do?" Terina asked.

Cassie shook her head, typing on one of the other panels. She didn't meet anyone's eye. "I don't know. I just…couldn't keep doing what I was, you know? I can't work for Barthello anymore. You don't know some of the things he's done. And I don't even have TJ or Carlos to talk about these things to anymore…"

"What about Ashley?" the Yellow Ranger inquired, tilting her head curiously.

"Ashley's…biased."

"Andros?" Electra guessed.

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, Andros is a great guy, and they're a good couple, I'm really happy for them both, but….he's just…"

"Alien?" Terina suggested flatly.

"Exactly," the Kerovan Pink Ranger replied, oblivious to the Eltarian's tone. "This is _his_ world, it's _his_ war, and he acts like it. And I know he's my friend, but I can't help but feel that he really doesn't want me here. He doesn't think I belong. He's not too fond of you guys, either. I don't know how Ashley stands it."

"Will we have to fight him?" Troy asked.

Cassie frowned. "I really, really hope not."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A single burst of green energy shot up into the sky in the distance.

"That's the Magna Defender's signal," Zhane said, arms crossed, as he, Deacon, and Diskette gazed out through the windshield of the Silver Wing. "I still can't believe I'm about to waltz right into the Kerovan central base."

"Believe it," Deacon said, as he turned and headed towards the back of the ship, the access ramp unfolding.

"What I _really_ can't believe, actually, is that I'm not even going in to destroy anything. All this, just to grab one person?"

"Six people," Deacon corrected. "This mission is to extract _all_ the Terran Rangers, alive and well."

"Yeah, well, if I see the opportunity to perform a little sabotage along the way, I'm taking it," Zhane muttered.

"Fine," Deacon said, as the two Silver Rangers quietly made their way across a wide stretch of Kerovan territory, having had to park the Silver Wing some distance away. "But you're not killing anyone, got that? I don't care if they are Kerovan."

Zhane frowned, but didn't argue.

"Hey, here's a question," he added after they'd walked for a time. "Why is it that the 'central' bases seem to be located right on the edges of your territories? I mean, if you each command half the world, shouldn't your bases be on opposite ends of the planet?"

"You mean, leave our bases in the same place all the time? That's just asking to be bombed. Look around, this place is nothing but bases. It's about impossible to pick the ones either side is currently operating from. I don't know how often the Kerovans do it, but we Darians tend to switch bases about once a month."

"You just pick a vacant base and move in? What if someone's already living there?"

"Not likely. Less than a quarter of the buildings on this planet have anyone living in them. Everyone's dead," Zhane said sullenly.

"Luckily for you guys, I just came from the Kerovan base and happen to know exactly which one it is," Diskette said, sounding quite smug. "That's it, by the way. Just ahead."

"Looks just like all the others," Deacon observed.

"Of course it does…to you," the droid replied. "To me, it's a bit of a headache-inducer, really. All those Ranger signatures running around inside."

"Is Jareth's in there?"

"Yup."

"What can you make of the security system?" Zhane asked.

"Well, I can't sense any electronic impulses leaving the building, so the Magna Defender actually DID cut communications….as for security itself…" Diskette tilted midair, as though cocking her head to the side in confusion. "That's odd."

"What?" Zhane asked.

"Well, normally big important buildings are virtually humming with security, but this one is….silent. It's like the security systems are…braindead."

"That just makes our job easier," Deacon said, smiling.

"Sounds like a trap to me," Zhane argued.

"Oh, come on. How could they possibly know we were coming?"

"Either way, we're going in," Diskette said before Zhane could reply, sounding uncharacteristically assertive.

**"Elephant!"**

There was a bright flash of silver, and a Silver Power ranger stood where Deacon had been seconds before. Two smaller flashes of silver illuminated the area as a pair of swords appeared in his hands.

"I'll take the guards," he said, smiling beneath his helmet.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I've had it with your games, Fraggle."

Once again, Jareth had to fight to suppress a surge of giggles as Barthello referred to him, with a straight face, as 'Fraggle'.

"My base is fraught with security glitches, I am told there are intruders within the perimeter, and," Barthello said. "This infernal itching has become downright unbearable. My patience is at an end. Tell me what you know of the Gold Ranger. Now."

"You're just going to keep repeating that until it loses all meaning, aren't you?"

"I will continue repeating it until I get some answers," Barthello replied.

"Why not answer a few of mine, first? Tell me what happened to your brother."

Barthello blinked. "_This_ is what you want to know? And you will answer my questions if I tell you?"

"Sure, why not."

"Very well. Yatru was the leader of this faction. I felt I could do better, and I wanted the perks, so I had him eliminated."

"How?"

"I struck up a deal with a local trading company. They supplied me with one crack agent. I arranged for there to be a summit, a peace conference, where the leaders of both factions would meet. I convinced by brother that the conference was for the best."

"The best for whom?"

Barthello smirked. "I must have left that part out. Anyway, during the summit, the agent attacked the conference and killed everyone present. Being the highest ranking general, I rose to fill the newly vacated position. In payment, I granted the company in question exclusive shipping rights to the Kerovan faction."

"Who was the agent?"

"I'm afraid you've used up your quota of questions, Fraggle. It's time you answered mine."

"Yeah, okay. A deal's a deal. Shoot."

"Where is the Gold Ranger?"

"KO-35."

Barthello sighed. "Can you be a _bit_ more specific?"

"Yes."

The Kerovan leader restrained himself from strangling the strange creature that was manacled to the chair before him.

"Where, in relation to this room, is he?"

Jareth smiled. "Inside."

Barthello's face lit up with a look of dawning comprehension.

"Then….you?"

"I knew you'd ask the right question eventually. So what do want from me?"

"I have need of your healing powers."

Jareth blinked. "You don't look injured."

"I-" Barthello stopped mid-sentence, clutching his midsection as he fell to his knees, his face contorted in pain. He let out an agonized scream.

Jareth's eyes widened. "I take it back."

Despite the searing pain, the dark-haired Kerovan forced his eyes open, holding his hands out before them. As he watched, crusty white coral crawled across his skin, freezing his fingers in place.

"Too late," he whispered. "Too late…"

Those were the last words he uttered before the coral closed over his face, the lethal virus converting every living cell in his body into solid, calcified mineral.

The Gold Ranger blinked in astonishment.

"Um. Ooookaaay…."

His eyes fell on the belt of the jumpsuit the statue still wore, and on the small keycard attached to its side. The key to the manacles that held him to the chair.

"Ahh. I think it's time I was leaving."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Cassie led the five Terran Rangers down through the labyrinth of passages that formed the Kerovan base.

"Whatever that thing is, it's in one of the interrogation rooms down here on the lower levels," Cassie explained.

"What were they interrogating it for?" Tommy asked.

"If it came from the Darian base, they're probably trying to get details regarding the base's layout and location," Troy replied.

"I don't know," Cassie admitted. "So far the only one who's been in to see it was Barthello himself. I think he-"

Cassie stopped short as she turned the corner, the group almost running headlong into Ashley and Andros, both fully morphed.

Troy's eyes narrowed, and he quickly slapped the handle of the thick black briefcase he carried into Terina's hand.

"Cassie, there you are," Ashley said. "Morph and come on, there are intruders-"

"Cassie," Andros interrupted, a threatening tone in his voice. His gaze was focused on the five Terran Rangers behind her. His hand was inching towards the gun at his waist. "Where were you taking them?"

"I..I was…umm…"

**"Triceratops!"**

A blinding blue flash lit the corridor, fading just in time for everyone to see the Blue Ranger's lance shoot out and knock the Astro Blaster from Andros' hand.

**"Spiral Saber!"**

A spinning drill appeared in Andros' hand, striking sparks from the pronged staff Troy held.

Cassie grabbed Tommy's arm and hauled him past Ashley, who was too surprised to react as Electra and Terina raced after them.

"Ashley, after them!"

She hesitated.

"Go!" the Red Ranger repeated.

Shaking her head, the Yellow Ranger turned to give chase.

**"Pterodactyl!**

Something pink flipped over her head, landing just ahead of her, a long pink bow appearing in her hand with a flash. Mara held the bow out warningly, deliberately taking up as much of the passage as she could.

Ashley skidded to a halt, glared, then braced herself and rushed forward, right at the Pink Ranger.

Mara raised the bow, preparing to swing it like a sword.

At the last possible moment, the Yellow Ranger dropped to the ground, her momentum carrying her forward as she slid along the ground, shooting directly between the Pink Ranger's legs. As soon as she was past the obstacle, Ashley leapt back to her feet and resumed racing down the hall.

Mara blinked in astonishment, turning around just as the Yellow Kerovan ranger turned the corner, disappearing from view.

"Hey," she said, pouting. "No fair."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Ahh…much better," Jareth said, massaging his wrists as the cuffs on the arms of his chair slid back, releasing him. A couple more swipes of the cardkey and the cuffs restraining his ankles vanished as well. He stood, stretched, and examined his tail, the end of which was still wrapped around the end of the keycard.

"It's nice to know you're actually good for something," he told the tail.

Idly tossing away the key, he made his way to the door and stuck his head out cautiously, glancing down the hall in both directions.

Seeing no one, he quietly exited the room and made his way to the end of the hall, where the passage turned. He the had no real idea where he was going, but-

Abruptly, something large, black, and blue turned the corner at high speed, slamming right into him and knocking him to the ground.

"Oof!"

Jareth winced as the back of his head collided with the hard tiled floor and the very heavy something landed hard on top of him.

"Ow…Jareth?"

Jareth squinted through the pain. "Electra?" he asked.

"Um…Hi." The Black Ranger said, looking stunned.

"Hello."

"Are you okay?"

"I am experiencing an extremely unpleasant tactile sensation."

"What?"

"Ow," Jareth clarified.

"Oh. Um. Sorry about that."

There was a pause.

"Lecca?"

"Yeah?"

"You can get off me now."

Electra quickly climbed to her feet stood aside, looking determinedly at the wall as the Gold Ranger climbed to his feet.

"What-" he began, but was cut off as still more people came racing around the corner, all of them skidding to a stop as they saw him.

"Jareth!" Terina cried. 'What are you doing here?"

"I was dragged here. Good to see you too, by the way."

"I'm glad you're okay," Tommy said.

"Um. Hi," said the other person standing among them: a rather cute asian girl, about his age, though of course she looked older that he did, not having been frozen at around age 16.

"Helloooo, nurse," he replied unabashedly. "Wait…"He squinted; she looked familiar. _"Cassie?"_

Cassie tilted her head. "Do I know you?"

"You dated a friend of mine for a while….before I stopped keeping track of his girlfriends."

"I...then…you're Terran? But…" she pointed to his tail in confusion.

"What in Jhenoa's name is THAT?" Terina asked, following Cassie's gaze. "Jareth, why do you have a _tail_?

"Eh…Long story."

"Cassie, _this_ is the Gold Ranger," Tommy explained.

Cassie's face lit up. "You're…then you have to help me!"

"What?"

"My friends…they're hurt. You have to come with me to the medical wing. Please?"

Jareth shrugged. "Anything for a hot Asian girl."

Cassie squirmed a bit at that, but before anything more could be said, a shimmering pink arrow embedded itself in the wall, having just flown down the hall from the direction they'd come.

"Uh-oh…" Was all Terina managed to say before Ashley appeared around the corner, Astro Blaster in hand. She ducked to dodge one more arrow as it lanced at her, then stopped short when she saw the congregation before her. Mara appeared behind her, hovering in midair, but she lowered her bow when she saw the others.

"Ashley, stop," Cassie said.

Ashley looked a bit uncertain. Her gaze fell on Jareth. "They freed the creature. He was our only link to finding the Gold-"

"Ashley, Barthello was wrong. He _is_ the Gold Ranger."

"And he just agreed to heal your friends," Terina said.

The Yellow Kerovan Ranger seemed to struggle with herself for a moment, then sighed. "Oh, all right," Ashley said, holstering her gun and demorphing.

"Now then," Jareth said, turning to Cassie. "I believe this lovely young lady wished to escort me somewhere?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zhane looked around intently as he and Deacon strode almost unopposed through the corridors of the Kerovan base. He was a bit irked at Deacon's insistence that all the guards be simply disabled or lightly maimed instead of killed, but wasn't about to argue, as a fight between the two of them now could jeopardize their mission. Instead, he focused on mentally mapping the interior of the base for future reference, taking note of features that could prove useful.

Diskette turned at a stairwell, leading them down into the lower levels.

"Ignoring the two that haven't moved since we got here, because I'm pretty sure those are the ones you and Jareth hospitalized," Diskette said. "All the other Ranger signature are moving, but there's one that's standing still, very nearby….one of ours."

"Which one?" Deacon asked.

"Not Jareth. He stands out because of the extra energy from his Spirit Summoner. But the others are all the same intensity. It could be any of them."

As they turned the corner, it became evident which Ranger it was, mostly because he was lying, unconscious and unmorphed, in the middle of the hallway. Scorch marks and gashes covered the wall nearby, evidence of a brief but heated battle.

"He's alive," Diskette said. "Vital signs are stable. Seems to have suffered mild head trauma."

Deacon sighed in relief, kneeling down and nudging the unmoving Ranger.

"Troy?" he asked. "You okay?"

"Mmm? Deacon?" the Blue Ranger asked groggily. Troy pulled himself up to a sitting position, rubbing his head.

"Easy. What happened?"

"Andros. Man, that guy's got a mean right hook."

"You fought Andros?" Zhane asked, impressed. "You're lucky you're still breathing."

Troy briefly explained how Cassie had disagreed with Barthello's actions and decided to help the Terrans, and how Andros had attempted to stop them.

"So Ashley ran off after them?" Deacon asked.

"And Mara flew off after Ashley. I don't think Ashley had any clear idea what she was going to do if she caught them. She and Cassie seem to be pretty good friends, I can't really see her hurting her."

"And Andros?"

"I held him off as long as I could, but he pulled some kind of trick where he gained extra armor….so much he barely fit in this hallway. I figured it would slow him down, but he was actually faster with it. He hit me and I demorphed…," and here Troy rubbed the bump on his head. "And it looks like I hit the floor or one of the walls when I fell, because the next thing I knew, you were standing over me."

Deacon turned to Diskette, who was hovering nearby. 'Where are the others?"

Diskette rotated midair, calibrating her sensors. "I have…eight signatures moving thataway, towards another two that are staying put…and one more following them, some distance behind, but catching up fast…must be Andros."

"So the Pink and Yellow Rangers are with your friends," Zhane said.

"Looks that way," Deacon said.

"You realize they'll probably want to fight us? Or at least me?"

"Cassie seemed sick of fighting, to be honest," Troy said. "Ashley I think will stick by Andros, just not against Cassie."

"Just don't start anything, okay?" Deacon asked. "For now, we should try to catch up with the others-"

"Before Andros does, you're right," Troy agreed. "I'm not sure what Andros would do at this point, or what his orders are…"

Zhane smiled grimly beneath his chrome helmet. "Just leave Andros to me."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Draffut? You home?" Cassie asked, as she and her entourage arrived at the medical wing.

"Cassie? What brings you here? I sincerely hope no one's injured, I'm afraid I'm out of beds…this dreadful plague…"

"I brought the healing Ranger from the video," Cassie explained, entering the room, along with Jareth and Ashley.

"Jareth Valentine, at your service," the Gold Ranger said, extending his hand.

Draffut looked at the hand blankly.

"Don't do handshakes here? All right," he said, withdrawing his hand.

"Oh my God," Cassie said, as her eyes roamed the med wing. The nearest three cots held Aviarus and the two injured Rangers, but all of the others held the bodies of Kerovans who'd been coralized, frozen in various positions of pain.

"These ones are still alive, but just barely," Draffut said. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for them."

"Wow. What happened to _him_?" Jareth asked, his eyes on the crushed body of Aviarus.

"The crash," Draffut replied. "Can you heal him, too?"

Jareth frowned. "I think so," he said. "Except for his leg."

"Why not his leg?" Cassie asked.

"My healing power only accelerates the healing process. I can make things heal faster than they would normally, but I can't regrow lost limbs. Unless the person I'm healing belonged to a race that regenerates, I guess. You want miraculous healing, you need the White Ranger. He can do limbs."

"But you can definitely heal Carlos and TJ, right?" Ashley asked.

Jareth looked them over. "Carlos, definitely. He's half-done already. But TJ….the bones in his foot are all back in the right places, yes? Because if I heal him and they heal wrong, that's it. I can't un-heal him and try again."

"I assure you, the bones in TJ's foot are in the optimal position for healing," Draffut said.

"Then stand back**. Lion!"**

Amber light illuminated the small, crowded room for a moment, and when it faded the Gold Ranger stood where Jareth had been. He stretched his arms and stood between the two cots the Rangers occupied, placing one hand above Carlos' chest and the other over TJ's injured foot.

A golden glow began to shine from his palms, growing brighter and brighter as Jareth focused his energies. Under the benevolent light, the wounds began to heal, at such a speed that one could literally hear the flesh closing, the bones knitting.

"All done," Jareth said a few moments later, moving on to Aviarus. "They're going to be hungry when they wake up, by the way. I don't create matter from nothing, the body uses its own resources to heal."

Draffut moved in and examined the Rangers' wounds.

"Remarkable. Tell me, how does it work?"

"Magic," Jareth replied.

"Is that a simplified way of saying that you don't know?" Draffut asked.

"No," the Gold Ranger clarified. "I mean it's actually magic."

"A pity. If this effect could be harnessed and made available to the public…"

"Yes, well, I'm afraid it can't. There's only one of me, that's not enough to man every hospital in the cosmos, even if I were willing to give up my entire life for it, which I'm not. What's that?"

Jareth's last comment was directed towards the small electronic devices that Draffut had just removed from behind the ears of the injured Rangers.

"REM Digitizers," Draffut replied. "The keep people asleep by stimulating alpha brainwaves. Cheaper and more effective than conventional chemical painkillers."

"I'll bet," Jareth replied, removing his hands from the Sirenien and letting the golden light die. "Just leave this guy out, though, he's a pain when he's conscious."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"How much longer is this going to take?" Mara asked impatiently.

"It's all done," Cassie said, as she exited the operating room, entering the waiting room where the Terran Rangers sat. She was followed by not only Ashley and Jareth, but also by Carlos and TJ, who seemed a bit dazed, but otherwise fine.

"You both owe me, by the way," Jareth said. "Okay, maybe not you, Carlos, since I was the one who hurt you in the first place. But you, TJ. I expect at least a thank-you note when this is all over."

"So now what do we do?" Ashley asked. "Andros will be looking for us."

"I say we bail," Terina said.

"And go where? Mara argued. "The Neutral Zone? No, thanks. And the Darians aren't about to welcome us with open arms, not after our little fight in the warehouse."

"They might take us," Tommy argued. "We're Rangers, we're valuable."

"I was all for healing my friends," Ashley said. "But I'm not about to let you guys run off and serve the Darians. I may not be loyal to the Kerovans-"

"But you're loyal to Andros," Tommy said. 'We know."

"You can't stop us," Electra said. There was no threat in her tone, she was simply stating a fact.

"No," Ashley said. "But I'd have to try."

There was a tense silence in the room following that statement. TJ and Carlos moved slightly to stand beside Ashley. Cassie seemed to shrink in on herself, unsure of where to stand.

"Knock knock," came a voice from the door.

"Deacon? Troy?" Tommy blinked in surprise as the two Terran Rangers entered the room.

"The gang's all here," Terina said, grinning. "About time."

"I'm here, too," Diskette said, hovering behind the Blue and Silver Rangers. "Not that anyone cares."

"We missed you, too, Diskette," Electra said, smiling slightly.

"I couldn't help but overhear your little debate," Diskette said. "And I know exactly where we should go. First thing's first, we need to get out of this base."

"And go where?" Mara repeated.

"The landing pad outside seems a good place. I'll explain the plan there; it's way too crowded in this little room."

"Before you guys go out there, I should warn you…there's someone standing in the hall that you wouldn't expect to be here…," Deacon began.

"Deacon, tell me you didn't bring-" Jareth began, but Deacon held up his hand, stopping him.

"I needed help busting in, you know. Or at least I thought I would. Anyway," the Silver Ranger said. "He's promised not to start anything if you don't."

"Um," Ashley said. "Okay."

Deacon turned to the medical wing's entrance. "You can come in now."

The four Kerovan rangers immediately brought their hands to their morphers as Zhane stepped into view. They may have been Terrans, and this may not have been their war, but they had fought against the Silver Darian Ranger enough times to still consider him an enemy.

"Zhane," Carlos said warily.

"Everyone," Zhane greeted, just as cautiously. He was still morphed, but his weapon was away and his helmet was off, tucked under his arm….the furthest he was willing to go, as far as peace offerings went.

"What do you want?" Cassie asked.

"I was assigned to help Deacon rescue Jareth. He insists on bringing his other friends out of here as well."

"They're not prisoners," TJ said.

"Yes they are," Cassie argued. "Barthello isn't about to let them leave, not while he can still use them."

"It doesn't matter," Jareth said. "Barthello's dead."

"What?" Cassie asked.

Diskette spun around abruptly, facing the Gold Ranger. "Are you sure, Jareth?" she asked sharply. "Are you sure he'd dead?"

"The plague thing got him. I saw him get all petrified."

Diskette said nothing more, but seemed oddly satisfied.

"Here, too," Zhane whispered, his eyes focused on the coralized bodies lying in the room beyond.

Deacon blinked. "Wow. That IS a fast-spreading plague."

"Plague?" TJ asked.

"I'll explain about the plague on the way to the landing pad," Diskette said. "Everyone, follow me."


	46. Truce

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 46: Truce

Urchin whistled a merry tune as he performed the preflight checks on his new ship. It was top-of-the-line, brand-new and fully equipped…and far better then he deserved, he knew. His credit never would have allowed for anything so grandiose, especially considering the losses he had recently taken. He could only assume that he had a very good friend somewhere….though he really couldn't imagine where.

Something caught his eye, a group of people leaving the Kerovan base. A very large group of people, strolling out onto the landing pad, being led by some sort of hovering disk.

Curious despite his better judgment, he opened the access ramp to his new ship and disembarked, approaching the group.

"Rangers?" he asked.

"Hi, Urchin," Terina said.

"Ah, Urchin…the Serpentware trader, right?" Diskette asked. "I was hoping you'd still be here."

"I was just leaving actually," the Aquitian said in the strange, warbling voice all members of his race possessed. "Just thought I'd come see what you all were doing out here."

"That's a very long, involved story," Diskette said. "I was just about to explain-"

"Zhane!"

Not only Zhane's, but everyone's head turned to see the Battleized Red Ranger standing in the doorway through which they'd just exited, his metallic wings and enhanced armor glinting in what little sunlight pierced the thick layer of smog surrounding KO-35.

"Andros," Zhane acknowledged, putting his helmet back on and fastening the clasps on the sides. The others present quickly parted, not wanting to stand between the Kerovan and the Darian.

"You have a lot of nerve sneaking in here," the Red Ranger. His gaze turned to Cassie, TJ, Carlos, and Ashley. "But then, you always _did_ have a lot of nerve. And you always did have a talent for turning people against me."

Ashley cringed at the pain in his voice, barely hidden by thick layers of anger.

"Andros, it wasn't-" she began, but he continued, cutting her off.

"Having Cassie cut the security? Severing all communications? It was a clever plan, Darian. I'll bet you got a lot of good spying done. But it's over now."

The device on the Kerovan's back slid down over his head, his targeting scopes zeroing in on Zhane.

Cassie stepped in front of the Silver Ranger. "I'm not going to stand aside and watch you kill people anymore. You'll have to kill me first."

"Don't think I won't."

Ashley's expression quickly became one of anger. She stepped in front of Cassie.

"Move, Ashley."

"No."

"Move!"

"No! You'll have to kill me, too."

"If this keeps up, we'll have a conga line," Terina muttered.

Ashley closed her eyes, her hand coming up to clutch the yellow jewel that hung from the chain around her neck, the gem that Andros had given her on her birthday. When he'd given it to, he'd told her that he loved her…now, she was gambling on that having been true.

Andros paused for a moment, then let out an exasperated noise, his Battlizer armor unsealing itself from his normal Red Ranger armor and flying off in all directions, though where exactly it went was far from clear.

Ashley breathed a sigh of relief…but it was premature. With a wave of his hand, Andros telekinetically sent both Ashley and Cassie hurtling out of the way. As soon as they no longer stood between him and Zhane, he summoned his Spiral Saber and lunged at the Silver Ranger, drill whirring.

Zhane ducked and moved aside, allowing the Red Ranger to pass him by.

**"Super Silverizer!"**

The digital wireframe of the weapon appeared on Zhane's arm, instantly becoming solid, and he brought up its blade just in time to block another blow from Andros, red and silver sparks flying where the two weapons met.

"No!" Ashley cried. She and Cassie attempted to jump back between the two dueling Rangers, but Carlos and TJ held them back, not wanting to see either hurt.

Zhane's blade met Andros' drill again, and this time the impact sent both of them flying back a considerable distance. The Silver Ranger's boots left deep gouges in the thick concrete of the landing pad as they struggled to bring him to a halt.

**"Elephant!"**

**"Tyrannosaurus!"**

And Zhane leapt back towards the Red Space Ranger, his blade swinging, but found his weapon's path blocked by the sudden appearance of a pair of crystal-edged silver swords.

"Deacon! Move!"

"Mmm…nah-uh," the other Silver Ranger replied, shaking his helmeted head.

Likewise, Andros' drill spun uselessly against the enchanted blade of Tommy's two-handed longsword, crimson sparks falling as the hardened universal steel of the Spiral Saber ground against whatever magical metal made up the other Red Ranger's weapon.

Tommy deftly and expertly twisted his blade, causing the Spiral Saber to go spinning out of Andros' grip and clatter to the concrete.

Seeing an advantage, Zhane leapt up over Deacon and Tommy, landing before Andros. He raised his blade…

"Zhane! Stand down!"

Zhane paused, his head spinning around towards the direction from which the voice had come.

Andros backflipped out of range of Zhane's Silverizer, then rolled to where the Spiral Saber had fallen and reclaimed his weapon. He stood his ground, his body in a defensive crouch and his weapon held out before him as he analyzed this new development.

The voice may have come from Diskette, but it was unmistakably Verona's. The purple-haired leader's speech was emanating from Diskette's speaker grill.

"Verona?" Jareth asked.

"I thought there were no short-range communications on this planet?" Terina chimed in.

"I've been bouncing the signal off the Oasis," Diskette stated in her own voice. "From here to Terra and back…nothing short-range about that."

"Diskette and I spoke before your group left for the Kerovan base," Verona explained. "We arranged for me to monitor the situation."

"Then you _are_ spies," Andros said, seething.

"Not exactly," Diskette said.

"Andros, I would speak to you," Verona said, though the small hovering droid. "As one faction leader to another."

"Leader?" Carlos asked, looking at the Red Kerovan Ranger in confusion.

"Barthello is dead," Verona said. "As I understand the Kerovan chain of command, leadership now falls to the highest-ranking general…which is you, Red Ranger."

"Barthello is-" Andros began.

"Dead, yes," Jareth said. "I saw him die."

"Even assuming you're telling the truth…What's to talk about?" Andros demanded.

"The plague. It will continue to eat away at our world, destroying both factions….unless something is done."

"What plague? I don't know anything about any-"

"Barthello was probably too busy trying to cure himself to tell you about it," Jareth said. "That's why he wanted me."

"Barthello wanted to use your powers to heal Carlos and TJ," Andros argued, having gathered by now that Jareth in fact the Gold Ranger. He sounded slightly uncertain, though, knowing the quality of Barthello's character.

"Until his own life was threatened," Cassie said, echoing Andros' own thoughts. "Then Carlos and TJ could have rotted for all he cared. You _know_ that's what Barthello was like."

"And don't tell us you don't know about the plague," Zhane said. "You're Kerovan. My guess is you're as infected as everyone else. Intense itching, patches of coral on your skin, dusty hands?"

Andros was silent for a moment, then he turned back to Diskette.

"Are you proposing a truce?"

"A cease-fire, at the very least, until the plague has been dealt with."

"You really expect us to trust you?"

"Yes."

"And you honestly trust us to honor a cease-fire?

"Yes, if only for one simple fact: Karone has fallen victim to the plague. She is in the final stages even as we speak."

Andros froze. Zhane started as well, he'd known she was infected, but the rate at which it had affected her came as a shock.

"Our doctors estimate that unless a cure is found and administered, she has less than twelve hours to live."

If Verona's words weren't enough to convince him that she was telling the truth, her tone was….it was apparent that she genuinely cared for Karone.

Ashley walked over and nudged the Red Ranger, after a few moments of indecision. "Andros?"

"Agreed," Andros said aruptly. "A cease-fire, until the plague is taken care of." He turned to TJ. "Give the order."

The Kerovan Blue Ranger nodded, then turned and rushed back into the base.

Andros turned to Jareth. "_Can_ you cure the plague, then?"

Jareth shook his head. "A virus is a living creature. My power would only make the plague healthier. I'm pretty sure Stephen can cure diseases, but not me. Besides, even if I _could_, it'd take too long. I only have two hands, too many people are sick, the virus would still…"

Turning back to Diskette, and, by proxy, Verona, Andros continued. "I suppose you have a plan, then?"

"No, but I do," Diskette replied, speaking in her own voice. "See, here's the thing I noticed whilst being shuttled back and forth between you people. You may not have noticed it, but…Serpentware is selling to both of you."

A look of utter shock appeared on Andros' face, and a stunned silence on Verona's end.

"Is this true, Andros? Do your supplies come from Serpentware as well?"

"Yes," Andros scowled. "Those double-crossing, fence-sitting, opportunistic-"

"You people have no one to blame but yourselves," Electra said. "If I saw two idiots about to kill each other off, I'd be more than happy to sell them the sticks and stones to do it."

Andros glared at her, but Verona cut in:

"I fear the Black Ranger is correct. Serpentware merely capitalized on the opportunity we provided."

Andros' eyes scanned the crowd, finally falling on Urchin, who stood nearby, a resigned expression on his Aquitian face.

"And don't you go blaming Urchin," Cassie said. "He's got problems of his own."

"Thank you," the Aquitian said.

"More to the point," Diskette said. "He's our way into Serpentware."

"_What_?" Urchin asked, now looking quite alarmed.

"Why would we want to go into Serpentware?" Mara asked. "Sounds like the last place we'd want to be."

"Because Serpentware was the one who provided the plague in the first place," Diskette explained. "They knew neither of the factions would use it, except as a last resort…which meant that after you had paid them everything you could, you'd go and convert yourselves into Quantum Coral-"

"Which they could then harvest and sell for a tidy profit," Troy finished.

"Exactly." Diskette cut in. "But an interstellar company like Serpentware employs all kinds of species. Including, I'd wager, people from this planet. Darians. Kerovans."

"No Darian has ever left this planet," Verona stated.

Now Andros looked sheepish. "There have been Kerovan expatriots," he admitted. "Traitors and other criminals. We ship them off to Serpentware, who then sell them to the Sirenians. Some of them could be, and probably are, working for Serpentware now."

"I have never seen Gandris, the acting head of Serpentware, personally," Urchin chimed in. "But I seem to recall hearing other workers complain about him after having received a fairly severe pay cut. If I am not mistaken, they referred to him as a 'stripey-headed imbecile.'"

"Sounds like a Kerovan to me," Terina said, grinning.

"And if Kerovans are working there…leading the place, even…and the virus targets Kerovans…," Zhane said slowly.

"Then they're bound to have a cure," Andros finished.

"So what are we waiting for?" Terina asked.

"How do we get there?" Zhane asked. "I mean, who goes? The Silver Wing can't take us all, and truce or not…" the Darian turned a dark glance to the Kerovan Rangers, not needing to finish his sentence. Of course, he didn't want them on his ship.

"Not a problem," Troy said, holding up the thick black briefcase he carried. "We can take these."

He flipped open the case, revealing a cushy foam interior that contained five tiny, metallic spaceships, no larger than toys, one in each color: Black, Pink, Blue, Yellow, and Red.


	47. Storming Serpentware

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 47: Storming Serpentware

"Wow. They're…big," Cassie said.

"The Silver Wing's bigger," Zhane said dismissively, but it was clear that he was impressed.

Before them stood five massive zords: The Mega-V Shuttles. Only one of them looked like an actual shuttle, the one belonging to Electra. The others were a tank, a saucer, a rocket, and a humanoid robot. As soon as their molecular compression fields had been released, they had resumed their full size, taking up nearly the entire landing pad.

"Two to a ship, color to color," Troy said. "Should be a comfy enough trip."

"Uh-huh," Jareth said, arms crossed. "And what about me? I don't see a gold one."

"Well, I would have the Magna Defender take you to Serpentware in his Torozord," Verona said, still speaking through Diskette. "But he seems to have wandered off. He has an annoying habit of doing that, and I'm afraid I have no authority to prevent him from doing so. He works on a mission-to-mission basis, and I cannot stop him from seeking employment elsewhere."

"You can ride with us," Deacon said. "Right Zhane?"

"Sure," Zhane said. "But no singing."

"Well," Jareth said cheerfully. "You suck."

"You people do realize that doing this will almost certainly get me fired," Urchin said uncomfortably.

"If you do this, and help to save our people, the Darian faction would be in your debt," Verona's voice said.

"As would the Kerovans," Andros added. He still seemed uncomfortable with this arrangement, but it appeared that he fully intended to keep his word.

"Either way, your family won't go hungry," Cassie said. "Well….any more than anyone here does now."

"I daresay you people eat better than I do, whatever your current living conditions," Urchin admitted. "Very well."

"Do you like music?" Jareth suddenly asked.

"Er…yes," Urchin replied. "Why?"

"That's it, then," the Gold Ranger said, grinning. "I'm riding with you."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A short time later, the small flock of ships neared the asteroid which housed the local offices of Serpentware Industries.

Urchin nervously keyed in his access code and scanned his ID card through a slot on his dashboard. There was a pause, then a bleep and a green light.

On the surface of the rocky asteroid, a circular door began to open, curved slices of metal sliding back like the opening shutter of a camera.

"Follow me into the loading bay," Urchin said over the communicator. As the Aquitian maneuvered his supply shuttle through the newly open door, the six space Zords followed. As soon as they were all inside, the shutters slid closed, sealing the asteroid.

The loading bay was huge; large enough for thirty Mega-V Shuttles, let alone their seven ships. After passing through the colossal airlock, the Rangers parked their vehicles and disembarked.

"So where to now?" Terina asked, as the Rangers and Urchin convened in the center of the huge chamber.

"That depends a great deal on where you want to go," Urchin said, seeming distracted.

"Something wrong?" Tommy asked.

"Perhaps. It is odd that no one questioned the fact that I brought six other ships in with me. It is possible that security assumed I was bringing them in for salvage…"

"Aren't they a little…new? For salvage, I mean?" Cassie asked.

"They are indeed." Urchin shook his head. "I also find it odd that there is no one else here. No ships, no other traders."

"Do you think they new we were coming?" Mara asked.

"How could they?" Carlos asked. "_We_ didn't even know we were coming."

"Anyway…," Urchin pointed to a door at one end of the massive, steel-lined room. "The corporate offices are that way. I imagine you will find Gandris in his penthouse office on the top floor." Pointing to the other side, he continued, "Research and Development is that way; that's where they will most likely have their bioengineering laboratories."

"And the cure," Electra commented.

"Yes."

"Where does that door lead?" Troy asked, gesturing towards one of the other two walls of the square chamber.

"That door leads to-" Urchin began.

He was cut off as the door in question slid open, the sound of the powerful motors that drove the door grinding loudly throughout the mostly empty loading bay.

A torrent of armored, armed guards stormed out, forming neat ranks of no less than twenty soldiers each. The lines were arranged by species, the rows in front including creatures of only a few feet tall, the ones further back composed of creatures that stood twice as tall as the Rangers. Most remarkable were the ones in back. To the Terrans in the group, their appearance immediately brought to mind the aliens from 'Aliens'….except that they were wearing custom-fitted gray armor.

"The armory and security barracks," Urchin finished, backing away wisely towards the relative safety of his ship.

The Rangers instinctively fell into their morphing stances.

"It's morphin' time," Tommy said to his team.

"Let's rocket," Andros called to his.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

All hell broke loose within the loading bay, the massive chamber seeming much smaller now that it was virtually swarming with various creatures.

At least, Mara thought, it was easy to tell who to aim for. The Serpentware security people all wore the same suit of dull, flat gray armor, the same helmets with their face-concealing visors. They all carried the same blasters and wore the same badges….essentially, they fit the stereotypical ideal of 'corrupt industrial security guards'.

Soaring overhead, she conjured her Blade Blaster and fired a barrage of laser blasts down into the throng. Sparks flew, as they always did, from the metallic armor, and screams filled the air as the guards fell to the ground. Most didn't get back up.

Explosions from one end of the room told her that Troy was flinging around a few of his explosive charges, the vegetation growing at the other end told her that Terina was sprouting thorny vines to entangle their enemies. A few of the Kerovan Rangers could be seen, hacking and slashing their way through the guards, every now and then whistling up those flying surfboards of theirs and taking to the air, blasting down into the hoard.

But no one seemed capable of mowing down as many of the guards as Zhane and Andros. No doubt about it, they were good; the two of them fought with a ferocity Mara had never seen before, and it kinda scared her.

Zhane would make a powerful, diagonal slice with his Silverizer, follow it with another, backhanded, horizontal slash, then finish off his target by slashing upwards in a kind of reverse backflip, only to convert his weapon to blaster mode as soon as he landed and take out the three guards who'd been standing behind him.

Not to be outdone, Andros was shredding his way through the guards as though their armor was made of construction paper. Blood of various colors sprayed in all directions as his Spiral Saber tore through skin and muscle, sparks flew as blasts from his sidearm penetrated armor and scorched their way through bones and organs.

The crowd was thinning fast…and Mara realized she'd been floating there, watching for most of the time instead of fighting. Shaking her head, she conjured her bow and began raining shimmering pink arrows down on what few guards remained.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Aww…no more?" Deacon pouted, pulling his diamond saw-blade from the torso of one of the fallen guards and attempting to shake off the thick purple blood.

"I think that's all of them," Electra said, stowing her axe.

"Unless some of them were smart enough to leave," Troy said.

"Bah," Ashley said, breathing hard, but smiling at their victory. "Who ever heard of an intelligent guard?"

"Well, there was that one in Titan AE," Jareth said.

"Oh, yeah…I remember that flick," Cassie said. "Man, it's been a long time since I went to a movie."

"Maybe I could take you to one sometime," Deacon said, his voice going into 'flirt mode'.

Cassie tilted her head. "I know that voice…" She snapped her fingers and pointed at him. "Christopher Parrish!"

"Eep?"

"It IS you! I KNEW you seemed familiar."

"Cassie…Cassie Chan," Deacon said, slapping his forehead.

"Oh, look, he _does_ remember," Cassie said bitterly.

"Is that the one who-" Ashley began.

"Yup."

"Let me guess," Jareth said. "Ran off and slept with his ex again while still dating you?"

"Oh, so he makes a regular pattern of this."

"I _did_ mention that I stopped keeping track of his girlfriends, didn't I?"

"I'm gonna go crawl in a hole somewhere now," Deacon muttered.

"Yeah, you do that," Cassie replied.

As the other Rangers indulged in the post-battle banter, Zhane panted, trying to catch his breath as he stood with his hands on his knees. He raised his head to check his surroundings, and across the field of alien corpses saw Andros looking back at him, in more or less the same shape he was.

Before either could say anything, the massive doors to the armory ground open again, and something big stormed out.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Electra ducked just in time as Andros came hurtling past, soaring right over her head and striking the floor with a painful-sounding thud, rolling to a halt.

Her head whipped around to see what had thrown him.

Standing just outside the massive mechanical doors to the armory was some sort of robot. It stood about half as tall as a Megazord, its head a single, cycloptic orb and its body a thick barrel of metal. Judging from the shape of its pincer-like hands, it was some sort of lifting robot, probably used for loading heavy cargo onto large ships.

"Andros! Are you okay?" Ashley asked, running over to him and helping him to his feet.

"I'll live," Andros replied shakily, raising his head towards the robot…and the Ranger who still stood at its feet.

Zhane glared up at the mechanical construct, the robot towering over him, easily four times as tall as the Silver Ranger.

"Super Silverizer!" the Ranger leapt at the robot, slashing and tearing with his blade, but the machine's hull was too thick for his blade to penetrate. The robot leaned down and tried to close one of its pincers on him, but Zhane backflipped away, then turned and ran for his ship, racing up the access ramp, which quickly slid closed.

Andros' jaw nearly dropped as the Silver Wing's engines powered up and the ship began to lift off the ground. Just when he was beginning to regain some respect for the Darian, he was going to turn and run?

"Where's he going?" TJ demanded.

"Coward," Andros growled.

But the ship didn't go anywhere. Instead, it turned so that its nose was facing up into the air, its underside facing the robot. As the Rangers watched, The ship's wings folded to its back. Its nosecone and thick, heavy treads fell to the sides, becoming arms and legs, and a head emerged from the top of the vehicle. Reaching around behind it, the zord removed the laser array that had been attached to its back. As the jets from its feet died down, the Zord lowered itself to a standing position on the metal floor, holding out its bow-shaped laser weapon.

"Rangers," Zhane said smugly. "Meet the Mega Winger."

"Crap on a cracker," Jareth said. "So _that's_ what that last part did."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A series of powerful energy pulses flashed across the chamber, tearing great, gaping holes in the loading robot's body. The robot staggered, falling back as vital cables and wires within its torso ruptured.

Stowing its weapon, the Mega Winger took a few long strides forward, and, reaching out with one colossal hand, wrapped its silver fingers around the robot's spherical head. With a mighty yank, the head came free, the robot falling to the ground with an earsplitting crash.

As the Rangers below watching in amusement, the Mega Winger shook out the contents of the head into its other hand, then set the terrified pilot down on the floor.

The small reptilian creature shuddered as he drew his blaster, pointing it with a trembling, multifingered hand at the row of Rangers.

His gaze traveled down the group of Rangers, all the way down to where the Mega Winger still stood, glowering down at him.

Suddenly, he dropped the gun, allowing it to fall with a clatter to the ground. "I don't get paid enough for this," he said shakily, turning towards the exit and leaving the loading bay, breaking into a desperate run halfway to the door.

"What an unusually intelligent decision," Terina said, grinning.

There was a loud clanking of parts as the Mega Winger turned back into the Silver Wing. Zhane strode out, brushing imaginary dust from his hands.

"Now, as I was saying…," Terina continued. "Where to now?"

"We have to secure the antidote to the Coral Plague," Zhane said. "We should head to the biolab."

"Someone should also pay a visit to Gandris," Troy added. "It's possible he has the cure with him. And someone should stay here to guard the zords, just in case there _are_ any of those guards left."

Andros turned to Ashley, Carlos, TJ and Cassie.

"You four go to the biolab. See what you can find."

"What about you?" Ashley asked.

"I'm going to find Gandris."

"I'm coming too," Zhane said.

For a moment, it looked as though Andros was going to argue, but then he said, "Fine. I want you where I can keep an eye on you, anyway."

"Well, I'm tagging along to the biolab. It sounds interesting," Jareth said.

"I'll come too," Deacon offered.

"Okay," Tommy said. "The rest of us will stay here with the zords."

The group split off and began to go their separate ways. Zhane paused, then turned to Deacon, who was following the others to the biolabs.

"Hey, Deacon?"

Deacon turned. "Yeah?"

"Catch." Something shiny flew through the air. Deacon deftly caught it, blinking at it in confusion.

"The cardkey to the Silver Wing?"

"Just in case," Zhane said.

"Why me?"

"I have a feeling you may need it," Zhane replied. "Besides, you know the rule."

"Only the Silver Ranger drives the Silver Wing," Deacon remembered, smiling.

"Zhane. You coming or not?" Andros demanded from one side of the room.

"Deacon! Hurry up!" Jareth's voice sounded from the other.

"Good luck."

"You too."

With that, the two Silver Rangers turned and ran to catch up.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So," Terina said sullenly. "Guard duty again, huh?"

"You sound disappointed," Tommy said. "Guard duty was exciting enough last time, wasn't it?"

Terina shrugged. "Fair point."

"If you all will no longer require my services," Urchin said. "I think it is high time I was leaving."

"Thanks for your help, Urchin," Tommy said. "I hope we'll see you again sometime."

"Perhaps we will."

Urchin strode up the ramp into his ship.

"Urchin," Mara blurted just as the doors were closing.

The Aquitian placed his hand on a button, halting the doors.

"I...um. Before, when…that is-"

"All is forgiven, Pink Ranger," Urchin said, smiling. "Farewell."

With that, Urchin sealed himself within his ship, guided it up through the airlock in the ceiling, and was gone.

"I've never heard you apologize for anything before," Electra commented.

"You still haven't," Terina grinned.

"Do you think it was smart to let Andros and Zhane go to face Gandris alone?" Troy asked. "The slightest misunderstanding, and that'll be at each other's throats."

Tommy frowned, turning to face the door through which the two Rangers in question had exited. The Blue Ranger had a point, but…

"I think we can trust them to stick to their word," he said.

"I would really feel better if one of us went with them. It doesn't take all five to stand watch over the zords."

"I'll go," Electra volunteered in her soft monotone. She jumped down from where she was seated on one of Mega V-5's ski-like treads and began to make her way across the hangar towards Serpentware's corporate offices.

"So," Tommy said, turning to the others. "What do you think's happening back ho-"

Without warning, an explosion rocked the room, and Electra came flying back their way with a wail, crashing into the side of Mega V-3. She slid down the side of the gigantic blue rocket to lie on the ground, a heap of black armor and leather.

"Ow," she said weakly.

As Terina helped the fallen Black Ranger to her feet, the other three Rangers turned to see what had caused the blast.

At first there seemed to be nothing, but then a form appeared, seeming to melt out of the shadows near the door.

His armor was thick and bulky, a dull, solid black. There was a large green emerald set into his chest plate, and his helmet bore golden horns, like a bull. He wore a cape, black on the outside but lined in a vivid scarlet. In his hands, he carried a large black rifle.

"None shall pass," he said grimly.

The Rangers exchanged a few puzzled looks, then fell into their fighting stances.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"That's a big door," Jareth said, completely unnecessarily.

The doors to the Research and Development wing were huge, and made of unusually strong-looking metal. The group of Rangers stood outside them, puzzling over how to get in.

"I mean like, a _really _big door," the Gold Ranger continued. "If there's a grand daddy of all doors, this is him."

"It takes a keycard," TJ observed, examining the locking mechanism.

"Will these help?" Jareth asked, holding up a ring of keycards.

"Where'd you get these?" Cassie asked, moving to stand next to him and taking the ring from his hand.

"Got them off one of those corpses back in the hangar. Thought they might come in handy."

"Yeah," TJ replied. "Hand me the red one," he specified, noting the color-coding of the lock.

"Umm…there is no red one," Cassie replied, examining the keycards.

"It says right here on this diagram, TJ argued. "Blue for corporate offices, Green for security, Red for R&D. There HAS to be a red one."

"Nope. No red. See for yourself." Jareth took the ring and tossed it to the Blue Ranger, who caught it and examined the cards.

On the ring was a blue card, a green card, and a gold card. But no red.

"Oh. I guess you're right."

"I'm always right. But no one ever listens to me," the Gold Ranger complained.

Cassie patted him on the shoulder. "Check to be sure it's locked," she suggested. "Because we'll all feel really stupid if it's open."

TJ grabbed the door's handle and gave a yank, but it stayed firmly shut.

"Well, it was a thought," the Pink Ranger muttered.

"The percussive approach, then?" Carlos suggested.

Deacon whipped out one of his diamond-saws and took a swipe at the door. Frowning, he examined the mark he'd made.

"Something wrong?" Carlos asked.

"Well, I can cut through it, no problem," Deacon said. "But my blades aren't big enough to penetrate through the metal. It's too thick. I could try cutting at an angle and slice away chunks of it, but that'd take forever."

"Stand back," TJ suggested, drawing his Astro Blaster. Taking aim, he fired a pulse of pure energy at the door, but all it did was slightly blacken the metal.

"Now _that_ is a well-made door," Cassie said, arms crossed.

"I could try-" Jareth began.

"No!" Deacon said. "No pudding."

"Aww…"

"What? Pudding?" Ashley asked.

"Never mind, long story. I have another idea. Who has the biggest gun?"

Carlos and TJ exchanged a glance.

"Quadroblaster?" the Blue Ranger asked.

"Quadroblaster," Carlos agreed. He turned to Deacon. "You think we can shoot through the door?"

"No," Deacon replied. "I think you can shoot me."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Who…or what…are you?" Terina demanded of the armored figure that stood before them.

"I am the Magna Defender," the caped warrior answered.

"The Mag-but…you're supposed to be on _our_ side," Tommy said.

"I am on no one's side," the Magna Defender replied. "I do what I am paid to do. And I have been paid to stop anyone from following those two to Gandris' office."

"Serpentware's agent," Electra said softly.

"What?" Mara asked.

"On the way here, Jareth said Serpentware's agent ruined the summit for Barthello, remember?"

"No. I never listen to anything he says."

"Maybe you should start," Troy said. "He also told us that the Magna Defender used to work for Barthello, didn't he? Right up until the summit."

"As soon as the job was done, he was free to take another commission…and the closest one, and the one that would pay the most for what he knew of the Kerovans, was the Darian faction…let us know if we're getting close," Terina added.

The Magna Defender didn't confirm anything….nor did he deny. He simply stood, rifle in hand, between the Rangers and the door to the corporate offices.

"If Gandris has him standing guard," Troy said slowly. "It means that Andros and Zhane are walking into a trap."

"Which means we've got to warn them," Tommy summarized.

"If you attempt to pass," the Magna Defender said. "I will have to destroy you."

Tommy unsheathed his hook-claws from their housing within his left gauntlet, drawing the short sword from his back with his other hand. "You know what?" he said. "I think we'll risk that."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Astro Axe!"**

**"Lunar Lance!"**

**"Satellite Stunner!"**

**"Star Slinger!"**

Summoning their weapons, the four Space Rangers quickly assembled them into a single, rifle-type cannon, which they then aimed at Deacon as he stood before the massive metal doors.

"Are you sure about this?" Carlos asked.

"Oh, he's sure," Jareth said, standing just behind the four Rangers supporting the large weapon, arms crossed, an expression of amusement on his face beneath his helmet.

With a shrug, TJ pulled the trigger. The Quadroblaster released a large sphere of energy, launching it at high speed directly for the Silver Ranger.

The Space Rangers blinked in surprise as the blast was absorbed by the Silver Ranger's shield, the energy running down the grooves etched into the vest and draining down into the diamond in the center of his chest.

"Again," Deacon said. "I need more."

Another surge of power illuminated the hallway as a second blast joined the first.

"One more."

The power from the third blast struck the enchanted metal, and Deacon actually had to exert effort to hold it all in, his body nearly full to capacity. Enough remained of the blast itself to knock him back against the door, but he was able to absorb enough for it not to harm him. He began to chuckle as the engraved elephant's-head in the center of his chest began shining like a miniature sun. He lifted his head and looked to the Rangers.

"You should be running now."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Magna Defender moved with surprising speed for someone wearing so much heavy armor, ducking, leaping, and twisting, dodging laser blasts, energy arrows, shurikens and various other ranged attacks as he rushed towards the Rangers.

Terina gasped in pain as the Magna Defender's sword pierced her stomach. The world spun dizzyingly around her head as the mercenary picked her up, spun her around, and threw her, directly into Mara, who was just rising up off the ground. The two of them fell painfully to the ground, Mara's bow clattering against the metallic floor.

Turning, the Magna Defender hefted his sword and threw it as hard as he could, directly at Electra's face. The Black Ranger clamped her hands together, catching the blade just inches away from her faceplate…

The blade went falling to the ground as it was kicked out of her hands by the Magna Defender's spinning back boot. His other foot soon followed, connecting with the side of her head and sending her sprawling to the floor.

Retrieving his sword, the black-clad bounty hunter turned to the Blue Ranger, who conjured his lance, raising the double-ended blue staff to block the downward sweep of the Magna Saber.

The block worked, stopping the blade, but that didn't stop the Magna Defender from delivering a devastating kick to Troy's torso. A burst of blue sparks sprayed forth from his armor as the Blue Ranger fell to the ground, a deep dent in his Robocop-style armor.

More sparks, red this time, flew as the Magna Defender crossed blades with Tommy, the Magna Saber striking against his sword and claws so quickly and so many times that the blades could barely be seen.

"Don't make me hurt you," Tommy said, raising his claws to block yet another sweep of the Magna Defender's blade.

"Don't." Clang. "Make." Clang. "Me." Clang.

The Magna Defender jumped back. Running his hand along his blade, he charged his sword with energy, the metal glowing with green light. With a single, horizontal swipe, the Magna Defender's blade sliced off both of Tommy's curved, hook-claws, as well as the short sword in his right hand. There was a clatter as all three metal blades fell to the floor.

"Laugh."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I. Don't. Believe it," Cassie said, as she and the other Space Rangers emerged from behind the protection of Jareth's coat.

Everyone else gaped in astonishment as well.

Despite the devastating power of Deacon's silvery explosion, despite the way the explosion had torn past them as they all hid behind the wall formed by the Gold Ranger's protective garment, despite the fact that the walls and floor were scarred and stripped bare…the door was still standing.

"Well, that's it. I give up," Deacon said. He kicked petulantly at the ground and leaned back against the door.

As soon as he touched the slab of metal, the hinges crumbled to dust and it fell back, crashing inward into the Research and Development facility with an earsplitting slam of metal against metal.

"Ow," Jareth commented when his ears finally stopped ringing.

"Well made door," Cassie said. "Cheap hinges."

"Always cutting corners, these industrial types," the Gold Ranger added, smiling.

Sounds of fighting echoed down the corridor, coming from the direction of the loading bay.

"Okay, that was either an echo, my newly damaged ears acting up, or…"

"No," Carlos said. "Something's going on back there."

"We'll check it out," Deacon said, moving away from the door to stand near Jareth. "You guys find the biolabs and look for the cure."

Carlos nodded, and the two teams split up, the Gold and Silver Rangers running back towards the loading bay.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Gravity Burst!"

A shockwave of black light traveled through the metal floor near the Magna Defender's feet, and he staggered, falling to his knees. His cape drew taught around him, as though it were being pulled down, his sword fell out of his hands, not clattering to the floor as it should have, but instead landing with a resounding THUD, as though it weighed far more than it should have. He tried to pick it back up, but not only was he unable to lift it, but the act of leaning forward threw him off balance, and he fell forward onto his hands.

Electra appeared next to Tommy, axe in hand. Terina and Troy, too, regained their feet, moving to stand alongside the Red Ranger. Mara made a point of stepping on the Magna Defender's back as she joined the others.

There was a burst of red light as Tommy summoned his power weapon, the two-handed longsword appearing in his hand. He dropped the useless handle of his smaller sword, taking the handle of his true weapon in both gloves.

"What's wrong, Magna Boy?" Mara asked smugly. "Are we a little tougher than you were expecting?"

The Magna Defender began to glow with a brilliant green inner light, the energy surge shattering the black glow that still coursed through the ground beneath him. Freed from the Black Ranger's power, he rose to his feet, sword in hand.

"A little," he admitted, raising his sword.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jareth and Deacon raced into the loading bay, skidding to a halt as they saw the Magna Defender, raising his blade towards the sky. Before him stood the other five Terran Rangers, all looking a bit beaten up.

"Magna Defender?" Deacon asked.

"What's he doing he-"

A blinding green flash lit the bay, forcing the two metallic Rangers to shield their eyes. When it finally, faded, they lowered their arms, blinking away the bright spots.

Tommy and the others were gone, as was the Magna Defender.

"Uh-oh," Deacon said.

"Not good," Jareth agreed.


	48. Napalm and Silly Putty

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 48: Napalm and Silly Putty

The blinding green light faded, revealing the harsh, space-scarred surface of the asteroid.

"What just happened?" Mara asked.

"I think he transported us all outside," Terina replied shakily.

A focused pulse of green fire rained down from the sky, missing the Rangers but burning a deep trench into the rock in front of them. The group spun to see from whence it had come…and found themselves staring up at a massive, black, mechanical bull. The towering animal pawed at the ground with its hooves, snorting geysers of steam from its nose.

"Woah. That's a big bull," Terina said.

"His name is Torozord," came the voice of the Magna Defender. The mercenary stepped into sight from behind one of Torozord's hooves. "And it's been a while since he was fed."

The Torozord let out an aggressive grunt.

"Zord time?" Mara suggested.

"Zord time," Tommy agreed.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ashley let out an exasperated noise as she browsed the cupboards and cabinets in the biolab with the other Space Rangers. "It's no use. It isn't here."

"Lots of other viruses, though," Carlos said, reading off labels on a row of canisters marked with a biohazard symbol. "Triforian, fast acting, lethal…Mirinoan, fast acting, lethal…Edenite, slow acting, non-lethal…Lucky them…Aquitian, slow acting, lethal (water-borne)…man, there's one for every species I've ever heard of…and a lot I haven't."

"We should torch this lab, once we find the cure," TJ said.

"I don't think we'll find it here," Cassie sad. "I think we've pretty much ransacked this place."

She was, unfortunately, right…they had left no filing cabinet or chemical rack unturned. The entire research lab had been turned upside-down, and though there were many antidotes to various viruses on file, none of them had been the cure to the Coral Plague.

"Guys!"

The Space Rangers turned as Deacon ran into the room, skidding to a halt amongst the piles of research papers and broken containers that littered the room.

"We have a small problem." The Silver Ranger said.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tyrannosaurus let out a roar, rearing back its head and opening its mouth, the cannons in the back of its throat releasing a stream of liquid fire at Torozord.

The mechanical bull responded in kind, firing a beam of emerald green light from its mouth. The two destructive beams met halfway, shards of red and green energy splintering off and showering the landscape as the two beams fought against each other.

Mastodon stormed at Torozord from the side, its fierce tusks ramming into the bull's hull, knocking the other black-armored zord to the ground.

Torozord rolled over the rocky terrain, finally coming to a halt some distance away. It shook its head, then turned and glared at Mastodon malevolently.

Before Electra could react, Torozord was on its feet again, ramming its own horns into her Zord, the massive bull's golden headgear shredding through Mastodon's hull.

Triceratops rolled forward, preparing to fire its horn-chains at Torozord, but as it fired, Torozord gave a toss of its head, throwing the still-attached Mastodon through the air. Mastodon flew right into the path of Triceratops' chains, then into Triceratops itself. The two Dinozords went rolling with the impact, hopelessly entangled.

Saber-toothed Tiger leapt forward, sinking its formidable teeth into Torozord's hindquarters. The bull gave a panicked snort, steam shooting up from its nostrils, then took off, stampeding across the rocky surface of the asteroid, the Yellow Dinozord still attached by its jaws.

Tommy blinked as Torozord raced past, Saber-toothed Tiger latched firmly to its butt.

"Umm…Terina? Did you actually have a _plan_, or..?"

"Umm….sort of, but this wasn't it," the Yellow Ranger admitted over the comlink. Saber-toothed Tiger scratched fiercely with its foreclaws at Torozord's hindquarters.

This was too much for Torozord. It screeched to a halt, Saber-toothed Tiger flying forward, its jaws dislodging. The giant mechanical cat went flying, then came crashing to the ground, smashing comically headfirst into a jagged boulder.

"Ow," Terina's voice called weakly over the intercom.

Torozord pawed angrily at the ground with its hooves, preparing to rush headfirst at the dazed Yellow Ranger.

A rain of pink energy razed the ground in front of it, causing the mechanical bull to give a start and back off a few steps in surprise. It looked up as Pterodactyl swooped down at it, lances of pink light shooting down at it from the cannons mounted on the Pink Dinozord's wings.

Torozord opened its mouth, firing another river of green light up into the air. Pterodactyl looped and twisted, neatly dodging the ribbon of green flame, then fired another volley of laser bolts down at the asteroid's surface.

Torozord snorted, once again venting steam, then opened its mouth to try again…only to be knocked rolling into the dust by Tyrannosaur's tail.

As the bull pulled itself to its feet, glaring angrily at the Red Dinozord standing obstinately before it, Magna Defender appeared between its forehooves with a flash of green fire. He drew his sword and raised it above his head.

"Galwit Mysto Prifior!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"They're gone?" Cassie asked incredulously as she and the others stood in the loading bay.

"Well, no, they're not _gone_," Jareth replied. "They can't be _gone_. Everything has to be _somewhere_. We just….don't know where they are."

"That translates as 'gone' in my mind," TJ said, looking over the Gold Ranger's shoulder as he fiddled with a Turbo Navigator.

"Did you have Zord-1 send that?" Deacon asked.

"Didn't have to, there was one in every one of the Mega-Vs. Aaaah…. Here we go…"

An image appeared on the small screen, fuzzy at first, but clearer as Jareth tuned it in. Five mechanized dinosaurs, fighting a large mechanical bull.

"What are those?" Ashley asked.

"Dinozords," Deacon said. "_Where_ are those?"

"Just outside the asteroid. Magna must have teleported them to the surface."

"We should go out and help them," Cassie said.

"How can we help fight a giant metal bull?" Carlos asked.

Deacon whipped out the Silver Wing's keycard, grinning beneath his helmet. "Well," he said. "I've got this…"

"The rest of us can take the Mega-Vs," Jareth said. "The others left the keycards in the ignition, I checked."

"That wasn't very bright of them," Deacon said.

"No, it wasn't, but it's lucky for us they did," TJ said.

"What about Mega V-1?" Ashley said. "We seem to be short a Red Ranger."

"And Jareth's short a space zord," Cassie observed. She turned to the Gold Ranger. "Can you drive that one?"

"Red's not really my color," the Gold Ranger replied. "But I can try."

The Rangers boarded the large vehicles, strapping themselves in and preparing the vehicles for takeoff.

"To infinity!" Jareth cried, as the ships began to lift off from the metal floor of the loading bay. 'And beyo-"

"No," Deacon said over the communicator. "Just…no."

Jareth let out a hmph. "I don't like you anymore."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Torozord opened its mouth, releasing a thick stream of green light down onto the Magna Defender, who threw his head back and laughed as he bathed in the energy. As the power was absorbed into his armor, he rapidly began to grow, his armor changing slightly as he did. His cape vanished, its crimson color bleeding into other parts of his suit, until he was as red as he was black, standing nearly twice as tall as Torozord. His armor seemed less bulky now, more aerodynamic and mechanical now that he had grown.

Placing a hand on Torozord's shoulder, he swung his leg over and leapt aboard the massive bull, a golden, double-sided lance appearing in his hand.

"Tough as iron! Mythica Matador!" he cried.

"Megazord time," Tommy said.

"What?" Troy asked.

"These five make a Megazord?" Mara added.

Tommy blinked, recalling that this group had never had a Red Ranger, and thus, never had the Tyrannosaurus Zord. Of course, they wouldn't know about this combination.

"Yeah, they do," Tommy said. "And now's a good time."

One by one, the Rangers activated the Megazord combination systems within their individual zords.

Triceratops' tail rotated forward, snapping onto its back. Saber-toothed Tiger's tail did likewise, and it's legs folded down to its underbelly, lowering it to the same height as Triceratops.

As the Yellow and Blue Zords rolled backwards, Tyrannosaurus ran up behind them and bent down, allowing both rolling vehicles to lock onto its knees. Mastodon ran up to the assembly, unfolding into a large pair of arms, which snapped onto Tyrannosaur's back, both arms terminating in large energy cannons. Mastodon's head somehow fixed itself to Tyrannosaur's chestplate, and finally, Pterodactyl snapped onto the back, completing the structure.

"Umm…Tommy?" Terina asked. "This isn't a Megazord. This is a tank."

"We're halfway there," Tommy said, operating the Dinotank's controls and causing it to motor forwards towards the Magna Defender and Torozord.

Magna Defender (or the Mythica Matador…whatever he called himself now) raised his lance into the air. Despite the thin, insubstantial atmosphere, lightning somehow built up in the sky above him, striking the golden lance and charging it with power. The Magna Defender swung his lance, releasing a devastating arc of golden energy just as the Dinotank fired its cannons.

The two powerful forces collided halfway between the mechanized fighters, creating an explosion of blinding white-gold light that shattered the stone surface of the asteroid, filling the air with dust and debris.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The six stellar vehicles raced through the thin, insubstantial atmosphere of the asteroid, trying to reach the battle before it could take a turn for the worse. Unfortunately, the Magna Defender had, probably deliberately, teleported to the very opposite side of the asteroid from the entrance to the loading bay, meaning that the others had to travel half the circumference of the giant spaceborne rock to get there.

An explosion suddenly rocked the side of Mega-V 4, sending Ashley spinning.

"Woah!" she cried, stabilizing her flight. "What was that?"

"Space mines," TJ said, startled. "The asteroid just released an entire cloud of them. Technically, they shouldn't work this close to a planetoid-"

"They seem to work just fine," Deacon said. "Anything we can do?"

"Don't hit them?" Jareth suggested helplessly. As it was, he couldn't even dodge. Mega-V 1 couldn't fly on its own; it was forced to ride the rocket that was Mega-V 3 like a surfboard.

"What would we do without you," TJ asked sarcastically, trying to steer the unwieldy missile through the cloud of floating orbs without striking any.

"I don't get it," Cassie said. "This cloud is way too dense. That one going off should have set off a chain reaction and detonated them all…"

"Yeah, so why didn't it?" Carlos asked, his small vehicle easily weaving through the potentially deadly obstacle course.

"Space mines are armored. They don't detonate unless their magnetic sensors detect a collision with something metallic," Jareth said.

"I don't want to know how you know these things," Deacon said.

"I have no life," the Gold Ranger declared proudly.

"That'll be true if I can't get us through this," TJ muttered.

"Wait a minute…they're fake!" Ashley said.

"What?" Carlos asked, double-checking his scanners. "My sensors say-"

"Yeah, yeah, so do mine," The Yellow Ranger interrupted. "But this Turbo-navigator-thingy is better than the scanners in the ships, and it says they're all fake. Only a few of them are real. Like, less than five percent of them."

"To make us think they all were," Deacon realized. "It's a trick, to slow us down."

"They should have used the real thing," TJ said, gunning his thrusters and tearing through the field at high-speed again, the 'mines' bouncing harmlessly off his ship.

"See, this is what happens when corporations cut corners," Deacon said. "Someone should really tell the person in charge of Serpentware."

"I'll be sure to let her know," Jareth muttered.

"Him," Ashley corrected.

"What?"

"Him. Gandris is a him."

"Oh, right. Of course. Him."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Megazord sequence has been initiated," a computerized voice declared.

"Eep," Terina said, as the tank began to assume a vertical stance. "It spoke."

The Dinotank pulled itself upward, Saber-toothed Tiger and Triceratops assuming the role of feet, while the cannons on the end of Mastodon's arms relocated to the back of the structure, Pterodactyl disengaging from the assembly and taking to the air.

Tyrannosaur's head retracted down into its chest, revealing a second, more humanoid head that had been concealed behind its reptilian face. As Pterodactyl circled around and latched onto the front of the Megazord, forming its chestplate, a pair of horns unfolded from the back of Tyrannosaur's head, taking their places at its sides.

"Megazord activated," the newly completed Megazord declared.

"That is beyond creepy," Mara said. 'Can we disable that for next time?"

"Let's focus on making sure there _is_ a next time," Tommy suggested.

Magna Defender crossed his arms and looked the Dino Megazord up and down appraisingly.

"Not bad," he said. "Not bad at all." He produced his double-ended lance, breaking it halfway along its shaft into two large blades. "Let's see what it can do."

Leaping forward, the twin golden blades whirling, the Magna Defender slashed at the large, bulky Megazord's chestplate, sparks flying as enchanted metal ate through enchanted metal.

Megazord staggered back under the rain of blows, finally regaining its footing. Reaching back, it detached the twin thunder cannons from its back and brought them forward, releasing a barrage of energized bullets.

Magna Defender's golden blades whirled again, this time seeming to form a transparent but impenetrable barrier before him, deflecting each and every one of the Megazord's shots.

The blades flashed forward, slicing Megazord's guns in half, the useless pieces of metal falling to the rocky ground. Magna Defender recombined them into his lance again, swinging…but this time encountered resistance in the form of the Dino Megazord's colossal sword.

In the cockpit, Mara blinked in surprise. "Where did we get _that_?"

"Hammerspace?" Terina guessed.

Mara shrugged. "Well, I'm glad it's here."

The silver sword seemed to shimmer as Megazord swung, engaging the Magna Defender in a fierce swordfight. The mystical weapons released showers of magic each time they struck, small surges of energy strong enough to melt flesh.

Magna Defender swung low, attempting to sever the Megazord's legs at the knees, but the giant war machine performed a maneuver that no 40-ton machine should have ever been able to do, leaping up and over the smaller warrior and landing neatly on its feet behind him. Spinning around, the Megazord swung with its sword, aiming to remove the Magna Defender's head, but the Magna Defender raised his lance, intercepting the blow.

There was a deafening thunderclap as the golden lance shattered under the force of the blow, snapping in half, both twisted blades falling the ground, bent, broken, and useless. Magna Defender looked down at his empty hands in shock.

He looked back up just in time to see the Megazord rushing at him, sword held firmly in both hands, about to run him through. Acting quickly, he lurched forward just as the Megazord reached him, planting his hands on the Megazord's shoulders and flipping up over the rushing machine, landing in a crouch behind it.

Megazord found itself facedown in the dust. Pulling itself to its feet with the aid of the sword still clutched in its hand, it turned to face its adversary.

The smallish crown-horn in the center of its forehead began to glow, firing a focused pulse of light at the still reeling Magna Defender.

The Magna Defender's armor melted as the Dino Megazord's crown-laser struck him, burning through the protective black metal. He staggered back…and his hand fell against Torozord's flank.

Stopping, he slowly lifted his head back up at the Dino Megazord, seeming revitalized.

He lat out a sinister chuckle, exchanging glances with his bull, then leapt up into the air, higher than one would have though possible.

Torozord suddenly reared back, his hooves rotating and extending, hands emerging from his forelegs and his hind legs growing longer. The whole thing rose into the air and rotated, so that Torozord's back was facing the Dino Megazord rather than its underbelly. The top of the contraption opened up, swallowing the Magna Defender as he fell back to the asteroid, sealing around him like a suit of armor. Torozord's head moved in such a way as to reveal a hidden second face, a humanoid warrior's helmet.

"Oh, come ON," Mara said. "What do you call THAT?"

"The Defender Torozord," came the Magna Defender's voice. The new configuration produced a golden battleaxe, which it twirled deftly. "And it's a whole new game now."

Megazord barely had time to move as the Defender Torozord's axe flashed through the air, knocking the sword from its hand, slashing across its chestplate, delivering crushing blows to the construct's hull until its systems were all damaged and overloading.

Defender Torozord finished off his combo by clutching his battleaxe in both hands and ramming the handle against the short-circuited Megazord's chest, knocking it over. The colossal construct struck the jagged ground, space dust flying up into the air with the impact.

When the dust cleared, the Magna Defender had exited Torozord, standing beside the mechanical bull, one hand patting its side affectionately, the other clutching his (apparently reconstructed) golden lance.

Without preamble, he approached the fallen Megazord and raised his weapon, preparing to bring the barbed blade crashing down through its torso.

A flurry of laser bolts struck, small explosions blossoming all over the area. Magna Defender raised his arm in front of his faceplate protectively, then glanced around sharply, looking for the source of the attack.

"Hi, guys," Deacon's voice said. "Sorry we're late. Traffic was murder."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Silver Wing rose up from the surface of the asteroid, once again going through its transition from spaceship to humanoid robot, landing on its feet as the Mega Winger.

Magna Defender turned away from the fallen Dino Megazord, appraising this new rival, idly twirling his lance.

"Zhane? No. Not Zhane. You're not moving like Zhane," Magna Defender said. "So, he actually passed the reins of his precious zord to another."

"Yup. He did."

The bounty hunter's head tilted. "The Terran? My, but he must have taken a liking to you. I wonder how he'll react when he discovers that you've gone and wrecked his favorite toy."

Deacon whipped out the Mega Winger's bow-blaster and fired a volley of laser pulses at the Magna Defender, who rolled aside, splitting his lance in two. Green lightning arced between the blades as he released it at the Mega Winger, which staggered under the power of the blast.

A barrage of missiles struck the Magna Defender, exploding against his enchanted armor, a storm of minute but distracting wasp stings. The mercenary turned, now facing the other five stellar vehicles.

The red robot that had blasted him stepped forward, more missiles loading themselves into the twin missilebays on its shoulders, ready to fire again.

"One at a time, if you please," Magna Defender said, swiping his lance through the air before him.

A wall of simmering green light appeared between the Mega V-shuttles and the Magna Defender, cutting them off from him, the Mega Winger, and the still inert Megazord. The wall spread, arcing up and over, forming a dome encased them overhead, completely cutting them off from anything happening inside.

Jareth wasted a dozen or so of Mega V-1's missiles, testing the strength of the glowing green wall. "Too much for me," he said.

"There has to be something we can do," Cassie said, casting her eyes around the interior of her shuttle. Her eyes fell on something on her control console. "Hey," she asked. "What does the big red button do?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Deacon?" Jareth's voice asked over the comlink.

"Yeah?" Deacon replied, as the Mega Winger blocked yet another blow from the Magna Defender's lance with its bow-blaster.

"Here, in my cockpit?"

"Uh-huh?"

"I see a big red button."

"You mean like the one-"

"Yah-huh."

"Maybe you should go ahead and push it," the Silver Ranger suggested.

"Okay!" Jareth said happily.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Okay, guys, listen up. You see the big red buttons on your consoles?"

There was a quick chorus of affirmative answers.

"Great. Everyone push them. Now."

Closing the comlink, the Gold Ranger grinned and slammed his hand down on his own button.

The five space shuttles drew closer together as their automatic systems took over. Each of them began to reconfigure, their mechanical parts shifting as they became various body parts.

Mega V-5 Split in half down the middle, the laser cannons on top and the ski-treads underneath folding down into its pink-and-white frame, forming a pair of feet. Mega V-4's yellow nose folded down, its inner frame extended out and unfolding from it's outer body, folding down to form a hollow torso with arms. Mega V-3 Split apart in various places, part of it forming the legs and another part forming the core of a body.

Mega V-1 contorted in on itself, its arms and legs vanishing as it became the unit that held all the other body parts together. As the pieces drew together, attracted by fields of powerful electromagnetic pulses, Mega V-2 released a large mechanical head from its rear section, which attached to the top of the construct, completing the Megazord.

"Mega Voyager," Ashley said curiously, reading from one of the screens in the Megazord's newly formed cockpit. "Not bad.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Mega Voyager landed with a heavy thud on the rocky surface of the asteroid.

"The Dino Megazord's pretty banged up," Deacon said over the com. "And Magna's been taking his vitamins. I could use a hand here."

Mega Voyager took a few steps forward, approaching the Magna Defender's force field. Making a massive fist, the Megazord landed a powerful punch on the smooth surface of the wall…with far more effect than Mega V-1's small missiles had. Minute cracks began to appear across the glowing green surface.

Two more punches, and the cracks widened. A powerful, spinning kick, and the entire wall shattered, deep fissures beginning at the point of impact and spreading across the entire dome, the small fragments vanishing as they fell to the ground below.

The giant mercenary had raised his lance, preparing to shove it through the Mega Winger's torso, but paused as his barrier vanished, looking up in confusion. The Mega Voyager strode over, reached out and tapped him on the shoulder.

Magna Defender spun around…and received a massive mechanical fist to the helmeted face, the power of the blow sending him flying in the weak gravity. His golden lances crashed to the rocks as his body collided with a rocky outcropping, the stone crumbling.

Mega Voyager reached down and helped the Winger to its feet, then started after the Defender…only to have its path blocked as Torozord charged into view, placing itself between the Megazord and its master.

"Can you guys handle this Megazord without me?" Jareth asked.

"I think so," TJ said. "Why?"

The Gold Ranger grinned. "I have an idea."

"Those are never reassuring words coming from you," Terina's voice declared.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A glimmer of gold shot up from the Mega Voyager's head, then fell down to the surface of the asteroid. Jareth's lion-paw boots kicked up small clouds of spacedust as he landed, gracefully as a cat.

"Okay. Time to fight fire with…a bull." The Gold Ranger raised the small device fixed to his left gauntlet.

"Adamantium Bull!"

A powerful surge of energy flashed out of the Spirit Summoner on the Gold Ranger's arm, rushing forward into the air. As it flew, it expanded, lightning from the atmosphere being drawn into it, causing it to grow even larger. Finally, the energy began to take form, assuming the shape of a colossal mechanical bull.

Not as colossal as the one it had been brought forth to challenge, however. The Adamantium Bull was barely more than half the size of Torozord, who snorted, surprised at seeing another bull.

"His is bigger than yours," Deacon's voice said.

"It's not the size that counts," Jareth replied. "It's how you use it. Adamantium Bull! Charge!"

There was an earsplitting crash as the two massive metal bulls met head on, both being knocked back a considerable distance by the impact.

The Adamantium Bull staggered to its feet, snorting angrily. It began to paw at the ground, preparing to charge again. Torozord did likewise, glaring balefully at the smaller bovine.

The two raced forward once again, heads lowered…and this time, one of them won.

Torozord's golden horns shattered the smaller brown ones on the Adamantium Bull's head, driving themselves deeply into the ancient zord, one penetrating its head and the other spearing its chest, below the neck. Tossing its head, Torozord threw the other bull up into the air, then sprayed a blast of green fire from its mouth, blasting Adamantium Bull as it fell.

There was a loud metallic shriek as the Adamantium Bull shattered entirely, not into metal, but into shards of gray-brown energy that spiraled down and shrank, whirlpooling back down into the Spirit Summoner on Jareth's arm.

"Okay," the Gold Ranger said meekly. "Maybe it IS the size that counts."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After what seemed like an eternity, the Dino Megazord bypassed its damaged systems and managed to regain its feet. The screens within the cockpit lit back up as the machinery regained power.

"Ah…much better," Mara said.

The situation rapidly became apparent…the super-sized Magna Defender was climbing to his feet nearby, Torozord was squaring off against the Mega Voyager and the Mega Winger not far off.

Magna Defender reclaimed his lance, then began striding across the asteroid's rocky surface towards his zord.

He stopped short as the Dino Megazord stepped between him and Torozord, raising its sword.

"Didn't I already break you?" he asked.

Megazord rushed forward, bringing its sword down in a crushing downward blow, but Magna Defender raised his lance and deflected the blow. Leaping into the air, the Magna Defender planted one foot on the Megazord's chest, simultaneously delivering a devastating kick and pushing himself into a backflip, landing some distance away from the staggering zord.

Raising his lance, the Magna Defender collective a large electric charge as lightning was drawn out of the air into the metal. Swinging the lance, he sprayed forth a blast of power directly at the Megazord.

The energy lanced across the small distance between the two titans, but instead of striking the Megazord's body, it struck the head of the Mastodon, which the Dino Megazord was suddenly holding out before it in its hand. The electrical energy was sucked up by the black metal of the shield, absorbed and redirected down the Mastodon's trunk, which delivered the blast right back to the Magna Defender.

As the Magna Defender staggered from the power of his own attack, the Dino Megazord raised its sword and performed the very same trick, lighting arcing down from the sky and charging the metal blade. Swinging the shining, energized sword, the Megazord delivered a power-slash, blasting the stunned mercenary.

The Magna Defender went flying, crashing down onto his back against the solid rock of the asteroid's surface. As arcs of static played over his armor, the Magna Defender shrank, returning to his original form, the red bleeding out of his armor and his cape reappearing.

His vision blurring, the Magna Defender went limp as consciousness left him, his last fleeting thought the vague hope that Torozord could manage without him for a while.


	49. The First Battleizer

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 49: The First Battleizer

"Well, well, well. Look who it is."

The Magna Defender winced as the words went crashing through his head. His vision cleared, showing that someone was looking down at him…someone with golden armor, a long, black coat, and a helmet shaped like a lion.

"Hey," Jareth said cheerfully, brandishing his scythe. "Remember that time you shot me in the head?"

The Magna Defender rolled aside, narrowly avoiding Kyra's blade as it embedded itself in the rocky ground. He sprang to his feet, drawing his sword, then leapt forward to attack, but the Gold Ranger screamed, producing a sonic blast that knocked the black-clad mercenary to the ground.

"Not this time," Jareth said, pulling his scythe free from the rock. "I have a few new tricks to show y-"

The Magna Defender vanished, literally melting into the shadows.

"Hey!" Jareth cried. "That's cheating!"

Blasts shot forth from nowhere, blasting holes through Jareth's armor. Unable to see his opponent, the Gold Ranger was quickly brought to his knees.

The Magna Defender reappeared directly in front of him, delivering a powerful, black-booted kick to his chin, sending him soaring up into the air, then crashing painfully to the rocks. With a golden flash, his morph failed, leaving him lying in his ordinary street clothes.

Groaning, he pulled himself to his feet, the world spinning dizzily around him. His vision was blurry, there were at least three Magna Defenders stalking toward him, saber drawn, intent on finishing him off.

**"Razor Rush!" **

A silver streak shot by, once, twice, each time producing a shower of sparks from the Magna Defender's armor. A pair of slashes appeared on his chest, crossing right over his heart. The streak raced at him from the front, this time ending in a powerful kick that landed right where the Magna Defender had been marked. The bounty hunter was blasted back by the force of the kick, tumbling to the dust.

"X marks the spot," Deacon quipped. He turned to Jareth. "That's 317 to 287, my favor, by the way."

"I told you, the Psycho Gold thing only counts as one," the Gold Ranger argued, He pulled himself to his feet…then paused, considering something. Experimentally, he took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Oh, hey, look," he said, grinning. "Air."

"Lucky you."

"Where are the others?"

"They went after Andros and Zhane. I thought I'd stay and help you clean up."

"Ah."

"Yes. Now morph and help me out here."

**"Lion!"**

Jareth's human body was replaced by Power Ranger armor with a burst of amber energy. He flicked out his finger-claws as Deacon drew his spinning diamond-saws.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So who's in charge here?"

"What?"

"Who's in charge?" Zhane repeated. "Of this operation? Someone has to be in charge, right?"

"Right, right," Andros said. "Of course. One of us needs to be field commander."

"It should be you."

"Me?"

"You."

"Why me?"

"You're already used to commanding a team of Rangers, right? I just work with Magna Defender on occasion."

"Oh."

"Besides, you outrank me now."

"Leader of the Kerovans. That's right," Andros said. He nodded. "Okay. So I'm in charge."

There was a pause, broken only by the sound of the elevator's motor as it carried them to the top of the corporate office building.

"I don't want to be in charge," Andros suddenly said.

"What?"

"I don't want to be-"

"Why not?"

"I'm not ready to be leader. I never counted on this."

"Barthello couldn't live forever."

"I know, but somehow it never hit me that if anything happened to him, I'd be it."

"Oh."

"So you be in charge."

"Could you trust me to be in charge?" Zhane asked.

Andros considered. "Yes. I could."

There was another pause.

"I couldn't," Zhane said. "No. I can't. You be in charge."

"You do realize how surreal this is?" Andros asked.

"What?"

"This. The two of us. We've spent years trying to kill each other, and now we're standing side by side in an elevator, bickering over who gets to boss the other around."

"Oh. That."

"Yes. That."

"Yes. Very surreal."

"I thought so."

"Changing the subject isn't going to get me to take the job," Zhane pointed out.

"Dammit," Andros said. "So what will?"

"Dunno."

"Is there something we can work out where neither of us in charge?"

"Can we do that?"

"No. Of course not. Stupid idea. Someone has to be in charge."

"Well, can we both be in charge?"

"Yes!" Andros said. "Brilliant. Let's go with that."

"Okay," Zhane agreed.

"Okay."

With a ding, the elevator stopped, the doors sliding open.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Magna Defender rose to his feet, puling out his rifle. He fired a concentrated pulse of energy at Deacon's feet, melting the rock on which the Silver Ranger stood.

Deacon sank into the molten rock, just managing to keep his head, one arm and the top half of his chest above ground. As quickly as it had melted, the rock cooled and hardened, sealing him where he was.

"You can wait your turn," Magna Defender said, turning from Deacon to Jareth. "After all…a good bounty hunter always concludes one business transaction before proceeding to the next."

Jareth blinked as the Magna Defender advanced on him.

"Meep."

The Magna Defender pulled his sword from his rifle, clipping the sheathe-barrel to his belt and twirling the sword menacingly.

Now, the Gold Ranger decided, was as good a time as any.

"Hope this works," he muttered, raising his left arm so that his Spirit Summoner faced forward. He brought his right arm across, striking the buttons on the front of the device.

**"Gold Ranger--**_**Battlize**_**!"**

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zhane and Andros skidded to a halt as a long row of hidden doors in the walls opened and a number of mechanical sentries strode out, blocking their way forward.

The Silver Ranger let out a low whistle. "COGS. Wow. Those are expensive. We've been trying to secure a shipment of these for years. On-board ion cannons, concealed laser-artillery in the faceplates, draconium-powered servomotors, carbon-terrelium-alloy body armor…I'd like to see the Kerovans try to stand up against-"

Andros shot Zhane a look, and Zhane broke off with a cough, realizing what he was saying and to whom.

"Ahem. Well. Anyway. They're strong."

"And they aren't attacking because…?"

"Because we haven't tried to pass them yet."

Andros nodded. Constructs tended to take their orders literally…if these 'COGS' had been ordered not to let anyone pass them, then there was no reason for them to react to anything that didn't try.

"Well," the Red Ranger said, his Spiral Saber appearing in his hand. "Let's see just how strong they are."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A rush of energy surged through the Gold Ranger's body, so powerful it was almost painful. Bands of amber light began to travel along his limbs, beginning at the Summoner and working their way over the entire surface of his armor.

The golden boots that encased his lower legs changed shape, transforming from a pair of lion's paws to large, cloven hooves. The small, purely ornamental gold shoulder pads that had previously joined his half-sleeves to the body of his trench coat became larger and more solid, as did the previously slender and elegant gauntlets that encased his lower arms. A pair of dark, swept-back horns grew from his forehead, curving back over his mane. As the remnants of the Adamantium Ranger's Power Coin's energy flowed through Jareth's armor, the portions that had changed shape or size began to fade from their fiery burning gold to the dull brown-gray of adamantium. Finally, his chestplate altered, a large, perfectly round, emerald green, fist-sized gem appearing, framed by a gold sunburst, and a small, dull ring appeared in the nose of the lion's face on his helmet.

Magna Defender seemed startled at this sudden change, but quickly regained his composure.

"If you think a wardrobe change is going to defeat me, you're-"

"Bullhorn Crossbow!"

With a dull flash, if such a thing exists, a large, heavy-looking crossbow appeared in the Gold/Adamantium Ranger's hands. It was easily as long as his entire arm, the front of the weapon sculpted into the shape of a bull's head, its long horns forming the arms of the crossbow. There was some sort of barrel-like attachment at the bottom, likely some sort of ammunition chamber. Like all Ranger weapons, it seemed to a combination of space-age technology and pure, solidified magic, as much a cannon as a crossbow.

Jareth pulled the trigger, and a barrage of alternating energy blasts and long, heavy metal bolts filled the air. Magna Defender rolled aside, taking cover behind one of the large shards of broken rock that littered the area.

"I stand corrected," he grumbled, examining a long rent that had been torn in the armor of his left shoulder by one of the heavy bolts.

Twisting his Magna Saber into its rifle-mode, Magna Defender rolled out into the clearing, strafing the amped-up Ranger. No less than three blasts of green light struck their target, but the blasts glanced off Jareth's enhanced armor, not even scratching the metallic surface.

With the sound of splintering metal, the jagged bolts of the Bullhorn Crossbow pierced Magna Defender's shadowy black armor, the force of their impact dragging him back until he collided with one of the nearby boulders, splinters of black plastic-metal falling to the ground.

Spears of pain lanced through Magna Defender's body as more bolts struck him, the barbed missiles shattering his body still more and solidly nailing him in place, the energy blasts melting and fusing his armor plates together.

Somehow, he managed to keep hold of his saber. He tightened his grip on the weapon's hilt, trying to maintain some sort of focus through the blinding pain.

The barrage stopped.

"Had enough?' the Jareth asked cockily, stowing the devastating crossbow.

"No one defeats the Magna Defender," he replied grimly.

The Uber-Ranger shrugged. "Have it your way.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Andros dusted himself off, kicking idly at one of the numerous broken COGS that littered the hall.

"They weren't so strong," he said dismissively.

"Right. That's why I had to jump in and save your ass. Twice."

"I saved yours three times," Andros retorted, walking down the hall towards the door at the end.

"You cannot _possibly_ be counting that last save. I could have gotten out of that," the Silver Ranger argued, following.

"I know."

"Really, I could have," Zhane continued.

"I know."

"One twist of the blade, followed by a spinning kick-"

"I know."

"It would have been easy."

"I know."

"Well, just so that's clear."

"Crystal."

The door opened to reveal yet another stretch of hallway. The hall was wide, well-decorated…and empty.

Zhane paused.

"Something wrong?" Andros asked.

"It's too easy," Zhane replied.

Andros frowned. Reaching down, he broke off a small chunk of one of the porcelain pots that housed one of the decorative plants that lined the hall. He tossed it ahead.

The chunk landed softly on the carpeted floor.

"Seems safe enough," the Red Ranger said.

"I dunno….remember that trap we came across, when we were together in the Neutral Zone?"

Andros did remember. The trap had been linked to a pressure plate in the ground, one designed to trigger when enough weight was on it. Neither of them had been large enough at the time to trigger it, it had only gone off when they'd stood on it together.

The same principle could easily apply here. Tossing something ahead was a good way to test for motion-sensors, but a chip of porcelain didn't have nearly enough weight to trip a pressure plate.

"Hmm…"

Bending down, Andros hefted the entire potted plant and heaved it forward.

As soon as the heavy, dirt-filled pot landed, a number of small disks fired themselves from hidden launchers, blades extending from their casings as they flew. The disks tore through the flimsy material, shredding the plant, shattering the pot, and sending dirt flying everywhere.

"Called it," Zhane said. "So how do we get past? Or is it out of ammo?"

Andros eyed the launchers as they retracted back into the walls. "Doubt it."

"They wouldn't re-set if the trap was sprung, would they?" Zhane agreed.

Andros whipped out his Astro Blaster. "Throw another plant."

Zhane grabbed another of the large potted plants and heaved it onto the floor next to the first. As before, the launchers popped out and prepared to fire.

They never got the chance. Four quick blasts from Andros' gun demolished the launchers, leaving only smoking husks of machinery jutting forth from the walls.

"Onward?" Zhane asked, smirking as Andros holstered his gun.

"Onward."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Holding his arms, fists clenched, out to the sides, Jareth began to direct power into the green gem embedded within his chestplate. The eyes of his helmet flashed red briefly, then the gem began to glow, to shine, with an intensity that would have put the sun to shame.

Magna Defender narrowed his eyes, concentrating. At the last possible moment, he gave a mighty heave, tearing himself free of the barbed metal rods that pinned him, what remained of his shattered armor splintering to the point that some of his limbs barely stayed attached. Pain like none he'd ever experienced filled his body as he leapt aside, his left leg breaking completely off at mid-thigh, causing him to collapse, broken, to the ground.

A devastating blast of energy, as thick as a man's torso, shot out from the enhanced Ranger's gem, completely atomizing the spot where Magna Defender had been, if the term applied, standing.

Magna Defender pushed himself to his remaining foot, leaning on his sword for balance. His once-gaudy cape was nothing more than a tattered shred of red cloth dangling from his shoulders, one of his horns had been broken off, his broken armor bled liquid magic from almost everywhere. There didn't seem to be a square inch of his body that hadn't been completely ruined.

"You'd best pray that someone else destroys you before I get the chance, Jareth Valentine. Because I will have my revenge. And I will make it as long and painful as only I know how."

And, with a flash of green light, the Magna Defender vanished.

"Not bad, as parting lines go," Jareth said, dusting off his hands. "A bit wordy, though." He strolled over to where the Silver Ranger was partially entombed.

Deacon blinked. "Hey, what-" he began, staring up as the Battleized Gold ranger drew back his fist.

**"Megaton Hammer!"**

The Silver Ranger flinched as Jareth slammed a glowing fist against the ground, just inches from his face. The earth rippled in radiating circles from the point of impact, the rocky surface cracking. Where the rock had already been stressed by the Magna Defender's rapid melting, it crumbled to sand.

"Thought you were gonna bash my head in for a second there," The Silver ranger said, as jareth grasped his free hand and pulled him out of the ground, almost tossing him into the air due to his unaccustomed enhanced strength.

"Would I do that?"

"Not on purpose. But your aim's terrible."

Jareth cocked his head t the side, considering. "I don't think it is, at the moment. Adamantium Ranger's weapon is a crossbow. Decent aim seems to be part of the package."

"Mmhmm. Do tell," Deacon said, crossing his arms as he looked up at his friend. A sif it wasn't bad enough that Jareth was already taller than him, the bastard had now grown at least a head and a half taller. "And while you're at it, how'd you know you could do this?"

"Lucky guess? I saw Andros use his, so-"

Jareth suddenly let out a cry and doubled over as though he'd been punched in the stomach, the enhanced parts of his armor, and his Spirit Summoner, beginning to glow. He fell to his knees, and would have fallen over entirely if Deacon hadn't leapt forward to grab him.

"Jareth? You okay?"

Jareth didn't, couldn't answer. He hadn't been aware that a morphed Ranger could cry, but tears of pure pain were running from the corners of his tightly closed eyes. He knew perfectly well that he had no blood, but it felt as though he did, and it had been replaced with some sort of acid, an acid that was eating away at his veins and spreading through his flesh more and more with every beat of his heart, a horrible, corrosive, burning poison, eating him alive from the inside out. The last thing he was aware of before he blacked out entirely was the sensation of demorphing, his armor, enhancements and all, fading away, leaving him utterly burned out, cold, and empty.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"This is it," Andros said.

"Yeah."

"You ready?"

Zhane tightened his grip on his Silverizer. "Yeah."

"Okay."

"Okay."

The door to Gandris' office suddenly exploded inwards as the two Rangers blasted it open, not particularly caring whether it had been locked. They stormed in, weapons at the ready.

The office was absurdly extravagant, obviously designed to look as expensive as possible. The desk was beautifully engraved, and behind it, its back to the Rangers, was a plush, comfortable-looking armchair.

"Turn around, Gandris," Andros demanded, Astro Blaster pointed directly at the back of the plush, expensive-looking armchair.

No response.

"I said turn around!"

Zhane took a few cautious steps forward into the extravagantly decorated office, Silverizer in hand. He laid his hand on the back of the chair, swiveling it around to face them.

The chair was empty. Pinned to the back was a note, written in an elegant, flowing script.

Zhane pulled it free and began reading aloud:

_Zhane and Andros,_

_I would have liked to be here to meet with the two of you in person, but my advisors have recommended against this, arguing that such a course would be hazardous to my continued breathing. I was forced to agree._

_Congratulations on making it this far… To have made it into my inner sanctum, as it were, you must have fought together, side by side, precisely as I'd hoped you would. The small droid, perceptive as she is, was not entirely correct, you see. It was never my intention to convert the population of KO-35 to Quantum Coral, profitable though that may have been. I merely sought to provide a common problem, one that both of your factions would have had to set aside your differences to face. It was to that end I had the Coral Plague delivered to KO-35 in the first place, hoping that one faction or the other would release it whilst there was still hope for the planet. The cure is in the top left-hand drawer of my desk. Take it to your doctors, have them analyze and replicate it. If you act quickly enough, it should suffice to save you all._

_Why, you may ask. Why would I want to stop your war when I was profiting so greatly from it? The answer is simple. It was a dead-end course. Suppose I HAD chosen to deplete your resources dry by selling you overpriced supplies. Suppose I was to kill you all, and sell your coralized bodies to the highest bidder. Serpentware would have profited, true, and so would I…but only so much. There would have been nothing left but a dead planet, a chunk of lifeless rock…and lifeless rock benefits no one. Ah, but if our people were to survive, if you were to stop making corpses of one another over a conflict that no one even remembers, if you were to come together, rebuild your world and join the rest of the civilized universe…think of the possibilities. As your society thrived, so too would your economy, benefiting not only yourselves, but also companies such as mine for generations to come. _

_And then there's the fact that I would no longer suffer the indignity of belonging to race composed entirely of angst-ridden, trigger-happy nitwits. No offense._

_Good luck with the cure, and I hope all ends well. Yours sincerely,_

_Gandris_

_CEO, Serpentware Enterprises_

_P.S. Incidentally, I realize that neither of you may feel terribly inclined to do me any favors, but I do ask this: Thank Karone for me. She was pivotal in all of this: If not for her attachment to such important people as yourselves, and, in turn, your attachment to her, this solution may never have been possible. Just think: If you stop fighting, you can be a family. Karone will no longer have to choose between her blood and her heart._

_P.S.S. I suggest that you make haste in your vacation of the building, not only due to those back on KO-35 in desperate need of that cure, but because this building will self-destruct approximately five minutes after you finish reading this message. _

No sooner had Zhane spoken the word 'message' than a small panel on the top of the desk flipped over, extending upward, revealing a digital countdown timer. It began ticking down from five minutes.

"And now we have to run," Andros said resignedly.


	50. Resolutions

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 50: Resolutions

A deep rumble reverberated throughout the complex as the Rangers raced through the holding bay towards the doors that led into Serpentware's corporate offices.

Skidding to a halt, the group looked around warily as the lights began to flicker, chips of material beginning to dislodge from the ceiling.

"What's happening?" Cassie asked.

"Sounds like the whole building's falling down!" TJ replied.

"We should leave," Terina said. "Now."

"What about Andros and Zhane?" Ashley said.

"If anyone can get out of this alive, they can," Tommy said. "Now come on!"

Turning the Rangers rushed back to the Mega-V shuttles and climbed in, bucking themselves into their chairs. The five spacecraft lifted up off the ground and launched themselves through the dilated entrance in the ceiling, escaping the interior of the asteroid.

Moments after they exited, deep fissures began to spread across the rocky surface, the underground structure collapsing in on itself, leaving a colossal depression in the asteroid right where the loading bay had been, clouds of rocky dust filling the thin atmosphere and shards of splintered stone littering the entire area.

There was a moment of eerie calm as the dust settled.

"So….now what?" Mara asked.

"Find a place to set down," Troy suggested. "We can scour the wreckage."

Landing the shuttles some distance away, the group trekked across the asteroid and began to sift through the rubble, calling Andros and Zhane's names as they went.

Mara grunted, lifting an absurdly large piece of rubble and tossing it aside. Beneath lay…more rubble.

"This," she said, tossing aside stones larger than she was with each word, "Is. Pointless. We're never going to find them in this."

"We'll find them," Ashley argued, her tone leaving no room for disagreement.

Mara sighed, rolling her eyes.

"What if we don't?" Cassie asked, her voice verging on panic. "What if we _never_ find them?"

"Then we recompress the Mega-Vs, load them onto the Silver Wing, and go home," the other Pink Ranger replied. "Oh, and stop to grab Diskette on the way."

"What about everyone on KO-35?" Carlos asked.

"Unless we just happen to find the cure, lying miraculously untouched amidst the rubble," Electra said. "They're as good as dead anyway."

"You're a regular ray of sunshine, Lecca," Troy said flatly. "Hey, did anyone think to grab a Turbo Navigator?"

There were a number of dumbfounded glances and forehead slaps.

"Okay. Someone go back and get one. Who's the fastest?" Tommy asked.

"I am," Terina said.

"You are?"

"She is," Electra vouched. "Go on. Scram."

Terina braced herself, then took off running. She was gone so fast that they could literally hear the air rushing in to fill the space she'd just vacated. A thin yellow streak shot towards the horizon where they'd left the shuttles, and Tommy was slightly surprised not to see it leave behind a trail of fire.

In less than a minute, she'd returned, a number of small devices in hand.

"You have super-speed?" Tommy asked incredulously.

"And in heels, no less," Mara added, sounding impressed.

Terina shrugged, tossing the devices to the others. "I don't like to brag," she quipped.

"Here," Tommy said, handing his to Ashley.

"What about you?" she asked.

"Activating Power Scan," Tommy replied, his visor becoming a high-tech scanning device. A small red light traveled back and forth along the thin horizontal black groove in the now silver metal.

"You could have done that at any time?" Ashley demanded.

Tommy shrugged. "Forgot about it until Troy mentioned the navigators."

Ashley sighed, shaking her head as she flipped open the device.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Three hours later, they were still searching.

"Anyone remember when I said this is hopeless?" Mara asked.

"We'll find them."

"You can say that as often as you like, that won't make it true."

Terina raised an eyebrow at this. Mara herself often came across as though she believed that if _she_ said something often enough, it would become true.

Really, though, she was beginning to agree with the Pink Ranger. If they were going to find Andros and Zhane, wouldn't they have found them by now?

There was a slight rumbling, a shifting of the ground.

The Ranger ignored it. There had been several such aftershocks, instances of the rubble settling below the surface.

None of the prior times, however, had something shiny and red come rocketing up from beneath the rocks, showering them all with sand and pebbles.

"Andros?" Ashley asked, gazing up at the Red Battleized Ranger, taking no notice whatsoever of the small rocks bouncing off her faceplate.

The Yellow Kerovan Ranger wasn't even aware of having run across the battered rocks to meet Andros as he landed, his armored enhancements detaching and vanishing from his normal armor. She only knew that he was back in her arms where he belonged.

He didn't seem to notice her, though.

"Andros?" she asked, backing away enough to turn her face towards his. "Are you okay?"

Andros' response was delayed. "I'm fine," he answered, finally returning the hug.

"Andros!" TJ called, as he and the others of their team trotted over. "You had us worried.

"Where's Zhane?" Cassie asked.

"He…didn't make it out."

"Oh," Cassie said, wishing she hadn't asked.

"Umm...that's…well, did you at least get the cure?" Carlos asked.

For answer, Andros pulled something from a compartment at his belt and held it up…a small vial of crystal-clear liquid.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Rangers began the trek back across the rubble towards the Mega-Vs, their visors filtering out the surprisingly bright rays of the sun as it set in front of them.

"Okay, next time we park to the east," Mara said, raising a hand to shade her visor further.

Terina whipped out her Navigator. "Actually, we ARE headed east," she said. "This rock rotates the opposite direction Terra does."

"Whatever, next time we factor in the sun."

As the two continued to bicker, Troy moved closer to Andros, falling into step next to him.

"So…"

"I didn't kill him," Andros said abruptly.

"I never said you did," the Blue Ranger argued.

"You were thinking it."

The Blue Ranger didn't argue.

Andros sighed. "One of the support beams fell. He pushed me out of the way, and it fell on him instead. Crushed him. And then the whole building collapsed. I was knocked unconscious. When I woke up, I was sealed in a small, empty chamber. So I battleized and broke out. You know the rest."

"That's your story?"

"That's what happened."

There was a pause.

"Okay then," Troy said.

"Besides, if I were you, I'd be more worried about my own problems."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that two of your teammates seem to be missing."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Wow," Diskette said. "I've seen a lot of things since I came online, but never anything quite like this."

"Any idea what happened to him?" Electra asked.

"Which one?"

"Pick one."

Diskette hovered closer to two of the cots that occupied the Darian medical wing.

"Well, Jareth is easy enough to explain. His system contains an extremely high level of residual Ranger energy. More than one coin can access."

"Meaning…?" Terina prompted.

"I think he tried to do Andros' 'Battleizer' trick."

"But this doesn't happen to Andros," Mara argued.

"Is it because Andros uses a complete Battleizer, while Jareth tried to use a depleted Power Coin?" Troy asked, examining the Spirit Summoner on Jareth's left wrist.

"Just the opposite, actually," the droid replied. "Andros little gadget is powerful, but nowhere near as strong as a Power Coin, even a faded one. I'm afraid the Gold Ranger is suffering from a Power overdose, for lack of a better term. He burned himself out. He's sort of in a coma."

"Will he be okay?" Electra asked.

The droid gave a midair wobble, approximating a shrug. "If he will, it won't be for a while. Zord-1 will be able to tell us more when we get home."

"So what about Deacon?" Troy inquired. "What happened to him?"

Diskette rotated, turning to face the other cot. Lying on it, in a somewhat awkward position, was a solid gold statue of the Silver Ranger, his arms still outstretched in the same position they'd been when the Rangers had found him supporting the unconscious Gold Ranger back on the surface of SerpentWare's asteroid.

"I'm afraid I have _no_ idea."

"Hey, good news, guys," Tommy said, entering the medical wing. "Draffut and Kinwon have replicated enough of the cure to heal everyone on the planet."

"Everyone who's not already dead, you mean," Electra clarified.

"Well…yeah. Electra, can Carlos borrow your cardkey? Mega V-2 is best equipped to distribute the cure. Verona says we can have the entire planet sprayed by midnight."

"Sprayed? It's a spray?" Mara asked, as Electra whipped the key out and handed it to Tommy. "You'd figure it'd have to be injected."

"The cure is probably a virus in itself, one designed to feed on the original virus, combined with a self-replicating synthetic agent to reverse the coralizing effect," Diskette said. "Designed to be airborne, so it can be administered to the masses more quickly."

"Umm…yeah. That's more or less what Kinwon said."

"Brainy guy, that Kinwon," Terina quipped. "How would anyone inject anything into a coral statue, anyway?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"The cure has been administered," Verona said later. "And it is already taking effect. At least, it is affecting the less severe cases." The Darian leader's smile faded slightly.

"Karone?" Troy asked.

Verona nodded solemnly at the small group of Terran Rangers standing in a group near the Silver Wing. "I'm afraid her condition is too severe. The plague has halted, but the cure is unable to free her from the coral."

"Is there anything…?" Ashley began.

"A while ago," Andros said. "We received reports of a little girl who'd been stung by a basilizard. She was almost completely petrified, but a colony on Mirinoi was able to cure her. The report didn't say how, but…" he looked back at Verona, who was standing next to him.

"It's the best lead we have, and you can be sure we'll follow it," she finished.

Troy strode back into the Silver Wing's hangar, a small black briefcase in his hand. He held it up.

"All five Mega V-shuttles, recompressed and ready to go," he said as he joined the others near the ship's access ramp.

"You guys sure you don't want to come with?" Mara asked the other four Terrans, who were standing in a group nearby. "Free ride home."

"I AM home," Ashley said, her gaze sliding towards Andros, who smiled back.

"And we're gonna stick around for a while," TJ said. "Help build this place up again."

Cassie produced a handful of small datapads, walking over and handing them to Tommy. "If you could deliver these to our families, we'd appreciate it."

"They're just letters," Carlos said. "Letting them know we're still…you know."

"Alive?" Tommy guessed, smiling. "We'll be sure they get them."

"And give this to Jareth," Cassie added with a smirk, adding a slip of paper to the pile. "You know, when he wakes up."

"What is it?" Mara asked.

"It, um, my personal comm frequency. Have him call me."

Mara twitched.

"You know, rebuilding a civilization is no easy job," Terina said. "You guys sure you can handle it?"

"We're willing to…what's the phrase, Cassie? 'Give peace a chance?'" Andros said. Cassie grinned.

"And we'll have help," Verona added. "A company called Median Angel has offered to provide supplies to help our little endeavor. Food, construction supplies…"

"No weapons, right?" Tommy asked.

"Not if they offered to _give_ them away," Andros assured him.

"Good."

"Guys?" Mara said. "It's time we were off."

The Rangers piled into the ship, taking their seats and strapping in.

Tommy paused. "Does this thing have an autopilot? How do we send it back?"

Andros and Verona exchanged a glance.

"Keep it," they said together.

"Zhane gave the keys to Deacon. He wanted him to have it," Andros said.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," Verona said.

Tommy shrugged, nodded a farewell, and entered the ship, the ramp closing behind him.

"So….who's driving?" Troy asked.

"I guess I will," Terina answered, strapping herself into the pilot's seat. "Seeing as we've lost our pilot. Everybody buckle up, though. I have no idea what I'm doing."

Seatbelts were quickly fastened. The Silver Wing rolled out of the bay on its massive treads, and once it was free, its wings folded down, snapping into place. The jets in the back roared to life, sending the ship streaking forward. Terina pulled up, and the silver spaceship quickly found itself leaving the atmosphere of KO-35.

"Plotting a course for Terra," she said.

Tommy sighed. They'd done it. They'd actually put and end to the war. Mission accomplished. His gaze traveled to the porthole, catching one last glimpse of KO-35 before it was lost in the blur of Hyper-Rush.

"Hey," Mara said. "Now that _that's_ over…"

Tommy turned.

The Pink Ranger jerked her head at the three cots that were strapped into the ship's cargo hold. He followed her gaze, past Deacon and Jareth, to the still-unconscious, unmoving body of Aviarus.

"What are we gonna do with _him_?"


	51. Special Delivery

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 51: Special Delivery

Urchin whistled happily to himself as he manned the controls of his brand new, state-of-the-art spacecraft. There was a fresh shipment of nirvana fruit in his cargo hold, sealed within cryo-sealed crates to keep it fresh, and though it was a temptation having such rare, delicious food aboard, he knew that it be far better, in the long, run, to actually deliver his cargo than to stop and snack on it.

Nonetheless, once someone had tasted nirvana fruit, it was difficult to settle for anything else. The food was considered to be, by far, one of the best-tasting foods a carbon-based life form could have the good fortune to sample. There was something about the chemical structure of nirvana fruit juice that changed to match the pleasure receptors of a life form's taste buds (or whatever sensory organs the life form happened to have), something that no bioengineer had yet managed to replicate, and because of this, the fruit was very rare, and very much in demand.

Rare was the merchant who could manage to sell an entire shipment of the stuff without sampling at least some, and more than a few had been known to eat their entire shipment while it was en route. It was not an uncommon practice to seal the cryo-crates with time-locks, so that they could not be opened before they arrived at their destination. Still others made sure that the locks required a specific key to open, then sent the key ahead with a separate shipment, so that they themselves could not get in.

Urchin had no need of these security measures, though. He had no other crew than himself to keep an eye on, and he trusted that he could manage to get the shipment delivered intact. The fact that his buyer had offered triple payment if the seals on the crates were unbroken upon arrival helped his resolve greatly.

He could not help but question his destination, though. As far as he knew, there was no life to speak of on Terra's moon.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The squadron of Quantrons guarding the entrance to Zedd's fortress looked up in surprise as the small, one-man cargo shuttle descended, landing neatly on the lunar surface before the gates, kicking up a small cloud of silver moon dust.

The defenders parted ranks as the doors of the stone palace creaked open and Ornyk strode out, grinning a wide, toothy smile. The lupine warrior walked over to meet the pilot as he popped open the canopy of his ship and hopped out onto the dusty ground.

Uchin shook hands…paws…well, he took Ornyk's paw in his hand and shook it.

"Three cryo-crates of nirvana fruit. I'm assuming this is the right place."

"It is. They are sealed?"

"All three of them," Urchin confirmed, already picturing the money that was about to be credited to his account. "See for yourself."

Urchin went around to the back of his ship, sliding back the small access panel covering the handprint scanner that would open the door to his cargo hold. He laid his hand again the scanner and the ramp slid open.

Ornyk walked up the ramp, examining the seals on the crates, his cobalt-blue armor glinting in the bright fluorescent overhead lighting of the ship.

"All sealed. I _am_ impressed."

Urchin produced a medium-sized datapad. He typed a few of the digital keys on its touch screen.

"That'll be 30,000 galcreds, times three for the unbroken seals." He held the pad out to the gray-furred humanoid.

Ornyk smirked, a somewhat menacing sight in and of itself. From somewhere on his person, he pulled out a small golden card and ran it through the slot on the side of the datapad, crediting the Aquitian's account in full.

"Thank you, sir."

"No, thank _you_. It's been decades since last I had nirvana fruit."

"Where do you want them unloaded?"

"Oh, I'll see to that." Ornyk snapped his fingers and a number of the Quantrons that had been guarding the entrance entered the ship, lifted the large crates, and walked off with them.

"Bring those to the kitchens," Ornyk commanded, as he and Urchin followed them down the ramp off the ship.

"Well. I'll just be on way. I appreciate your business."

Urchin turned to leave, but a furry hand dropped onto his shoulder.

The Aquitian turned.

"Was there…something…else.." Urchin's voice faded away when he realized that Ornyk had unsheathed his sword.

"Yes, actually. There was."

Blue-black flames erupted down the blade of the longsword, starting at the base of the handle and spreading down to the point. Ornyk raised the blade threateningly.

Urchin's eyes went wide, then clamped shut as he ducked, raising an arm to shield his face. He waited for the downward slice that would cut him in two, but it never came. Instead, the dark fire leapt down from the metal and engulfed him. Instead of incinerating the Aquitian, the fire began to slow down, finally stopping altogether as it crystallized into a large blue-black lump of jagged resin that completely encased the merchant.

"And take this to the summoning chamber," Ornyk added, facing the remaining Quantrons as he sheathed his sword. The semimechanical minions snapped to a salute, rushing forward and hauling the frozen prisoner away, leaving only a few behind to guard the door.

"Well," Ornyk said as the last of them disappeared through the gate. He dusted off his paws. "There's that done." A smile spread across his wolflike features.

"You and your hobbies," Panicka said, smirking as she appeared next to him with a crackle of magenta flames. "Have you ever considered baseball cards? Or bottlecaps? So much easier to collect."

Ornyk rolled his eyes. "Today, dear sister, not even _you_ can annoy me."

"Oh? And why is that?"

Ornyk licked his lips hungrily. "Because today, Panicka dear, I have three cryo-crates of nirvana fruit just waiting to be eaten."

Still smiling, he turned and walked into the palace, leaving Panicka standing outside.

"Hmph," she said, crossing her arms. "You're no fun." She blinked. "Wait a minute…did he say _nirvana fruit_?" she asked of one of the Quantrons.

The Quantron nodded nervously.

"And he's going to eat it all without me! Ornyk! Wait!"

With that, Panicka vanished.

The Quantrons exchanged puzzled glances, then resumed their posts, guarding the entrance to Zedd's palace against anything that might come wandering across the desolate plains of Terra's moon.


	52. Ink and Pain

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 52: Ink and Pain

**"PyroSphere!"** Tommy invoked, bringing both hands forward, wrists together. A small fiery sphere the size of a softball appeared and launched itself across the gap between the monster and the Red Ranger. As soon as the sphere touched the monster's scaly hide, it exploded, incinerating everything nearby. A wave of blistering heat rolled forth from the explosion, causing almost everything on the street to either melt of burst into flames.

The scaly reptilian beast screeched as its feet began to sink into the molten stone that had once been the pavement. Pulling itself free of the molten tar, it unfolded a pair of scaly wings from its back and flapped its way skywards.

Something yellow shot past, tearing a wide slash through its skin. It cried out in pain, clamping a claw over the injury, then glared down at the Yellow Ranger as her dagger came spinning back into her open hand. Smirking, Terina twirled her enchanted weapon, the small blade spinning around her fingers as though it had a mind of its own.

Opening its mouth, Reptillamax spat forth a jet of what appeared to be blue fire, which streaked down at Terina.

The Yellow Ranger dived aside as the ribbon of flame struck the ground where she'd been standing…and froze it solid, a thick layer of ice encasing everything on the ground.

"Woah," Terina said, blinking at the frozen ground.

**"Gravity Burst!"**

A burst of black light seemed to spread through the air, and Reptillamax suddenly found that his wings weren't strong enough to keep his weight aloft. He began to flap frantically, trying to stay in the air, but it was no use, he was dragged inexorably downwards. His clawed feet struck the ground…and stayed there, however hard he tried to lift them.

Something small and green rolled to a stop near his feet. He blinked, ceasing his efforts to pull his legs free as he gazed stupidly down at the small, pineapple-patterned object.

Electra and Fox exchanged a glance, both of them grinning. Electra released the gravity effect, the nimbus of black energy fading from her hands, just as the grenade exploded, sending Reptillamax flying up into the air, head-over-tail.

The large lizard landed on his back, striking the ground with enough force to crack the pavement. He rolled to his feet, then turned on the girls, glaring.

"Uh-oh," Electra said.

A wave of blue fire rushed past, encasing them both completely in a small glacier. The Black and Camo Rangers were rigidly enveloped in the crystal-blue ice, frozen in mid-movement.

A yellow streak zipped forward, and began circling Reptillimax, kicking up a cyclone of dust and wind that effectively prevented him from seeing out or moving elsewhere. He squinted, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the debris….then, in a surprisingly smart move for one of Zedd's monsters, calmly stuck out his tail.

Terina went sprawling, her own super-speed sending her flying face-first into a nearby fire hydrant, which crumpled with the impact, sending water spraying into the sky. There was a yellow crackle of energy as she demorphed and rolled over, lying unconscious in the street, water raining down on her.

Tommy stepped forward, Tyrant Sword in hand.

Reptillamax threw back his head and laughed, holding out his talon.

At his gesture, a chilling blast surged through the air, the water spraying into the air from the broken hydrant freezing in an instant. The reptilian beast seized a sword-length icicle from the frozen tree thus created and snapped it off, brandishing it at the Red Ranger.

Tommy's eyes darted to the large block of ice behind Reptillamax, the one that encased Electra and Fox. He banished his sword and brought his hands together again.

**"PyroSphere!"**

The small fireball flew, but it was intercepted by a bolt of blue light from Reptillamax. By the time it struck the glacier, it was a snowball. It struck the wall of ice with a harmless 'pfft'.

Reptillamax let out a noise that was somewhere between a chuckle and a growl. He leapt forward, swinging his ice-blade.

Tommy's sword reappeared, and he effortlessly parried, then spun, his blade opening the monster's skin along its right side.

Screeching in pain, Reptillamax leapt back, clutching at the wound in his side, which was leaking glowing, pale-blue blood. Realizing that it was never going to beat Tommy with sword, he took a deep breath and let loose an enormous jet of frozen blue flame.

Tommy flinched, bringing up his arm to shield his face from the ice…

It never hit. Instead, the roaring sound of fire seemed to grow louder. Bright orange lights danced at the edges of his vision.

Lowering his arm, Tommy saw the Green Ranger, standing between him and the monster, fighting back the column of ice with jets of hot orange flame that seemed to be coming from her wrists.

The onslaught stopped as Reptillamax ran out of breath, panting.

"You okay?" Lolli asked, rubbing her wrists, not taking her eyes off the monster.

"You can make fire?" Tommy asked, surprised.

"Hello?" Lolli tapped her power coin. "Dragon. Of course I can make fire."

"You're a _water_ dragon!" Tommy protested. "You know what? Forget it. Just thaw _them_!" Tommy said, jerking his helmet at the ice that encased Electra and Fox.

Lolli shrugged, jumping into the air. She flipped, landed square on Reptillamax's head, then hopped down to the ground behind him, calmly walking over to the frozen Rangers.

Reptillamax squealed, turning to hiss at her, but Tommy's sword drew his attention.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"He's holding his own," Panicka said appraisingly.

Ornyk jumped. "Don't _do_ that!" he snapped to his sister. He turned his focus back to the fight across the street. "And which one are you talking about?"

"Your monster, of course." Panicka leaned against the nearby newsstand and picked up a comic book, flipping through it lazily. "It's no surprise that the Red Ranger can hold his own."

"Such faith in my monster-making abilities. It warms my heart."

A shrill screech split the air as Reptillamax's skull was pierced by Tommy's sword. The entire monster crystallized into a statue of solid ice, then crumbled.

"And down he goes," Panicka said. "Well? Aren't you going to make him grow?"

"Nah, no point. If he couldn't win the first time…"

"Why are you wasting your time with monsters anyway when we have a job to do?"

"I need to be sure the Rangers are occupied, so that they can't interfere with the Gathering. And for that, I need a monster who can survive through a single battle."

"What about those little curses you cast on their stuff?"

Ornyk's eyes glowed briefly as he felt for his magic. "Two of them have already gone off. But the others won't for a while. Something seems to be draining their magic. And I suspect I know what," he added in a low growl.

"You know what you need?"

"A less troublesome sibling?"

"You need some minions who are a little more…creative."

"Pardon?"

"Flexibility. Intelligence. The ability to tell its intended target from a fencepost. These are things your toys don't have. What do you think set the Psychos ahead of everything else you've created?"

Ornyk raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're my sister? You sound awfully lucid." He sighed.

"Well, am I right?" she asked, smirking.

"You _do_ make a convincing argument," Ornyk said, crossing his arms and gazing over as the Green Ranger finished defrosting her friends and the lot of them teleported off into the sky.

"The trouble is, it's hard enough bestowing life unto the inanimate, or conjuring beasts from the ether," Ornyk continued. "Creating an_ intelligent_ monster is virtually impossible. And controlling one is even harder."

"Why create," Panicka asked. "When you can copy?" She took a step forward and hit her brother in the blue-armor-plated chest with her comic book.

Snatching it, he unrolled it and held it up, blinking at the sight of the three armored figures on the front.

"You _must_ be joking."

"Why not?" Panicka asked. "All you have to do is find yourself a host or three. Give them the powers, enchant them so that they have no idea what they're doing, and you've got your minions."

"Trickier than that. There's technology involved. I'd need help."

"So get it."

Ornyk sighed. "Such plagiarism. Blatantly stealing someone else's ideas."

"What kind of evil villain _are_ you?"

"The creative kind."

"Oh, come on. A good idea is a good idea."

"Well. When you put it like _that_…"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Have fun?" Mara asked, glancing up from her magazine as the group strode into the ship's lounge, collapsing onto various chairs and sofas.

"You know, I think those monsters are actually getting stronger," Terina replied.

"Yeah. This one lasted a whole four minutes," Tommy agreed, grinning.

Terina walked over to the drink dispenser and started punching buttons.

"Whatcha drinkin'?" Mara asked.

"Orange juice with cinnamon and mustard," Terina replied happily, turning around to see a roomful of shocked and disgusted faces staring at her.

Her smile faded. "It's my favorite," she added in a much smaller voice, pouting down at her cup.

More shock and disgust.

"Yeah, okay, you know what? I'm an _alien_," Terina said, turning defensive. "My taste buds are different from yours. Deal."

"Anyway," Tommy said, shaking his head. "How are-"

"I'm sorry," Mara said. "I can't stay here and watch her _drink_ that."

Terina stuck her tongue out at Mara as the Pink Ranger got up and swung herself into the jumptubes, leaving the lounge.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_**Emerald_Core has signed on.**_

**CrashNBurn: Hey!**

**Emerald_Core: Hiya.**

**CrashNBurn: I wasn't sure you were gonna be on tonight.**

**CrashNBurn: Any luck with your little mystery?**

**Emerald_Core: NO!**

**CrashNBurn: Aw. Poor you.**

**Emerald_Core: Pity me not. I'll get it.**

**CrashNBurn: Sure you will.**

**Emerald_Core: Do I detect a hint of insincerity?**

**CrashNBurn: Nah. You're the brainy type. You'll figure it out.**

**Emerald_Core: Thank you. ****J**

**CrashNBurn: I speak but the truth. :P**

**CrashNBurn: Doin' anything tomorrow?**

**Emerald_Core: Mystery. And maybe installing the new AI chips in the Turbozords. You?**

**CrashNBurn: Class till noon. Wanna get together after that? Lunch, coffee?**

**Emerald_Core: Sure.**

**CrashNBurn: Which? Lunch or coffee?**

**Emerald_Core: Yes. :P**

**CrashNBurn: Great. It's a date.**

**Emerald_Core: Wow. Haven't had one of those in a while.**

**CrashNBurn: And whose fault is that?**

**Emerald_Core: Sorry. Saving the world's a full-time gig. **

**CrashNBurn: Oh, come on. The world's not in danger every day.**

**Emerald_Core: Seems like it sometimes.**

**CrashNBurn: Well, on the days you can't get out, I'd be happy to come to you. You know that.**

**Emerald_Core: No, no, a thousand times, no. My 'friends' would eat you alive if I brought you here.**

**CrashNBurn: And here I thought that was your job. :P**

**Emerald_Core: You have a very dirty mind. You know that, right?**

**CrashNBurn: Heh.**

**Emerald_Core: So where we meeting?**

**CrashNBurn: My campus, by the big pretty pond, noonish.**

**Emerald_Core: Can't wait.**

"You have a date?"

"Ack!" Lolli leaned forward and clapped her hands over the screen.

"You have a _date_?" Mara asked again, incredulous.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's rude to eavesdrop?"

"_You_ have a date?"

Lolli sighed. "Yes. You can keep saying it with as many different inflections as you want, it won't stop being true."

"Sorry. I just didn't know you could actually interact with anything that didn't have transistors." The Pink Ranger plopped down in one of the chairs on the Bridge of the Oasis, grinning. "So who is he?"

Lolli growled, quickly typing in a '**Gotta go, annoying friend, see you tomorrow, bye**', then signed off.

"Lolli! Who is he? Dish!"

"I do not 'dish'. It's none of your damn business."

"Is he a Ranger? You talked about Ranger stuff, he must be a Ranger." She raised an eyebrow. "It's not by brother, is it? Because I remember that one time-"

"No," Lolli growled.

"No, no, I remember catching him coming out of your bedroom last New Year's, and-"

"I said _no_," Lolli growled. "Did he say anything about that to you?"

"No-"

"Good. Anyway, your brother is still in a coma. I couldn't possibly be talking to him, now could I?"

"Well…no, I guess not. Okay, so which Ranger is it?"

"It's not a Ranger."

"And you told him anyway?"

"I never leave the ship, it doesn't matter if _my_ secret identity gets revealed. Besides, I'm a convicted felon. Being a Ranger is just another crime at the bottom of a very long list."

Mara shrugged that off. Lolli's past was no secret. "So who _is_ he?"

"At the risk of sounding repetitive, none of your business."

"Oh, come on. You can tell me."

"Yes, I can. I won't. But I can."

"But-"

"Out. Butt out."

Mara frowned as Lolli shut her out, opening one of her files and typing away at it. Crossing her arms, Mara let out a smile. The Green Ranger thought she could keep her from scoping out her boyfriend?

Let her try.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The onboard computer of the flagship of the Machine Empire's fleet kept careful track of the various energy waves that occupied the surrounding space. Most of this was simple radiation from stars, solar flares, comets and the like, but a good portion of it was sub-etha communication signals, racing across space to deliver their messages, half of which were obsolete and outdated by the time they arrived.

One particular energy pattern was of a specific type and frequency that it had been given careful instructions regarding. Those instructions were to inform a certain individual of the energy pattern's presence, then await further instructions.

"Prince Gasket. There is an incoming message from Prince Ornyk."

Prince Gasket looked up at the large screen that formed the front wall of the circular room that was the bridge of his ship.

"Put him through, Zord-3."

"As you wish," the computer replied in its mechanized, monotone voice.

The screen came to life, displaying the Zornian's wolflike visage.

"Prince Ornyk. This is a surprise. You don't want more COGS, do you? I told you, the first set is free, the rest will cost you."

"Not at all. Actually, I was hoping you might help me with a small side project."

Gasket's mechanical eyes narrowed. "This wouldn't have anything to do with the Gathering, would it?"

"The two things are not unrelated."

A slight whirring sound emitted from Gasket's head as his electronic brain processed this. "What kind of help?"

Ornyk held up a small, rectangular pamphlet, on the cover of which was a brightly colored illustration.

Gasket's mechanical eyes widened in emulated surprise. "You actually wish to _make_ these?"

"Yes."

Prince Gasket considered. "Actually, their design is remarkably similar to that of some of my generals. I believe we can work something out…"

The conversation continued as the strangely lopsided ship changed course, headed for the small, backwater planet known to its inhabitants as Terra.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Mara?"

The Pink Ranger nearly jumped out of her skin. She spun around.

"Angel!" she hissed. Shooting a quick glance at Lolli to be sure she hadn't heard, she turned on the Gray Ranger. "What are you doing here?"

Bemused by her attitude, Angel humored her. "One of the Drama classes hired me to help craft them a set for their next performance," he answered. "I'm actually fairly well known around this campus for just such jobs. What are _you_ doing here?"

"I...umm…class?"

"Your class is being held behind a bush today? Studying the life cycle of rhododendrons?"

Mara pulled the absurdly large Ranger down so the large bush more or less concealed him from Lolli's sight.

"All right, all right. I'm spying on Lolli."

"Lolli?" Angel asked, perplexed. He stuck his head out from behind the bush. "Okay, so what's _she_ doing here? She doesn't even go to this school, does she?"

"I'm guessing her date does," Mara replied.

"Date?"

"Yeah. I caught Lolli flirting with some guy on the internet."

Angel raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't sound like something she'd do."

"Please. Cyber-dating? SO her style. Anyway, they made plans to meet here. She wouldn't tell me anything about him, so I'm spying on her. You can join in, if you can manage to lay low."

"Who could refuse such an offer," Angel said flatly, peering out at the Green Ranger.

She was standing next to the duck pond that the campus sported, gazing out over the water.

"What time is it?" Mara asked.

Angel whipped out his pocketwatch, flipping it open. Both hands pointed resolutely at thirteen.

"Noon," he answered.

"They said noonish, so he should be here soon."

Angel smirked. "Who's she?"

Mara blinked. A girl had approached Lolli and was chatting to her. She was shortish, cute, with long dark hair.

"That's Michelle Dean," Mara said. "She's in my Lit Class. I didn't know she knew Lolli. How does she know Lolli? Lolli doesn't even go to this school."

"Maybe she teaches?" Angel suggested jokingly.

"What's Michelle doing here? Did she see her standing there and just decide to chat?"

"They're leaving," Angel noted.

"What?"

Mara's head whipped around. Lolli and Michelle were walking off.

"But…she's supposed to wait…is she bailing on her date?"

"Looks like he's not coming," Angel said, smirking.

Angel's amused tone made a slight whistling noise as it passed right over Mara's head.

"They may have changed venue on me. Lolli's clever, she knows I know she was meeting him here. Maybe he's meeting her at the coffee place."

"Then what was she doing here?" Angel challenged.

"Um…Throwing me off the scent?"

"By being where she was supposed to be?" the Gray Ranger inquired, baffled by the lack of logic.

"I don't know! But I am NOT missing this. Come on."

Mara took off in pursuit, ducking behind trash cans and trees every so often.

Angel shook his head in amazement. "It's a wonder that girl can find her shoes in the morning."

With a bemused sigh, he followed after the Pink Ranger, forgoing the amateur spy tactics.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey."

Fox jumped, whipping her head towards the Med Bay's entrance.

"Tommy. Hey," she said. "Didn't see you there."

"Came to check on these two. Oh, hello," the Red Ranger added, peering at the girl occupying the chair next to Fox. She was young, about ten or so, but apart from the age she was a carbon copy of the older Foxtooth.

"Hiya," the girl replied with a brief wave, peering up at him appraisingly.

"Tommy, this is my sister, Nikki," Fox introduced. "Nikki, Tommy. He's-"

"The Red Ranger. Yeah, I'd guessed," Nikki said dryly. "Nice to meet you."

"Your family knows?" Tommy asked, peering at Fox. "About…" he gestured vaguely around him.

"Just me," Nikki replied. "She could hardly keep it a secret after I caught her teleporting home one night."

"Can she keep a secret?" Tommy inquired.

"When the alternative is to get my favorite sister arrested, dissected, deported, et cetera? Uh, _yeah_, I can," the girl replied. "And by the way, I understand every word you're saying. You _can_ address your questions directly to me."

Tommy blinked. "Um. Okay. So what are you doing here?"

"Same thing I am," Fox replied, gesturing at the cots. "Waiting for our boys to wake up."

"They're the same as ever," Nikki said, turning her gaze back towards the Silver and Gold rangers.

"No change at all?" The Red Ranger inquired.

"The only change was how much quieter it got after we sent that damned Sirenian on his way," Fox said wryly. She sighed at Deacon's solid gold body.

"I'm glad Stephen managed to heal him completely before he woke up," Tommy said. "Imagine how much more he'd have complained if he'd woken up with that leg missing."

Fox shuddered.

Something glimmered, catching her eye. Tommy frowned, then turned, following her gaze.

Jareth's unconscious body was lying on the cot next to Deacon's, not having moved since he was first returned to the ship. It was your standard medical cot, a simple metal frame with a thin mattress and white sheets.

As the visitors watched, golden color began to spread across his clothing, like flame spreading across paper, the simple black cloth turning to woven metal before their eyes. From his fingertips, the gold spread out across the white sheets, transforming the entire cot, metal frame and all. In less than half a minute, everything Jareth was touching had turned to solid gold.

There was a long pause after the transformation had ended.

"Well," Tommy said. "Now we know what happened to Deacon."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Well?" Ornyk asked.

"They are done," Gasket replied. He snapped his mechanical fingers, and a COGS unit jerked forward, a small metal case in its hand. Opening it, the mechanical minion revealed three small black and silver rectangular devices, each one with a different type of antenna emerging from the top. "Except, of course, for your part."

Ornyk smiled, revealing a frightening number of sharp teeth….frightening, that is, if one was capable of fear, which Gasket was not.

Throwing the comic book Panicka had provided down upon the floor of Zedd's throne room, Ornyk pointed down at the cover, a stream of blue-black fire shooting down from his pointed black claw. The flame traced the outlines of the three armored figures in the illustration, then lifted them, one by one, up off the page. Each image was carried through the air and entered one of the small devices, phasing in through the glossy black surface of the device, the polished glass rippling like water as the picture entered.

"Done," Ornyk said, sounding satisfied.

"Now for the hosts," Gasket said.

Ornyk chuckled. "Leave that to me."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I don't believe it," Mara said, as she stormed down the street. Angel followed behind, his long stride easily keeping up with Mara's much faster pace, an amused smile on his face.

"Of course not. It was unbelievable."

"I follow her around all day, just to find out who she's dating, and the guy never even shows up."

"The nerve."

"She just hangs around all afternoon with Michelle. It was like she didn't even care that she'd been stood up."

"How very odd."

"Okay, stop it," Mara snapped, spinning on her heel and pointing up at the Gray Ranger, who paused mid-step.

"Stop what?" Angel asked, smirking.

"Making fun of me! You're mocking me. You're agreeing with everything I say like you're right there with me but you're barely hiding that smug little smile of yours that means you've realized something I haven't and are laughing at my inability to see it!"

Angel raised an eyebrow. "Oh. _That_."

"Yes, _that_! Now tell me what it is I'm missing here!"

"No," Angel said simply.

"What? Why not?"

"Because it's more fun this way. And besides, Lolli's right…it _is_ none of your business." Angel walked around the Pink Ranger and continued down the sidewalk.

Mara stood there for a moment, twitching, looking for all the world like steam was about to shoot out of her ears.

"You're not torturing me, you know!" she yelled at his retreating back. "I don't even care! You can just keep it to yourself as long as you like! What are _you_ staring at?!"

The small crowd that had gathered quickly went back on their way, not wanting anything more to do with this crazy girl, who abruptly turned on her heel and stormed away in a huff.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So what do you make of it?" Tommy asked.

"The effect is magical in nature," Zord-1 replied.

"Could it be a side effect of the Battleizer?" Fox asked.

"It is possible that attempting to combine his powers with those of a faded Power Coin could have caused his abilities to evolve in unpredictable ways," Zord-1 replied. "Though undoubtedly more powerful than the Battleizer Andros reportedly used, Jareth's was far more unstable. The Summoners I created have never been used by anyone else, their limits are still untested."

"Maybe you should have tested them first," Tommy suggested lightly.

"So is it just everything he touches, or is it everything that touches the things that he touches?" Fox asked.

"If you are asking whether the things he has transformed also have the property of turning everything they touch to solid gold, I would have to hypothesize that the answer is no," Zord-1 replied. "Otherwise, the golden frame of his cot would have begun to…golderize…the floor of the Medbay."

"Are you sure?" Fox asked. "He's not touching the metal part, and it turned gold."

"Um," Tommy said, pointing to Jareth's tail, which was coiled around the metal frame at the foot of the cot.

"Oh," Fox said. "I'd forgotten about that thing." She twitched.

"How did he wind up with a tail, again?" Nikki asked curiously.

"No idea. He didn't have time to explain before the whole Serpentware thing, and the only one who was there when he got it…"

Tommy glanced at Deacon.

"Can the effect be reversed?" he asked.

"I don't know. Most magical effects can. One merely has to find the appropriate countermeasure," Zord-1 replied.

"We'll find it," Fox said.

Tommy shot a sidelong glance at her, a slight smile appearing on his face.

"Sounds like you have a vested interest."

"She does," her sister confirmed.

"I do not," Fox said stubbornly. "He's just…a fellow Ranger. And a valuable member of the team."

"Uh-huh." Tommy smirked. "You know, in that other reality I told you about? You were together."

"We were?" Fox blinked. "But…that was…just an alternate reality."

"It was exactly like this one. The only difference was me."

"You mean…everything that happened before you showed up…still happened?"

"Well…most of it. Zoey was mysteriously absent." Tommy frowned. "I suppose she could have wandered off after the other me died, and nobody mentioned it…"

"So it _could_ have been different."

"It could have been," Tommy admitted. "Still, you can't pretend there's nothing between you two."

"I can't?" the Camo Ranger asked pathetically.

"You can't," Nikki assured her firmly.

A number of small domes popped down from the ceiling, strobing with red light as an annoying alarm began to blare. It was quickly silenced, the lights retracting into their housing.

"One of these days I must remember to delete that subroutine," Zord-1 said. Then, opening channels to thirteen individual communication implants, he added: "Would all Rangers not otherwise occupied please report to the Bridge?"

Fox breathed a sigh of relief.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What are _those_ supposed to be?" Terina asked.

None of the Rangers staring up at the screen seemed to have an answer.

Three armored figures were marching through a city, which was identified by small letters in the corner of the screen as 'Charterville'. Their armor seemed to be patterned after insects, and reminded Tommy vaguely of the armor that Fox and Deacon had worn in the other reality. The blue one had a single antenna that split at the end, forming a T-shape, the green one had antler-like pincers as headgear. The red one, the only female in the group, had shorter antennae that protruded from her temples rather than her forehead, pointing out to the sides.

"Rhinoceros beetle, stag beetle, and flower beetle," Lolli said, rattling off the species of insect that the armors seemed to emulate. "Of course, that's just an educated guess. I'm no entomologist."

"Zord-1?" Fox asked. "What _are_ they?"

"I am…uncertain," the computer replied. "Normally when a monster is created, its name is encoded into its molecular structure. It is equivalent to an artist signing his paintings. Whatever these entities are, they have no such encoding."

"So _that's_ how you always know the monsters' names," Nikki said.

"Scan your files for any possible matches," Lolli suggested.

"Processing."

"Any luck?" Tommy asked.

"I have over seventeen quadrillion quadrillion files to search, Red Ranger. I am also accessing every computer file on Terra, as well as several computers in the surrounding quadrant of the galaxy. Please be patient."

There was an anxious pause, perhaps half a second.

"I have…found a match," Zord-1 said, sounding dubious. "But-"

"Just show us," Lolli said.

The screen lit up, displaying a number of comic book panels, two-dimensional illustrations featuring the three armored figures.

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me," Fox said. "Comic books?"

Lolli raised a critical eyebrow, reading the title. Her voice, when she spoke, was disdainful.

"Beetleborgs?"


	53. Beetle Battle

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 53: Beetle Battle

"Frax? _Frax!_" Gasket bellowed.

A grotesque, golden android appeared. "The metal man bellowed?" it asked in a mechanical voice.

Gasket sighed, a sharp release of steam. More than anything, he wished he could find a way to correct the myriad of glitches in Frax's systems. But, he supposed, that was what happened when you tried to download an organic creature's memory engrams into an inorganic machine.

"I want you to go and monitor this battle. Make me a detailed record on the abilities of these 'Beetleborgs'. Then, compile a report on just how much of their abilities can be replicated without the use of magic. If they prove effective, we may wish to make more."

"And should the pretty bugs uncover my rock?"

Gasket took a moment to process what Frax was trying to say.

"Try not to be spotted, by either the Beetleborgs or the Rangers. If you are attacked by the Rangers, defend yourself. Kill them if you can. If you are attacked by the Beetleborgs, flee. We need them intact, for now."

"His mind has left. His body follows…"

Gasket glared at Frax's back as the golden droid left the command post. He started to make a note to himself about replacing Frax, but found that such a note already existed. Replace existing file?

Deciding against it, he turned and left the room himself.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"They're called the Red Striker, the Blue Stinger, and the Green Hunter," Lolli said. "Looks like Zedd's running out of ideas."

"Zedd could not have done this alone, Green Ranger," Zord-1 intoned. "I am detecting traces of Eltarian magitechnology."

"The Eltarians built these?" Tommy asked incredulously.

"I sincerely doubt it. For one, it appears that the first Beetleborgs comic was published nearly 457 years _after_ the Eltarians were hunted to extinction. For another, these Beetleborgs appear to have been _adapted _from Eltarian technology. The specific designs are unique to-"

"The Machine Empire."

Everyone turned to see Terina standing in the doorway, her face completely expressionless.

"Ter?" Fox asked.

"Terina is correct," Zord-1 said. "However…"

"However what?"

"They're not really rampaging." Lolli noted, cocking an eyebrow.

"Precisely. They are causing minimal destruction and are not targeting civilians."

"They're trying to lure us out," Fox accused.

"Let's not disappoint," Terina growled.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Zephyr Blade!"**

A whirling cyclone of yellow mist appeared as if from nowhere, enveloping the three insectoid warriors.

"They're heeere," The Red Striker said.

"About time," Hunter replied.

"I got this. **Stinger Blade!**"

With a burst of blue energy, a beetle-shaped gauntlet appeared on the Blue Stinger's right arm, its antennae forming a long, sapphire-blue blade. As he raised the weapon above his head, the blade began to spin, swirls of blue light emerging from the metal, countering the cyclone. The yellow whirlwind dissipated.

Standing before them in the street were the Red, Yellow, Green, and Camouflage Rangers.

"That's it?" Hunter asked, sounding disappointed. "I was hoping for more of-"

Sparks flew from the Green Hunter's shoulder pad as Terina's dagger shot through the air, embedding itself in his armor.

With a growl, he pulled it out and threw it to the ground. The gash in his arm sealed itself with a spark of emerald green light.

"Skipping the witty banter. Got it," Striker said. "**Striker Blaster!**"

A device appeared on the Red Striker's arm, similar to the Stinger Blade except for its antennae, which instead of a blade, formed a set of four blunt red laser cannons. She leveled this at the row of Rangers and fired off a spray of energy bolts.

The Rangers scattered, leaping off in all directions to dodge the Red Striker's assault.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Hunter Claw!"**

**"Stealth Cutter!"**

The two-bladed sword glowed with its own green-brown light, leaving a luminous trail through the air as it moved to intercept the Green Hunter's pincer-type gauntlet.

"So what's your story?" Fox asked, straining to hold back the Beetleborg's weapon. "Zedd make you? Ornyk? Those machine people?"

"Me?" Hunter replied, as his claw rotated, jerking the exotic weapon from the Camo Ranger's hands. A savage spinning kick sent her sprawling to the street. "I'm from Orlando."

Reaching down, the Green Hunter clamped his claw down on the fallen Ranger's waist, lifting her into the air over his head.

"You're…ow…Terran?" Fox asked, as the claw began to dig into her armor.

"That's right. And I'm sick of you costumed freaks tearing up my planet."

"Costumed freak? Says the one in the cockroach suit," the Camo Ranger said, straining unsuccessfully to force the claws apart.

"Your retorts cut me to the quick," Hunter replied sarcastically. He tilted his head, then added, in a much more amused voice, "Let's cut to yours, hmm?"

There was a flash in Fox's hand as she summoned her Blade Blaster. Before Hunter could react, she raised the gun and blasted him right in his armored face.

Landing neatly on her feet as his claw released her and he staggered back, hands clutching his visor, Fox rolled to where her sword lay and reclaimed it, twirling the double-ended weapon like a baton.

"So, you're not even under a spell or anything? That's a twist. You _do_ know that we're the good guys, right?"

Green Hunter growled, pulling out the strange-looking pink-and-red gun that was clipped to his right leg. "Tell that to my-"

"Your what?" Fox asked. She spun her sword, deflecting a bolt from his laser. The blast struck a nearby car, causing it to explode. "Lemme guess. We got someone killed, right? Parent, sibling, lover? Well, grow up and get over it. This is a war. People die. It happens."

"It's _your_ war!"

Before Fox could answer, a sharp blue blade pierced her armor from behind, emerging from her stomach. Fox barely had time to look at it before it started to spin, shredding a hole through her torso wide enough to put one's foot through.

The Blue Stinger withdrew his blade and she fell, but before she could hit the pavement something yellow swooped by, grabbed her, dropped something, and swung away to the top of a nearby building.

Stinger and Hunter blinked, startled, but as they turned to follow, the two small, egg-shaped seeds that Terina had dropped at their feet sprouted, taking root in the concrete and entangling them in thick, thorny vines.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Terina set Fox down and let go of her vine, which promptly vanished. There was a flash of green and brown as Fox demorphed.

"You okay?" the Yellow Ranger asked.

Fox nervously rubbed her stomach. No matter how many times that sort of thing happened to her, she still expected to feel entrails every time she demorphed.

"I'll be fine," she said. Turning, she looked down at the two Beetleborgs, who were busily hacking their way free from Terina's shrubbery. Tommy and Lolli were still occupied fighting the Red Striker, the rays from her Blaster splashing off against Tommy's shield-gauntlet.

"We should get back down there," Fox said.

Something flashed in the corner of Terina's field of vision, and she turned to see a twisted golden robot standing atop the next building, staring at her. Her Power-enhanced vision could clearly make out the emblem of the machine empire emblazoned across his casing.

"What's _that_?" Fox asked.

Terina twirled her daggers, which appeared in her hands with a flash.

"I'll take care of it. You go help Tommy and Lolli."

"On it," Fox said, hopping down off the top of the three-story building with a cry of "**Crocodile!",** landing neatly on her feet on the sidewalk below, and running off to join the battle.

The Yellow Ranger turned back to the mechanical monstrosity standing on the next building.

Frax was face-down before he knew what'd hit him.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Pyrosphere!"**

The softball-sized sphere was at the Red Striker's feet before she knew it, exploding into a massive inferno and sending her flying into the air. End-over-end she flew, finally crashing down on the hood of a nearby car, shattering the glass and denting the metal. The car's alarm began to blare irritatingly.

Tommy drew his sword, but before he could take advantage of the Red Striker's situation, he was attacked from behind by the Green Hunter, barely turning in time to block the Beetleborg's massive, clutching claws with his sword.

Groaning, Striker rolled off the car's hood and staggered to her feet, only to receive a sharp, two-footed kick to the lower back from the Green Ranger, who rebounded, backflipped, and landed atop a nearby lamppost, glaring down imperiously at her.

Striker peeled herself up off the pavement, turning to glare up at the Green Ranger. Whipping out her Sonic Laser, she typed in a few keys on the numerical pad on the side of the weapon, then fired a ray of chilling energy at Lolli.

The Green Ranger dropped down off her perch, just in time to avoid being frozen solid. A second blast followed, forcing her to jump aside, covering that part of the street with a layer of solid ice.

**"Ruby Ray!"** Lolli invoked, a thin beam of red light lancing out from the gem in her helmet's forehead. The ray swept out, on level with Striker's neck.

The Beetleborg gasped, ducking to avoid being decapitated, but made the mistake of raising her hands to cover her head. The sweeping ray neatly severed the hand that held her gun at the wrist. Sparks flew from severed cables, hoses leaked various hydraulic fluids.

Striker gazed at the severed stump of her right hand in surprise.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Green Hunter dived to the side as the scarlet tornado rushed past him, eventually slowing to reveal itself as the Red Ranger, short sword in one hand and shield-claws extended from the other.

Glancing down, Hunter caught a glimpse of one of the signposts that the Red Ranger's spinning attacks has left lying in the street. Stomping on the end, he sent the bar of metal spinning into the air, and then, with a thrust of his arm, sent it flying through the air like a missile, straight at Tommy.

Tommy's eyes widened briefly, and he clamped his hands together, catching the post between them, the object's momentum carrying back through the window of a nearby comic book store. Broken glass flew everywhere as the Red Ranger was thrown into the racks of the (thankfully empty) building.

Tommy pulled himself to his feet, dropping the remains of the signpost. He glanced down at his hands as the deep grooves the metal had cut into his armored palms vanished, red light playing over them.

Shaking his head, Tommy turned to rejoin the battle…but his eyes fell on a comic book that lay open on one of the nearby counters. Picking it, be began leafing through it.

"Hmm…"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Blasts from the Green Ranger's Blade Blaster filled the air as the Red Striker rolled, retrieving her missing hand and clapping it back in place. Sparks of red flew from the seam in the metal as cables, hoses, and other mechanical parts reconnected, the damage being undone. Flexing her fingers experimentally as she crouched behind one of the few cars on the street that hadn't yet been blown up, Striker waited for a lull in the gunfire.

When it finally came, she leapt out from behind the car, summoning her Striker Blaster….but as she perched on the pitted and pockmarked hood of the vehicle, she saw no sign of her target.

Scanning the street, she found no indication of what could have become of the Green Ranger…until her eyes fell on the open manhole cover.

"Damn it," Striker muttered, marching over to the open entrance. Taking a deep, fortifying breath, she jumped down into the sewers.

Moments later, Lolli strode out of the nearby alley, replaced the manhole cover, and fused it in place with a few shots from her Blade Blaster.

"Sucker."

She turned to walk away, but stopped dead upon seeing the Green Hunter, standing in the middle of the street before her.

"Oh," she said. "Hello."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Terina's battle with the golden machine carried her across the rooftops of Charterville, well into the outskirts of the city. When they ran out of rooftops, Frax revealed a pair of concealed rocket boosters and took to the skies, raining electric death down on her from above.

Terina leapt down to the ground and began to run, the landscape whipping past her speeds that made her head spin. Whenever she invoked this power, it seemed as though her mind were split in half…part of it seeing things from the normal perspective, so that she could tell just how fast she was really going, but the other half seeing things at super-speed, so that she could keep up with her own actions. It was more than a little unsettling.

Oddly enough, running at super-speed in the heels never seemed to bother her. Go figure.

Turning around and running backwards, Terina whipped out her Blade Blaster and fired a few rounds at the flying gold monstrosity. The blasts rocketed through the air faster than the eye could follow, or else they oozed out of her gun like sap from a tree, depending on how she looked at them, but either way, Frax somehow managed to avoid them, twisting and turning through the air like an ace pilot.

Terina narrowed her eyes, recognizing distinctly Eltarian flight maneuvers. She fought down the sickening feeling she felt welling up in her gut and conjured one of her daggers, throwing it with all her strength up at the robot.

Unlike the blasts from her sidearm, the dagger seemed to share her super-speed, lancing through the air so fast that only she could see it. Frax never stood a chance of dodging it, and the blade struck one of the boosters on his back, sending him spinning out of control.

Terina turned face-first again and screeched to a halt, eyes up on Frax as he cartwheeled helplessly through the air, twisting and turning and finally crashing through the roof of an old, abandoned-looking mansion on the horizon.

Terina smiled wickedly, racing off towards the building. Now, all she had to do was finish it off…

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox's blades flashed through the air with a speed no human could ever hope to match…but the Blue Stinger Beetleborg wasn't exactly human. Despite only having one blade, he easily managed to block each and every one of the Camo Ranger's strikes.

"Didn't I already gut you?" he asked curiously, his Stinger Blade inches away from her faceplate, held at bay by the two crossed blades of the Stealth Cutter.

"Sorry. No guts." Fox planted a foot on the Blue Stinger's chest and pushed, kicking him back while at the same time sending herself into a backflip.

**"Toxic Barb!"** With a backhanded swipe, Fox sent a barrage of corrosive shrapnel flying at the Beetleborg.

Stinger let out a cry of pain as the sharp metal shards bit into his armor, their acid eating through the enchanted metal. He pulled one of the larger pieces free, glaring at it before throwing it to the ground and rushing at Fox with renewed fury.

Fox quickly found herself up against the brick wall of one of the nearby stores, disarmed and disoriented.

Blue Stinger raised his weapon towards the sky, which seemed to darken as energy built up in the air around him, blue lightning flowing into the Stinger Blade. The carapace of the beetle-shaped weapon slid back, revealing a spinning disk that seemed to suck up the power, driving the mechanism that spun the energized blade. He drew back to strike, preparing to release an energized slash that would cut the Ranger in two…

And suddenly let out a piercing shriek as white lightning began to arc across his armor. The Stinger Blade fell to the ground as he began to convulse, still screaming, smoke rising from the joints of his armor. His illuminated red eyes seemed to go out as he collapsed to the ground…revealing the Red Ranger, standing behind him, holding in his gloved hand what appeared to be a severed power line.

"You okay?" Tommy asked.

Fox nodded. "Yeah. How did you…?"

"Electricity. They can't handle electricity."

Fox tilted her head. "What? But he was about to hit me with lightning! That doesn't make any sense!"

Tommy shrugged. "I don't make the rules. The comic book says that the Beetleborgs are weak against electricity."

Fox sighed, nodding. "Yeah, okay. Where are the other two?"

A wail answered that question as Lolli was thrown to the ground nearby, her armor striking sparks from the pavement as she skidded to a halt.

"Oh," Fox said, as the Green Hunter approached, Hunter Claw opening and closing eagerly. "Where's Kalen when you need her?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Terina cautiously crept through the dusty, abandoned house.

_Yeah, right,_ she thought. Her bright yellow armor wasn't exactly made for sneaking around, nor were her high-heeled boots, which made annoyingly loud tapping sounds against the floor.

As she searched from room to room, the Yellow Ranger couldn't help but wonder why it wasn't dustier in here. Sure, there were cobwebs, but only in the corners, almost as if they'd been deliberately added as decoration. If this house was really abandoned, there should have been a thick layer of dust on every surface…it was almost as if something in here had been moving around.

And she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.

_Okay,_ she thought. _Time to think. _The robot had come crashing through the roof, so he was probably on the second floor.

"Up the stairs we go," she said to herself, starting the climb.

The second floor was every bit as dilapidated as the first…even more so, when one took into account the newly added skylight. Terina blinked as her visor darkened in response to the bright sunlight filtering into the house through the large hole that had been torn in the ceiling.

No sign of the robot, though.

She produced her Blade Blaster, holding it ready.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are…"

"I'm not in right now."

Terina spun to find the golden droid standing in the doorway of the room. It raised its mechanical claws, the small manipulating hands folding away and weapons emerging to replace them. The sharp, spiked mace on his right arm began to spin with a mechanized whir, while the blade on his left started to crackle with electricity.

"Would you like to leave…a message?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Further down the street, there was a blast of red light that blew the lid off one of the manhole covers. The metal disk fell to the ground, comically spinning to a halt just as the Red Striker Beetleborg leapt up from the sewers, landing in a crouch on the street. She rose, looking around.

"Dirty trick, Ranger," she growled, spying Lolli.

Lolli crossed her arms. "Of course it was dirty. It's a sewer."

Red Striker took a few angry steps towards her, but didn't get any further than that before Tommy electrocuted her from behind, just as he had with the Blue Stinger.

Fox walked over to them, nudging the unconscious Beetleborg with her boot.

"So, do you think she's going to disappear like the other two?"

Red fire abruptly consumed the Red Striker, leaving not a trace behind.

"I don't think I have to answer that," Lolli replied.

"So," Tommy said. "Where's Terina?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was a tremendous crash as the Yellow Ranger's body came smashing through the half-rotted timbers that composed the floor of the mansion's second story. She fell through the ceiling into the room below, smashing through the antique crystal chandelier and colliding painfully with the floor.

She groaned, opening her eyes…then gasped, rolling aside just as Frax leapt down through the hole he'd made, his heavy metal feet landing right where she'd been laying, splintering the decrepit floorboards.

The Yellow Ranger scrambled to her feet, her twin daggers appearing in her hands. She leapt at the mechanical beast…but at the last moment, he turned, allowing her to fly past him. As she did, his upper body rotated, delivering a savage blow to her back with his hydraulic mace.

The small Yellow Ranger was knocked headfirst into a dusty, antique pipe organ that stood against the far wall, the ancient instrument shattering under the impact.

Once again pulling herself to her feet, Terina conjured her Blade Blaster in its dagger-mode, but as he ran forward to attack, she felt something pierce her armor, entering her stomach and emerging from her back. Looking down, she saw Frax's blade-arm, embedded in her torso.

Frax pulled his arm back, withdrawing the blade. Terina fell to the ground, demorphing with a yellow flash.

Frax advanced on the fallen Yellow Ranger, who shook her head, dazed. She rolled onto her back and scooted away from the golden android as he approached, eyes wide, until her back hit the wall and she was sitting amidst the shattered remains of the pipe organ.

Frax raised his spinning mace, about to rend Terina's flesh…but just before he did so, his optical sensors dropped down, zooming on the oversized ring that hung from its chain around her neck.

"That treasure, the bottomless box…from whence did it come?"

"What?" Terina asked, wondering if she'd taken a harder blow to the head that she'd thought.

"The noose you wear. Questions feed on answers. Feed me!"

Terina's hand closed around the ring. "It…it was a…gift…," she answered, confused. "From someone I loved. Why do-"

"You are the flower," Frax said. His mechanized voice sounded…amazed?

"What are you talking about?"

"You are the flower…the one he treasured….the one he kept in a bottomless box…your form has changed, but you're still the flower."

Frax looked down at the metal claws that served him for hands. Shaking his head, he turned on his metal heel and walked away, teleporting off into the ether just before he reached the door, leaving Terina lying, alone and confused, in the dusty, abandoned mansion.


	54. Tinkering

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 54: Tinkering

"Well," Ornyk said, arms crossed, glaring at the three inert forms that lay on their slats in the center of the room. "That was a dismal failure."

"On the contrary," Gasket said, running a small scanner over them. "I think it went quite well for a trial run. Not only did the emergency retrieval protocols work perfectly, but we managed to identify a major flaw."

"I didn't know they were weak to electricity," the Zornian admitted. "Next time Iconjure a minion from a comic book, I'll summon Superman. Let's see the Rangers get their hands on Kryptonite."

"That flaw is being corrected as we speak," Gasket said. Indeed, a number of long mechanical arms attached to various complicated-looking tools had extended down from the ceiling, and were setting to work on the Beetleborgs' armor.

Ornyk let his eyes wander around the industrialized room that was the Haven's main lab, bored with the scientific intricacies involved.

"How long will this take?"

"Long enough," Gasket said. "We could create new Beetleborgs more quickly than it would take to revamp these ones. But then, that would be a waste of resources."

"We can't make more," Ornyk said. "Not like these, anyway. When an artist creates a fictitious world, that world actually comes into being on some level of reality. What I did was essentially to tap into that reality and steal these powers from the Beetleborgs that lived there."

"So you're saying that even if I were to have more Bonders built…"

"There would be no powers with which to infuse them," Ornyk finished. He paused, considering. "Although…"

Gasket glanced at him. "Yes?"

"Keep working," Ornyk said. "I have an idea."

With that, he vanished in his signature crackle of blue-black fire.

Gasket sighed, turning back to the mechanical arms, observing the process with the sort of patience only a machine could muster.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Guys!"

Heads turned as Mara came hurtling out of the jumptubes into the lounge, racing across the room towards the couch where Terina sat, feet up on the coffee table.

"Hey!" Terina cried as Mara swiped the remote from her hand and began to flip through the channels.

"What's up, Mara?" Tommy asked.

"You have _got_ to see this," the Pink Ranger replied, switching to a news channel. The screen displayed scenes that had been filmed from the Rangers' recent battle with the Beetleborgs.

"The news covers every battle we have, Mara," Terina pointed out. "Why are we watching this one?"

"Shh!" Mara said, silencing the Yellow Ranger so that the newscaster's voice could be heard.

"-arterville yesterday, as the Power Rangers once again brought their unique brand of chaos and destruction to our world. However, this time they met their match in a new group of heroes, apparently modeled after characters from a popular comic book series. These colorful warriors fought the Rangers to a standstill, driving them from town, and then mysteriously disappearing. No statement has yet been made by Fortune Comics regarding the-"

"Turn it off," Terina grumbled.

Mara clicked off the large TV.

"I want to know just who does the research for these people," Troy chimed in. "I notice it doesn't mention that they were tearing up the town before we got there."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

Terina snatched back the remote and flipped to a cartoon.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was a loud clattering and a great deal of yelling from the magitech lab, and Stephen quickly emerged, followed by what appeared to be a flying microscope. The White Ranger ducked just in time for the device to fly over his head and shatter against the wall. The door slid closed, preventing anything further from being thrown after him. Straightening himself up, he started off down the hall.

"I wouldn't go that way if I were you," he said to Angel, as the Gray Ranger passed by him, a thick, leather-bound tome in his hand, finger between the pages as a bookmark. "Lolli's in a particularly unpleasant mood today."

Angel blinked as Stephen continued on his way, turning around the corner and out of sight. With a shrug, he entered the lab.

The place was in chaos. A large piece of equipment that Angel recognized as a system calibrator seemed to have malfunctioned terribly. Sparking wires dangling from the places they should have been connected. The small, experimental device the machine should have been calibrating seemed to have exploded.

Lolli was frantically pulling switches, shutting the machine down before it could overload any further. Once the cables stopped sparking, she grabbed a fire extinguisher off a nearby wall and hosed down the calibrator's tray, putting out the small fire that had erupted. The crisis over, she collapsed into a chair.

"Dare I even ask what happened here?"

Lolli tensed at his voice, then slowly turned to look at him. "Stephen," she replied. "Stephen happened here."

"Oh?"

"Yes. He insisted on 'helping' me with my invention, which of course meant explaining to me what I was doing wrong, despite having no idea, as usual, what he was talking about. When I refused….six times, because that's how many it took to sink in…he decided he felt unappreciated and yanked the cables to the machine."

"Ah."

"So now," she continued. "I have to fix the calibrator before I can finish work on my new invention."

Angel calmly walked over and examined the cables. "Shouldn't take long," he said. "This isn't that bad. None of them broke, they were just pulled free of the casing."

"They were?" Lolli asked, sounding relieved. She got up and started reinserting them into place.

The door slid open, and Fox cautiously entered, looking wary. "Is everything okay? I heard…"

"Stephen was being an ass," Lolli explained.

"When is he not?" Fox asked rhetorically.

"What's Transcendium?" Angel asked, remembering the question that drove him to come here in the first place.

"Planar metal," Lolli replied, still tensely re-wiring her machinery.

Angel hesitated, then, knowing that he was going to regret bothering her further, added. "And planar metal would be…?"

Lolli sighed. "Transcendium is a very rare metal that stores most of its mass on another plane of existence. It's necessary for the construction of non-magical zords because only a planar metal can violate the square-cube principal. Of course, you have to use an alloy of Transcendium, because pure Trenscendium in large enough quantities will produce a radiation field that nullifies all electro-mechanical systems it comes into contact with. It's usually blended with titanium, creating an alloy called trantanium, or neo-titanium. Anything else?"

"What's the square-cube principal?" Fox asked, as Angel began checking his book.

"Oh, that's the principal that states the ratio at which the mass of an object will increase relative to its size," Angel said, eyes on the worn pages.

Fox blinked. "Come again?"

"If you double the size, you triple the mass," Lolli said, connecting the last cable. The array before her lit up like a Christmas tree, as did Lolli's face. "Yes! Alive again." She dusted her hands and turned back to Fox. "It's the reason King Kong couldn't really exist. Anything that tall and with those proportions would be way too dense to move."

"Or even stand," Angel said. "He'd have crumbled."

"Hey, while we're on the subject of sci-fi inconsistency, how did The Invisible man _see_?" Lolli asked. "His retinas were transparent. He should have been completely blind."

Fox raised her hands. "Okay. Geek-talk has begun, and I'm outta here."

Angel watched as she turned and left.

"What was her problem?" Lolli asked, distractedly fiddling with the machine.

"Philistine. So," he asked. "Any idea why Transcendium is needed for interdimensional summoning spells?"

"Not a clue. I don't do magic. Ask Jareth. Or maybe Kalen. Or Angel. Oh…nevermind."

Angel smirked, and shaking his head, he turned and left the room.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Any change?" Fox asked the walls as she re-entered the medbay.

"None," Diskette reported, hovering near the two beds.

A small groan came from one, as Jareth began to stir.

"I stand corrected," the droid said happily.

Nikki, who'd been close to drowsing in her chair, snapped to life immediately, darting to the bedside. "Jareth? Are you okay?"

"I've been better," Jareth replied, sounding as though he'd been gargling gravel. He struggled to sit up.

"Allow me, Gold Ranger," came Zord-1's voice, and Jareth's bed automatically repositioned itself to support his upper half.

"Thanks."

"My pleasure," the computer said. "Now, I must caution you not to touch anything."

"Why not?" Jareth asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"You have…a condition. Everything you touch turns to solid gold."

"Is that why I seem to be wearing gloves?"

"We thought it was a good idea," Fox said. "You always wear pants and long sleeves anyway, so this way as long as you don't go kissing anyone, there shouldn't be any problems."

"I'm going to go tell everyone he's awake," Diskette said, zipping from the room, the door opening for her and closing automatically afterward.

"I'm getting pretty sick of waking up here," Jareth said grumpily, blinking a lot. Something about his face seemed different, but Fox couldn't quite tell what it was. "How long was it this time?"

"Three days, six hours, twenty-one minutes, and twelve seconds have passed since you were brought to the medbay," Zord-1 replied.

"Your gold-touch doesn't seem to affect liquids, so we were able to get you to drink," Fox said. "The medbay now has a complete set of golden cups now, though."

"Kalen has been bringing things in and touching them to you, on the off chance that they may not revert to normal when the spell is broken," Zord-1 said wryly.

"Bars of lead?" Jareth guessed.

"Styrofoam," Nikki said. "Easier to produce, easier to carry."

"Of course. How silly of me."

"We fought the Beetleborgs this morning," Fox said conversationally, sitting in the chair next to the cot.

"Beetleborgs, huh?"

"That's right. Strong, too. Biggest challenge we've had since the Psychos."

"Try electricity. They were always weak to it in the comics."

"We did. They were," Fox said. She frowned. "Terina's been weird about the whole thing."

"Why's that?"

"I dunno. Ever since she heard Zord-1 mention the Machine Empire…"

"Oh," Jareth said. "That."

"What?" Fox asked. "What is it about the Machine Empire?"

"Well…"

"Jareth?" Nikki interrupted. "Is something wrong with your eyes?"

He sighed. "Yes, actually. There is."

"What?" Fox inquired.

He turned towards the sound of her voice, then answered.

"I'm blind."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A column of dark flames erupted in the center of the room, fading to reveal Ornyk, his hand on the shoulder of a middle-aged, terrified-looking human male.

"What is that?" Gasket asked, metal arms crossed.

"This," Ornyk replied, "is Arthur Fortunes. He's the artist that created the comic book from whence we drew our new toys."

"You…my.." Arthur's terrified gaze fell on the three Beetleborgs. "H-hunter? Stinger? Striker?"

"That's right," Ornyk said. "We've made your vision a reality."

Gasket raised a hand, and the repair-arms stopped their work and retracted back into the ceiling.

As the lupine claw on his shoulder released its grip, Art stumbled the few steps forward, running his hands reverently over the armor of his creations. All the terror vanished from his face.

"They're right here in front of me…I always dreamed of seeing them like this…"

He turned to Gasket and Ornyk. "H-how? How did you do it?"

"Ahem," Ornyk said, pointing at himself and Gasket. "I'm an alien with magical powers, and he's a superintelligent android. This is the sort of thing we _do_."

"Oh, yes, of course, of course." Arthur returned to his examination of the Beetleborgs.

Ornyk smiled. It never failed. Dreamers, artists, the ones everyone considered crazy, they always took the supernatural in stride. A person more in touch with reality might have had a heart attack by now.

"Every last detail….incredible…even the ones I left out of the books…"

"They lost their last battle. Which is why I brought you here, Art," Ornyk said. "We need your help."

Art turned blinking at the wolflike alien in surprise.

"Me? What can I do?"

Ornyk snapped his fingers, and a drawing table appeared nearby with a crackle of dark fire, complete with paper, pencils, pens, erasers, and nearly every other artist's tool imaginable.

"Make us another one."


	55. Another Chapter

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 55: Another Chapter

"Take out your lenses, dipshit."

"What?" Jareth asked.

"Your contacts. Take them out."

Jareth reached up carefully removed the devices from his eyes. He blinked, looking down at the two tiny disks of opaque metal sitting in the golden palm of his glove. He glanced back up to see Lolli standing in the doorframe, a smug expression on her face, Diskette hovering over her shoulder.

"I would have worked that out eventually, you know."

"I'm sure," Lolli said.

"I just came out of a three-day coma," he added. "Forgive me if I didn't wake up spouting quantum physics."

"We understand," Lolli said, never losing the smug smile.

"Don't look at me in that tone of voice. Anyway. What have I missed? Fox mentioned Beetleborgs?" Jareth did a double-take at the cot next to him. "Deacon?" He looked back at Fox. "Did I do that?"

"Looks like it," the Camo Ranger replied sadly.

"And yes, Beetleborgs. They're already being hailed by the newscasters as the heroes who battled the Power Rangers," Diskette said.

"Charming."

"Well, I've gotta run. Still undoing the damage Stephen did."

"Bye," Fox said.

Jareth waved as the Green Ranger exited the room, Diskette following close behind. He turned to Fox.

"So how are you holding up?"

"Me?" Fox suddenly seemed very interested in the floor tiles. "I'm fine. I'm not the one who just came out of a coma."

"Fox," Jareth said, in that "Oh, please" tone of voice.

"Seriously, you're not fooling anyone," Nikki added.

Fox shot a halfhearted glare at her little sister, then sighed, looking over at the gold statue that had once been Deacon.

"I'll be fine. As soon as he is."

Jareth nodded. "Just making sure."

The door slid open and Terina entered the medbay, Myk close behind.

"Well, look who's up," Terina said.

"How you feeling?" the Bronze Ranger asked.

"Hungry," Jareth replied. "But unless I quickly develop a taste for metal, I suppose food is out."

"Solid food, at least," Diskette agreed. "You could probably handle soup."

"Worth a shot. Bring on the soup."

"Processing request," Zord-1's voice sounded from the ceiling.

"Wow," Jareth said, glancing at the ceiling. "Zord-1, you sounded _just_ like a computer."

"Imagine that," the computer replied, sounding amused.

Within moments, a circular shutter opened in the bedside table next to Jareth's cot and a bowl of steaming liquid rose out.

Jareth greedily grabbed the bowl and began eating. Abruptly, he jerked his head back, blinking as gold began to spread across the noodles in the soup, starting at the point that had touched his lips and corrupting the entire tangled mass.

Sighing, he removed the solid mass of metal from the bowl, shook the broth from it, and set it on the bedside table.

"This may take some getting used to," he said, lifting the bowl to his mouth.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey!"

Michelle paused midstep, looking around to see who had called and whom they were calling. A girl was running down the sidewalk towards her. Apart from herself, there was no one else nearby. These facts, combined with the fact that she, herself, had not spoken, led her to believe that the girl was the one who had spoken, and that she was, in fact, addressing her.

Puzzled, Michelle turned completely to face the stranger.

"Hey. Michelle. What's up? I hoping we could, um, maybe talk."

"Sure. Who are you?"

"Oh. Um. Sorry," the girl said. "I'm Mara. Mara Valentine."

Michelle squinted. "Oh, yeah. The pink girl. You're in my lit class, right?"

"Pink girl?" Mara asked. "I mean, um, yeah. Yes. Lit class."

There was an awkward silence.

"So, um…did you want my notes or something?"

"Um. No. I actually wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"About Lolli."

"Who?"

"You know, Lolli. Oh…dammit, what's her real name…Jessica? Jessica McGuire."

"You know Jess."

"Yes. Do you know who her boyfriend is?"

Michelle blinked, surprised. "What?"

"She's seeing someone, but she won't tell me who. It's driving me crazy. I knew she had a date here yesterday, and I followed her, but he never showed. She hung out with you all day instead. I figured, you seem to know her, so…what's so funny?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So. Anything up?" Fox asked, as she strode onto the Lounge of the Oasis, a mug of coffee in her hand. Lolli was seated at one of the small tables that littered the room, fiddling with a small, hand-help computer console. Terina and Myk were seated nearby at another, engaged in a game of chess. Myk's side had decidedly fewer pieces.

"Nope," Lolli replied.

"Monsters or whatnot?" Jareth added.

"Not today. Where's Nikki?"

The Camo Ranger shrugged, moving to stand behind Lolli's chair. She peered over her shoulder. The screen of Lolli's datapad displayed a translucent sphere, various layers of circuitry running through it.

"Sent her home. What are you working on?"

"The plans for a four-dimensional injector."

"Ah. And that would be?"

"A device for sending 3-dimensional matter into the fourth dimension, and bringing it back."

"So it's a time machine?"

Lolli twitched. "No," she growled, sounding exasperated. "I don't care how many cheesy sci-fi novels say so, the fourth dimension is NOT time. It's an aspect of space, like the other three dimensions before it, and the infinite number of dimensions in front of it."

"How do you know it's not time?"

"Ignoring for a moment that I have an IQ of 267?"

Fox rolled her eyes. "Yes, ignoring that."

"Ignoring that, there's the obvious fact that if time were the fourth dimension, we three-dimensional creatures wouldn't be able to move through it, like we're doing right now."

"What if we're really _four_-dimensional creatures?" Jareth asked slyly.

"Then we'd be able to move _freely_ through it, rather than just in the one direction," Lolli replied. "Time is not a dimension. It's what holds the dimensions, it's the medium through which matter in all the dimensions travels."

"That's true," Terina chimed in. "Eltarian science verified it centuries ago." She moved a piece forward on the chessboard before her. "Check."

Myk grumbled.

"Okay, so what's the fourth dimension, then?" Fox asked.

"Picture a point. Zero dimensions. Now, make it a line. One dimension. You've given it two directions. Left and right. With me so far?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now, make it a square. Two dimensions. You've added two more directions. Up and down."

"And making it a cube, three dimensions, adds backward and forward."

"_Yes_. She can be taught. Now listen up, here's where it gets tricky. Add two more directions to the cube."

Fox's brain stalled.

Lolli smirked. "Can't quite picture it, can you? That's because we're three-dimensional creatures. We're not equipped to handle the fourth dimension."

"I'm not even sure what to call those two directions," Fox said.

"They're called anja and kata. But don't try to picture them, it'd just make your head hurt. Add anja and kata to the cube, and you get a tesseract. A four-dimensional space figure."

"So what's the point of this thing?" Jareth asked, peering at Lolli's datapad.

"The injector? Well, imagine that we were two-dimensional creatures. Never knew about the third dimension. Maybe we'd heard of it, but we couldn't quite comprehend it. We're just flat figures on a sheet of paper."

"Yeah, okay…"

"Now, suppose another two-dimensional critter was to shoot at us. Now, just before the bullet, or whatever, hits us, something lifted us FORWARD…off the paper."

Fox considered. "To the other critter, we'd seem to vanish. The bullet would miss."

"Which is the point of this device."

"Huh. Makes sense."

"How close is it to being done?" Jareth asked.

"It'd be a lot closer if not for Stephen's little tantrum," Myk said. "I know, because she won't stop complaining about it." He moved a piece, double-checked its new position from every angle, and finally removed his hand.

"Checkmate," Terina said immediately, taking the piece.

"Who designed this game?" Myk demanded. "Since when do priests fight? And Queens don't battle, either. They sit on their thrones and have other people fight for them."

"New topic, anyone?" Jareth asked.

"Still no luck IDing our rogue Ranger," Lolli offered.

"Really? I figured you'd have solved that one by now."

Lolli crossed her arms, looking disgruntled. "There's just no data to go on. He's erased every security file."

"Have you tried asking Kalen?" the Gold Ranger asked.

Terina squinted. "What do you mean?"

"We've established that Kalen didn't do it. I had my suspicions…," Myk began.

"Nono. I meant, the rogue's been erasing his presence from Zord-1's cameras, but Kalen has cameras of her own scattered all over the ship. He couldn't have deleted the footage from those, right?"

There was a moment of stunned silence. The Rangers present exchanged glances, then, as one, rushed for the door.

Jareth blinked. "Wha-Hey! Wait for me!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Close your mouth, before something flies in," Michelle advised.

"You…you're…"

"That's right."

"And Lolli is…," Mara continued.

"Yep. Her too."

Mara took a step back.

"That's right, you keep your distance," the other girl said. "It's contagious, you know."

"I…I gotta go." Mara turned around started walking.

"Mental note. Ask Jess from whence she knows Mara. Ensure that it was not by choice."

Michelle turned and was about to proceed on her way, but stopped short as she found the sidewalk obstructed by what appeared to be a large gray-furred wolf, standing upright, wearing cobalt-blue armor. He clapped his armored claw onto her shoulder.

"Michelle Dean," he said in a growling voice. "Your destiny awaits."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Mara shuddered as she walked down the street. Some things were just WRONG. And Michelle had seemed so normal, too. And Lolli…okay, Lolli had never seemed normal, but still, she hadn't expected to learn that anyone she knew was….like _that_.

A shrill scream split the silence, she spun to see Ornyk, standing over Michelle, one paw on her shoulder, the other holding his sword above his head. Dark fire began to crackle along the length of the blade.

After a quick glance back and forth to ensure that no one was looking, Mara twisted her wrist, summoning her Morpher, which appeared with a swirl of pink smoke.

**"Pterodactyl!"**

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The elegantly engraved purple door stood resolute before them, refusing to open.

"Come on, Zord-1. Open up," Fox said.

"Unable to comply," Zord-1 said. "Kalen has given explicit instructions that this door is to be opened only for her."

Jareth stepped forward and knocked.

"She is not inside," Zord-1 said.

"Where is she?" Lolli asked.

"She is not currently on the ship, Rangers, and Kalen long ago disabled her comchip's tracking function."

"So you can't track her?"

"No…but there is no reason we couldn't simply call her."

Lolli pressed her finger against the spot behind her right ear, activating her own chip. "Kalen? Your presence is requested. No, official Ranger business. No, someone else _can't_ do it. Just get here. Standing right outside your bedroom door. Fine."

With a sigh, Lolli broke the connection. "She's on her way."

"Where is she?" Terina asked.

Lolli shrugged. "She didn't say."

"Didn't say what?" Angel asked, walking down the hall towards them.

"Where Kalen was," the Green Ranger answered.

"And who didn't say?"

"Kalen."

"Ah."

"Is that one of _my_ books?" Jareth asked.

"Yes," Angel said, glancing down at the book in his hand. "You _did_ give me permission to borrow them, one at a time, didn't you?"

"Did I? Oh. Right. I did."

"Good to see you up and about, by the way. Erm….since when do you wear actual gold clothing?"

Jareth frowned down at his clothes. "They're not just gold. They're _gold_. As in cold, heavy metal. Very uncomfortable."

"I'll bet. Why…?"

"He's suffering from a slight magical disorder. Everything he touches turns to gold. But he's almost completely covered, so as long as no one touches his head or his…" Terina did a double-take. "Jareth? Where did your tail go?"

"Hmm? Oh, I didn't want it to brush against anything accidentally, so I wrapped it up around my waist. Under my shirt. I guess this is how I'll have to go out in public from now on."

"…Tail?" Angel asked cautiously.

"Wow. You HAVE been out of the loop," Fox remarked.

The conversation was suddenly broken as a number of domes red lights popped down from the ceiling, flashing and emitting a horrible noise.

"Problem, Zord-1?!" Terina demanded, hands over her sensitive Eltarian ears.

The alarms ceased, the lights retracting back into their slots.

"I am afraid so, Rangers. Please report to the Bridge."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Ornyk," Myk growled.

"What's he want with the girl?" Jareth asked.

Everyone flinched as Ornyk's image on the screen delivered a particularly brutal kick to Mara's.

"Whatever it is, let's make sure he doesn't get it," Lolli said.

The Rangers twisted their wrists, spirals of multicolored smoke spiraling down their arms. There were bright flashes as the smoke solidified into Power Morphers.

Jareth blinked as his Morpher suddenly grew cold, and much heavier.

"Uh-oh…" Holding it up, he glanced at the device. It had, of course, turned to gold.

"How did that happen through the glove?" he asked.

"The spell may have reacted with the magic in the Morpher," Angel theorized.

"Will it still work?" Fox asked. "I mean…the coin was already gold, right?"

Jareth held it out experimentally before him.

"Lion!"

There was an expectant pause.

"Well…crap," the Gold Ranger said, rattling the useless lump of metal. "Nothing. My voice didn't even do that cool reverberating thing."

"Looks like we're going in without you. Guys?" Fox asked.

**"Wolf!"**

"**Crocodile!"**

"**Saber-toothed Tiger!"**

"**Dragonzord!"**

"**Eagle!"**

There was a blinding, multicolored discharge of energy as the group vanished, leaving Jareth alone on the Bridge.

Jareth sighed, tossing aside his useless Morpher, which instantly vanished back into the nothingness from whence it had come.

"And I'm supposed to be the lucky one."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ornyk twirled his sword in a wide circle, deflecting the swarm of pink arrows that Mara launched his way. The bolts of pink light ricocheted in every direction, shattering windows, destroying road signs, and carving long scars in the asphalt of the street.

A small shriek escaped from Michelle, and she shrunk down into a smaller ball as the head of one of the arrows emerged from the side of the mailbox behind which she'd been hiding, narrowly missing her head.

Ornyk's head jerked towards the sound of her voice. He made a leap for the mailbox…but something long and thin wrapped itself around his foot, bringing an abrupt end to his flight. He fell facefirst onto the street, his armor striking sparks from the pavement.

Mara withdrew her Thunderwhip and flew forward, wielding her bow like a sword, swinging downward in an attempt to cleave the Zornian's head from his shoulders.

Ornyk rolled over onto his back and brought up his own blade, blocking the Pink Ranger's strike. Raising his armored foot, he delivered a sharp kick to Mara's torso, sending her flying up into the air.

Mara flipped a few times, then, getting her bearings, stabilized her flight and nocked another arrow, aiming right between Ornyk's eyes.

The wolflike alien smiled cruelly up at her, displaying an alarming number of sharp white teeth. He raised his sword-arm, pointing his flaming blade towards the sky. The flames grew larger, flickering more wildly.

A dazzling array of colors flashed before him on the street, fading to reveal five more Rangers.

"You're outnumbered and outgunned, Ornyk," Fox said, Blade Blaster trained on his head.

"What do you want with the girl?" Myk asked. "What are you planning?"

Ornyk chuckled. "Rangers, you're just in time. I was just about to show the Pink Ranger here a little surprise I had whipped up."

"Nothing good can follow a statement like that," Terina muttered.

"That's not true," Angel said calmly. "Just nothing good for _us_."

"Ladies and gentlemen, Rangers of all colors! Allow me to introduce…"

The dark blue-black flames that enveloped Ornyk's sword shot up into the air, then curved forward, a column of indigo flame striking the ground before him, easily three feet thick. After less than a second, the flames dissipated, revealing a humanoid figure standing where they had been.

His armor shone a dazzling, pearlescent white, though there were plates of dark gray running down the center of his torso. A small red gem was embedded at his collarbone, another at his forehead, and horizontal lines of gold ran across his shoulder pads. His helmet was sculpted in the form of a unicorn beetle, its horn arcing up above his head and its carapace forming his faceplate.

"…The White Blaster Beetleborg."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Jareth, your presence is requested in the lounge."

Jareth blinked, glancing down from the viewscreen that displayed the ongoing battle to the small, pulsating electronic orb that was generally considered to be Zord-1's face.

"What? By whom?"

"Jareth, your presence is requested in the lounge," the computer repeated.

"Zord-1, are you feeling okay?" Diskette asked.

"Yes. I am functioning perfectly."

The Gold Ranger exchanged mystified glances with the small, hovering droid….or at least, he suspected he did. It was hard to tell, seeing as Diskette had no face.

He shrugged. "Well…okay." Turning he strode toward the exit to the circular room that was the ship's Bridge. The automatic door slid open as he passed through its frame.

"Eugh!" he cried, as a deluge of cold liquid poured down on him from above, soaking through his woven-gold clothing and chilling him to the bone. A bucket followed, landing neatly, upside-down, on his head.

Slowly, shivering, he reached up and removed the bucket, a murderous expression on his face.

"Jareth?" Diskette asked. "Are you okay?"

"I. Hate. _Water_," the Gold Ranger replied in a growl.

Diskette whirred forward, looking up at the doorjamb. "How did they manage to rig that bucket to a horizontally sliding door?" she asked, mystified.

"Zord-1. Who put you up to this? Tell me. Now. For I must smite them."

"I'm sorry, Gold Ranger, that information is no longer in my memory."

"It's been erased?" Diskette asked. "You mean our rogue Ranger is now just playing practical jokes?"

Jareth grumbled and tossed the bucket aside, proceeding to wring out his long hair. "When I get my hands on the one who did this…well. They'll turn to gold."

Diskette let out a surprised bleep, her optical sensors sweeping over the Gold Ranger. "Maybe not."

"Huh?" Puzzled, Jareth looked down at himself.

Apart from the tribal coin around his neck, no hint of gold was apparent. His clothing was once again thick black cloth…still soaked, but no longer metal.

"It's broken?" he asked. "The curse is broken? That's all it took? Water?"

"It's not just water," Diskette said, scanning the liquid that saturated his clothes. "There are other things mixed in."

"Like what?"

"Trace amounts of salt, vinegar, and garlic, as well as a few other minerals and herbal extracts. It'd take some time to do a full analysis."

"It's a potion," Jareth said, smiling. "Someone whipped up the cure and then doused me with it."

"I guess they're forgiven for the soaking, then?"

Jareth's face darkened. "Let's not go _that_ far."

Human and machine both glanced up in surprise as the small red lights popped down from the ceiling once more, unleashing their dazzling display.

"What now?"

"See for yourself, Gold Ranger," Zord-1 replied, his screen displaying the image of a large monster, seemingly made entirely of gold bricks. A large gold coin was embedded in the center of his chest, and his entire form seemed entangles in thin cords of black leather.

"His name is Golemidas," the computer declared.

"A gold coin monster," Jareth observed.

"That turns things to gold," Diskette added, as the beast began golderizing objects and people on the street.

"Coincidence?" Jareth aside, knowing perfectly well the answer.

"Not a chance," the droid replied.


	56. The Second Battleizer

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 56: The Second Battleizer

The Gold Ranger strode forth from one of the shadowy alleys, the edges of his trenchcoat held in his outstretched hands.

"I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the-"

A bolt of fiery gold light shot past, just missing his head. He flinched as the stone wall of the building behind him shattered.

"Fine. Ruin my entrance."

The Gold Ranger removed the small black sword-hilt from his belt, snapping out Kyra's long, ebony shaft and curved crescent blade. Focused beams of gold light pulsed out from the Lyonscythe's eyes.

Glaring, the beast raised his arms. The golden surface of the street rose up, forming a wall between his lumpy, neckless metal form and Kyra's beams. The rays splashed off the golden surface without making a scratch.

"What the-"

The wall sank back down into the street as though it were liquid, and Golemidas limped his misshapen golden form towards his opponent.

"I don't suppose we could talk about this?" Jareth asked weakly.

Taking a deep breath, Golemidas reared back his head and spat out another bolt of amber flame.

Letting out a startled 'Yipe!" Jareth leapt, rolling, to the side, allowing the blast to shoot past him, punching a jagged chunk from the brick wall of the nearest building.

Jareth took cover behind a nearby car. He held up his scythe, addressing the sentient weapon.

"You can burn through neo-titanium, but you can't melt _gold_? It's like the softest metal there is!"

"This is _not_ normal gold," the weapon growled.

"Excuses, excuses."

There was a metallic creaking as the car behind which they hid was lifted up off the street. The Gold Ranger turned around, just in time to watch the dark blue paint on the vehicle be replaced by the warm gleam of gold in Golemidas' grip.

Holstering Kyra, Jareth backflipped, barely avoiding being crushed as the monster slammed the car down against the sidewalk where he'd been standing. A grin broke out on his face beneath his helmet, and he jumped forward, placing both hands on the ruined hulk of the car and flipping himself up onto the grotesque, hunched monster's back-head. He spun around and clamped his gloved hands over Golemidas' eyes.

"Guess who?"

"Rrrrgh!"

"Wrong!" the Gold Ranger cried with glee, extending his finger-claws.

Golemidas howled in agony as the razor-keen blades pierced his eyes. Reaching back, he grabbed the offending Ranger and threw him with all his monstrous might.

Mortar cracked and bricks crumbled as Jareth's armored body collided with yet another innocent building. He slid to the ground painfully, landing on the golden sidewalk in a heap.

"I don't want to play anymore," he muttered weakly.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Stealth Cutter!"**

The double-ended weapon appeared in Fox's hand with a flash, slashing through the air just in time to block a blow from Ornyk's flaming sword.

"Hm. I haven't actually tangled with YOU before, have I?" Ornyk asked, dark fire illuminating his lupine face. "This should be fun."

"My thoughts exactly." Fox spun, delivering a sharp energized kick to Ornyk's torso, green and indigo sparks flying from the impact. Ornyk staggered back a few paces, then slashed, swinging a ribbon of flame across the air. Fox leapt up, spinning sideways, flipping through the aura over the ribbon and landing in a crouch.

"Ooh," Ornyk said. "Agile. You must be fun at parties."

"Never had any complaints," Fox replied smugly, stowing her two-bladed sword and pulling her Blade Blaster back out. "Now hold still. I want to get your good side."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The White Blaster Beetleborg swung his arms through the air in opposite directions, trails of red lightning following his hands as they moved. He brought his armored gloves together, the two charges of red lightning merging into one large energy ball.

Angel didn't move as Blaster brought his arms forward, directing the pulse of energy directly towards him….but at the last possible moment, the Gray Ranger's form shifted, flowing like mercury, becoming some sort of enormous ring though which the blast passed harmlessly, striking the wall behind him.

Blaster lowered his arms in astonishment as the ring separated at one point, unrolling to reveal itself as a colossal gray snake that had been biting its tail. The serpent rose up and hissed threateningly, rattling its tail, viscous gray venom dripping from its fangs.

The Beetleborg dived aside just in time as the great snake lunged, its jaws closing on empty air. Rolling to his feet, Blaster charged up another beam and let fly, striking the snake on the back of the head.

Angel let out a reptilian hiss, then shifted again, this time becoming a gray cheetah. With a feral roar, the beast pounced…but this time, Blaster stood his ground.

**"Unicorn Drill,"** he invoked, and a Beetle Battler appeared on his arm, similar to the ones the previous three had summoned…but instead of a blade, claw, or blaster, his had, as antennae, a large, gleaming white drill.

The drill came to life, spinning with a menacing whirr. As the cheetah that was the Gray Ranger flew towards him, Blaster thrust his arm forward, impaling Angel.

The cheetah let out an agonized screech as the drill pierced his chest, inky gray blood flying everywhere. Blaster flung his arm out to the side, throwing the Gray Ranger aside. The cheetah skidded across the street, coming to rest on the sidewalk next to the local diner.

Angel shifted back into his Ranger form, a gaping hole torn through his torso. He stumbled as he fought to remain standing.

The White Blaster Beetleborg stowed his Battler and charged another blast.

"Sayonara, Gray Ranger."

The blast of red lightning struck the still reeling Ranger, driving him to the diner's brick wall. Angel fell to the ground, demorphing in a flash of gray light.

"Huh," Blaster said. "So you Rangers ARE human under those ridiculous suits. Good to know."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A series of resounding metallic thuds echoed down the street as Golemidas repeated slammed Jareth's helmeted head against the sidewalk. The golden metal was beginning to dent and his visor had been cracked so badly the Gold Ranger could barely see.

"This." SLAM! 'Is." SLAM! "Getting." SLAM! "Old!" Jareth cried between blows.

"Rrgh!" Golemidas declared gleefully, pulling Jareth away from the sidewalk by his head like a rag doll and gearing up for the most crushing blow yet.

**"Razor Rush!"**

Something silver streaked past, so quickly that it was almost invisible, and Golemidas let out an agonized scream as the Gold Ranger fell to the ground, a misshapen golden hand still attached to his helmet, though it was no longer attached to the monster.

The streak whizzed past again, this time scooping up the disoriented Ranger and depositing him on the other side of the street. It then changed direction midair and turned, zipping back towards the monster and striking him square in the chest.

Golemidas toppled over backward, landing flat on his lumpy ass. He made a pathetic noise, then regenerated his hand, just as he had his eyes before, the golden metal of his body flowing like liquid until it assumed the shape of his missing arm.

The streak shot back to Jareth's side, where it stopped moving, revealing itself to be the Silver Ranger.

"What took you so long?" Jareth asked, his visor uncracking as Deacon pulled him to his feet.

"Cheese," Deacon replied.

"Cheese?"

"Cheese."

"You can't use 'Cheese'."

"Why not?"

"Because," Jareth replied. "'Cheese' was your answer to 'What keeps the Rocketeer's pants from catching fire?'."

"Oh, right. Um…Sauerkraut, then."

"Sauerkraut. Judges? Okay. Sauerkraut, we can accept."

"Raaagh!" Golemidas interjected.

"Sorry, that's not a word," Deacon said. "I challenge."

"Yeah, and don't try to use any abbreviations, either," Jareth added. "We're sticklers for the rules."

Golemidas spat forth a glowing golden spear of light, but Deacon simply stepped in front of Jareth and absorbed it with his shield.

"Rggh?" the misshapen golden beast asked, scratching his head.

Jareth mimicked his movement, but phrased his question a bit more eloquently.

"Where's the big boom?"

"I need more," Deacon replied, turning his head back toward his friend.

"Oh. Well, why didn't you say so? Ray of Hope!"

The Gold Ranger brought his hands together, palms forward, a spray of golden sparks emanating from his gloves, the full force of the attack focused on the back of Deacon's shield. Deacon turned his helmeted head back towards Golemidas as amber light began to flow along the elaborate grooves that covered the polished chrome surface.

"Full!" he cried.

Jareth stopped his attack and dropped to the ground, becoming lost in the folds of his protective coat.

Deacon let out a low chuckle, crossing his arms over his chest, seeming to shrink in on himself as his shield began to shine from within. The power grew, the air humming with energy as the Silver Ranger was lifted up off the ground. Throwing his arms and legs wide, Deacon released the power he'd been storing, a ball of expanding silver flames erupting from his body and engulfing everything on the street, including cars, street signs, fire hydrants, a pair of unfortunate pigeons and one very surprised monster.

Moments later, Jareth approached the edge of the crater that occupied the middle of the molten slab of asphalt that had once been the street. He looked down at the Silver Ranger, who was on his knees in the middle of the hole, giggling maniacally to himself and steaming slightly.

"So," he asked. "How do you think the others are doing?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A piercing ray of red light blasted forth from Fox's sidearm, but Ornyk sheathed his sword and held the scabbard out before him, the indigo material soaking up the energy. Drawing his blade once again, Ornyk leveled it at Fox and fired off a blast of stolen Blade Blaster ammunition.

The Camo Ranger dived aside, narrowly avoiding the blast.

"Hold still!"

Something gleamed behind Ornyk, making Fox grin. "Okay," she said, crossing her arms.

Ornyk raised an eyebrow, then shrugged, leveling his sword at her.

Just as he fired, something dropped from the streetlight behind him, landing between the lupine warrior and Fox.

Lolli turned, spreading her arms wide and allowing the blast to strike her, right in the center of her golden shield.

The shield shone briefly as it absorbed the energy and reflected it back at its source, blasting out at Ornyk. With a yelp, he ducked, the blast grazing his pointed ear.

He drew himself back to his full height, feeling his singed fur.

"Ow. Okay. Just for that, not only will I skin you alive like I'd planned, but I'll sew the hide into a rug for my study."

"You sure about that?" Lolli asked. "Human hide doesn't cure well."

Fox stared at her. "And you know this, how?"

"Don't ask questions to which you will regret learning the answers," the Green Ranger replied smugly.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Before Blaster could approach the fallen Gray Ranger, a chunk of the asphalt near his feet exploded, making him jump. Looking down, he saw a shining pink arrow embedded in the street. Looking up, he saw its source.

The White Blaster Beetleborg ducked, spun, dived, and cartwheeled, neatly dodging the never-ending array of pink energy arrows that rained down on him, blasting small craters in the street.

He thrust his hands forward, one after the other, firing bolt after bolt of his trademark red lightning up into the air, where Mara dived and darted.

"This is getting tiresome," Blaster muttered. He charged another blast, this one a darker red than the rest, almost purple. **"Seeker Strike!"** he yelled, releasing the energy orb. It rocketed towards the air, guided towards its target by some unseen force.

"Shit," its target whispered, weaving back and forth across the sky in a desperate attempt to avoid the projectile.

Something crimson and bronze rocketed through the air, closing in on the Pink Ranger and her unwanted pursuer.

**"Chronoflash!"**

An orb of faded color burst into existence, enveloping the airborne Bronze and Pink Rangers, as well as the blast. The electrical orb stopped in place, frozen in time.

"Whew. Thanks," Mara said.

"My pleasure," Myk replied.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox conjured a small green explosive, chucking it towards Ornyk as he traded blows with Lolli, his flaming sword striking sparks from the Dragon Dagger. The lupine creature parried one of her blows, then, catching the motion of the explosive from the corner of his eye, swung his sword wide, deflecting the flight of the grenade. It struck the corner of the roof of a nearby building, exploding into a massive fireball.

"Wow. Insurance premiums here are going up by the minute."

Ornyk, Fox, and Lolli all looked up to see the Gold and Silver Rangers, standing atop the very building they had just vandalized.

"Need a hand, guys?" Deacon asked, leaning down for a closer look.

"If you like," Fox said, obviously trying to sound nonchalant as she attacked Ornyk with her two-bladed sword, the alien warrior effortlessly deflecting both her and the Green Ranger's blows.

"'Cause, you know, I could come down there and help out."

"Whatever," Fox said, effort beginning to show through her voice. "Your call."

"I dunno…I mean, you seem to be having a hard time, so-"

"_I_ will help these two with Ornyk," Jareth decided. "You go help the others with the White guy."

"But-"

"Otherwise, we'll be here all day," the Gold Ranger interrupted. "Go!"

"Oh…fine. I'm going. Hey! Don't push!"

Deacon hopped down off the three-story building, landed neatly on his feet, and ran off to join the group of Rangers currently engaged in fighting the White Blaster Beetleborg.

Ornyk scowled up at Jareth as he grappled with Fox and Lolli.

"And just what can you do to help, golden boy?"

Jareth grinned beneath his helmet, then took a deep breath and let out a roar, the air rippling in front of his faceplate as the sonic blast moved the air. Fox and Lolli dived aside just in time, eyes wide, as the blast struck Ornyk. The lupine humanoid clapped his hands to his ears and grimaced, the blast forcing him back, his cobalt-blue boots tearing furrows into the street.

Jareth hopped down to the street and stood leaning on his scythe, somehow managing to look quite smug.

Ornyk carefully took his paws away from his ears, glaring at the Gold Ranger. "I had to ask," he muttered, brandishing his sword.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Terina anxiously scanned the skyline, looking for any hint of the grotesque golden gargoyle that was Frax. She wanted answers…not that she really expected to get them, given that she couldn't understand a word the robot said. But he seemed to know her, and something about him had seemed familiar. He'd had the perfect opportunity to kill her back in that mansion, and every reason to, but he hadn't…and she wanted to know why.

Alas, it seemed that he wasn't planning to show this time. With a sigh, she turned to the battle before her, just in time to see the White Blaster Beetleborg fire a spiraling beam of white light from his drill up into the air, striking Myk dead-on. The Bronze Ranger fell over backwards in midair, plummeting towards the ground headfirst.

Mara saw him start to fall and stooped, preparing to dive after him, but a sudden barrage of red energy blasts filled the air around her, forcing her to take evasive action.

Terina conjured one of her weedseeds and threw it to the ground, aiming for the approximate place it looked like Myk would land…if land was the appropriate term. 'Crash' seemed more applicable.

Mentally urging the egg-shaped seed to take root as fast as it could, Terina caused a large tangle of greenish-yellow vines to sprout in seconds, rising up towards the sky and intercepting the Bronze Ranger's fall, cradling his armored form and lowering him to the ground.

She was quickly forced to do the same for Mara as Myk's time-stop effect faded with his loss of focus, releasing the Seeker it had held in stasis. The dark orb struck her, knocking her from the sky, and only Terina's plants saved her from an unpleasant collision with the pavement.

The Yellow Ranger sighed with relief, turning her eyes from the Pink Ranger…Only to see the White Blaster Beetleborg striding towards her.

"Hey! Ugly!"

Blaster turned to see the Silver Ranger standing behind him, swords at the ready.

"Hmm…actually, you're not that ugly. That's a pretty cool costume."

"Thanks. Yours isn't so bad, either. Excuse me for a moment."

Before Terina could react, Blaster spun back towards her, grabbed her by the neck, and lifted the diminutive Yellow Ranger over his head. Cocking his arm back, he threw Terina as though she were nothing more than a football, sending her crashing into an alley littered with trash cans.

"Now, then." Blaster turned back to Deacon. "What have you got?"

"It's funny you should ask that," the Silver Ranger replied, holding up his left arm. "Because there's something I've been dying to try."

"Oh?"

"Yep. Check it out," Deacon said, smiling. **"Silver Ranger—Battleize!"**

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Groaning, Terina pushed herself up to a sitting position, shaking her head. Her eyes flickered open…to see a twisted golden android, observing the battle from the roof of a nearby building.

"_There_ you are," she muttered.

Her attention was jerked away from the spying golden gargoyle as something else gold crashed into the nearby trash cans, colliding with a wail.

"Jareth!" She ran over and pulled the dazed Gold Ranger to his feet. An idea popped into her head. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?" Jareth asked, shaking the contents of his skull in the hopes that they would settle back into position.

Terina turned her gaze back up to the grotesque android.

"Up."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Arcs of purplish energy raced over Deacon's armored form, starting at the Summoner on his arm and working their way across his entire body. He shuddered as fresh power coursed through him, his chrome armor suddenly breaking out in platinum-colored leopard spots. His sharp-toed boots, with their barely-visible engraved elephant's toes, shifted in shape, becoming feline paws. Sharp, triangular ears appeared atop his helmet, and his shield vanished altogether, a midnight-blue jewel appearing on the front of his armor. The jewel was framed by a silver gear-shape, and was higher up on his chest that Jareth's had been, and smaller as well, embedded at his collarbone just over his heart as opposed to the dead center of his chestplate. Finally, his body seemed to slim down, becoming more sinewy and aerodynamic, as opposed to the heavier armor he'd worn before.

Blaster tilted his horned head to the side.

"Did you just turn into a girl?" he asked.

Deacon blinked down at himself, frowning. His Battleized form did seem slightly…though not quite disturbingly…feminine. "If I had to guess," he said slowly. "I'd say that the Platinum Ranger was female."

"Ah. I suppose that makes sense to someone."

**"Metaleopard Claws!"** Deacon called, holding his arms out to the sides.

With a blinding flash, a device appeared on each arm, sort of a harness that encased his forearm, attached to each were three long, razor-sharp claws.

"Fancy," Blaster commented. He held up his hands. From each forearm slowly grew a curved white horn, similar to the one on his head, but much longer.

"Well," he said calmly. "Shall we dance, then?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So you say he's nuts?" Jareth asked, as he and Terina climbed up the wall of Frax's building via the clinging vines the Yellow Ranger had grown.

"Yup. Nothing he said made any sense at all."

"So…"

"So," Terina said. "I want you to translate for me. You're fluent in lunatic."

"Gee, thanks."

Having finally reached the top, the Gold and Yellow Rangers flung themselves over the concrete railing that surrounded the roof of the building.

Frax jumped, turning to face them.

"Easy!" Terina said, stepping forward, her hands in the air. She demorphed with a yellow flash. 'It's me."

"Um," Jareth said. "Is demorphing really a wise move?"

"Of course not," Terina snapped.

Jareth shrugged and followed suit, his armor vanishing in a flash of gold. His tail twitched back and forth warily as he stood to the side, arms crossed.

"The flower returns," Frax said, his synthesized voice sounding depressed. "I'd hoped one meeting was enough for two lifetimes."

Terina looked at Jareth, who shrugged. "Nothing yet. Keep him talking."

"Who are you?" the Yellow Ranger asked, keeping her distance. "How do you know me?"

"Played this role already, but for the flower I will gladly a parrot be…"

"He says he's already answered that question, but he'll repeat it for you."

"Yeah, I got that part."

Terina nodded, motioning for Frax to continue.

"I am not that which I was. That which I was was he who kept you in a bottomless box, to be kept for all time."

"See, that's what I can't comprehend," Terina said. "What does he mean by…"

She trailed off, seeing the expression on Jareth's face.

"What? What does that mean?"

Jareth just shook his head. "No…." he said, his tone incredulous.

"Your eyes see more than hers," Frax said.

"What?" Terina asked, sounding desperate. 'Tell me!"

Jareth sighed. 'Okay," he said. 'But I don't think you'll like it."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox's eyes widened with surprise as Ornyk snapped her weapon in two, tossing the pieces aside, then reached out and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her armored body up off the street.

With a careless motion of his arm, he threw her bodily into the Green Ranger, knocking both of them into the wall of the Starbucks on the corner.

Slowly and deliberately, the lupine alien strode over to the mailbox, behind which Michelle was hiding. He calmly closed his clawed hands on the public utility and wrenched it from the ground, tossing it idly aside.

Michelle stared at him for half a moment in shock, then turned and bolted.

Indigo fire raced along the sidewalk, sweeping over her feet. Michelle windmilled her arms to keep from falling over as her sneakers were frozen to the pavement by a layer of dark crystal that rose halfway to her knees.

"As I was saying, before I was so_ rudely_ interrupted," Ornyk said, approaching the imprisoned girl. "You, Michelle Dean, are coming with me."

Ornyk raised his sword, the blade crackling with its trademark blue-black flame. The fire rushed forward and enveloped her…and everything went black.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lolli managed to pull herself up off the pavement just in time to see indigo flames descend upon Michelle, encasing her in a huge dark crystal. Before she knew it, she was on her feet, running…but just as she reached them, they vanished in a crackle of dark flame. Lolli fell to the pavement, her fingers closing on empty air. Frustrated, she pounded on the sidewalk with her armored fist, cracking the pavement.

She took a deep breath, then stood. Violence against the inanimate never solved anything, and in this case, it wasn't even making her feel better. There were better ways to spend her energy.

She had work to do.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Deacon was moving faster than he ever had before, outside of Razor Rush. He was a metallic flash, darting and weaving, leaving great gashes in the White Blaster's spotless armor. The Beetleborg did everything he could to block, parry, or counter, but his attacks, when they connected, scarcely scratched the Battleized Ranger.

But he was getting better. As Blaster grew accustomed to the patterns of Deacon's attacks, his blocking attempts became more successful. At one point, he was able to entangle the Silver/Platinum Ranger's limbs with his claws while Deacon was in mid-kick, sending the Ranger sprawling to the ground.

Retracting his arm-horns, the White Blaster brought his hands together, charging up a ball of energy. Deacon regained his feet just as Blaster released his attack, sending the scarlet lightning his way.

Deacon brought his hands to his chest, the blue gem shining with its own powerful inner light.

A brilliant beam of blue light lanced out from the gem, forcing back Blaster's red energy. The two conflicting forces built halfway between the combatants, then exploded, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

Blaster instinctively shielded his eyes, although there was no conceivable way for the dust to penetrate his helmet. The cloud had just begun to clear…

When a vague silver shape rushed forward, swiping at his head. The White Blaster managed to duck in time to avoid being decapitated, but not low enough…the Battleized Ranger's impossibly sharp claws severed his curved white horn from his helmet.

Sparks flew from the severed circuitry that lurked beneath the surface of the polished white armor, and Blaster brought a hand to his head, feeling the damage.

"Why you-" he began, sounding outraged.

"Enough!"

There was a crackle of energy and an android appeared.

"Prince Gasket?" Blaster asked.

"Return to the ship. We have what we came for."

"As you wish." The White Blaster Beetleborg turned to Deacon, pointing angrily at him. "We _will_ finish this later." Then, in a flash, he was gone.

"Now," Gasket grumbled. "Where _is_ that lazy bio-derivative?"

"Lazy what?" Deacon asked. He began to sway unsteadily on his feet. "Oog." In a flash, his enhanced armor faded, leaving him standing on the street in his normal clothes. He collapsed, but managed to remain conscious, sitting on the street with his head in his hands.

Gasket ignored him, his eyes on the rooftops. "Ah. There you are."

The machine walked off, leaving Deacon to his headache.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"It can't be," Terina said, eyes on Frax. "You've lost it, Jareth. You've finally taken one too many blows to the head."

"Of course I have. That's why you wanted me to translate, remember?"

He was right. Terina shook her head slowly, her world spinning. She turned to Frax, slowly taking a step forward.

"Is it…is it really you?" She asked softly.

Frax nodded.

"You're…"

"Frax!"

Everyone on the rooftop jumped in surprise as a mechanized humanoid leapt effortlessly from the sidewalk below onto the edge of the roof's railing.

"Gasket," Terina growled.

"Gasket?" Jareth asked. "_Prince_ Gasket?"

"The same," Gasket replied coldly. He turned to Frax. "YOU had a job to do. Instead I find you wasting time here on these…life forms," Gasket shuddered slightly as he said 'life forms', seeming disgusted. "Back to the ship. Now."

Frax hesitated.

"But-" Terina managed to say, before Gasket screamed.

"I said _now_!"

There was a blinding flash, and both androids vanished, a beam of light rocketing up into the sky.

"Wait!" the Yellow Ranger cried.

The two Rangers stood still for a moment. Terina found that her arm was stretched into the sky, as though she were trying to reach for something.

She let her arm drop, then, unable to find the energy to stand, fell to her knees. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Loren," she whispered.


	57. The Gathering

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 57: The Gathering

"Who's Loren?" Fox asked.

The group had gathered in the ship's lounge, and were currently lying about, recuperating from their last battle. Jareth was sprawled on the couch, taking up most of the available cushions, his tail coiled around the leg of the coffee table. He could control the extra appendage when he tried, but the moment he let his concentration slip, it had a mind of its own…and seemed to like wrapping around things.

"Isn't that Terina's last name?" Tommy asked.

"Not exactly. Eltarians only go by one name. She chose Loren as her surname when she arrived on Terra," Jareth said.

"So WHO," Fox repeated, "is Loren?"

"And why has Terina been holed up in her room since we got back?" Mara asked.

The Gold Ranger sighed. "You know that ring she wears on a chain around her neck?"

"Yeah?"

"It's an engagement ring. Loren was her fiancé. He was the Eltarian Gold Zeo Ranger…and he was killed when the Machine Empire invaded Eltar almost 500 years ago. Only now it looks like he wasn't, exactly."

"Woah…the Machine Empire were the ones who attacked Eltar?" Troy asked. "Wow. No wonder she gets all weird whenever they're mentioned."

"I guess that explains her phobia of machine parts," Stephen said, recalling the time Terina had freaked upon seeing Diskette's internal components scattered across a workbench.

"It _would_ explain that, wouldn't it?" Jareth said, smirking.

"I thought Zedd attacked Eltar? For the map to find the Power Coins here on Terra?" Mara asked, confused.

"Zedd led the attack, but he had the Machine Empire backing him," Jareth explained. "He walked away with the map, and they got Eltar. That was the deal."

"So Frax…is really Loren," Tommy said, trying to wrap his mind around the idea. "How is that possible?"

"I'm guessing that the Machine Empire found his remains while they were still fresh, decided he could be useful, and downloaded his brain into a mechanical body."

"Is that even _possible_?" Mara asked.

"Yes," Jareth replied promptly. "But I think they screwed it up. Frax has a little speaking glitch. He talks like he has more than a few screws loose. From what Terina's told me about him, he didn't have that when he was alive."

"Terina seems to have told you a lot," Mara said.

"More than she's told anyone," the Gold Ranger agreed.

Tommy shook his head. "I still can't believe there was a battle and no one even called me."

"You were just in a battle yesterday," Fox said.

"So were you."

"Yeah, well, I was on hand when it started."

"There are more than enough of us that we don't all need to be involved in every battle," Angel said. "Zord-1 tries to arrange it so that no one has to fight two battles in a row, unless he's urgently needed."

"Or she," Fox corrected.

"Or she," Angel allowed. "It gives us a chance to live our own lives, in addition to being Rangers."

"It's certainly helpful to those of us who have jobs," Troy agreed.

"I would have wanted to help," Tommy said.

"Which is undoubtedly why Zord-1 didn't tell you," the Gray Ranger explained. "He knew you'd jump in if you knew about the battle, and he wanted you to take some time off after the last one."

"It's supposedly good for our mental health, having actual lives," Jareth said.

Tommy raised an eyebrow. That theory wasn't completely unjustified…Jareth almost never left the ship, and he was hardly the picture of mental health.

"I know what you're thinking," Jareth said accusingly, though he never stopped smirking. "And my being crazy has nothing to do with living up here in Ranger-land 26/7." He pointed at Mara. "_She_ made me this way."

The Pink Ranger glared at him.

Tommy blinked. "Wait…26/7?"

"They don't have that expression on your world?" Mara asked, turning to face the Red Ranger. "26 hours a day, 7 days a week?"

"We do, but it's 24/7."

"There are only 24 hours in an Earth day?" Fox asked. "Wow. Seems…short."

"Does that mean the clocks stop at 12?" Jareth asked, curious.

Tommy nodded.

"Huh."

"Anyway," Tommy said. "I guess I can understand why Terina's acting the way she is. If my fiancée came back from the dead as a psychotic android…"

"Don't rule it out," Angel suggested. "It seems to be the sort of thing that happens to Rangers."

"Here's hoping I marry someone normal," Mara muttered.

"He'll have to at least be blind," Jareth offered.

Mara seized the cushion from the couch behind her and threw it at him. He caught it, laughing.

"Are you allowed to pick on the way she looks when you're twins?" Deacon asked sluggishly.

Everyone turned. It was the first thing Deacon had said since they'd dragged him back up to the ship. Once Zord-1 had pronounced him undamaged, they plopped him onto one of the more comfortable chairs to rest. Now, his head wavered slightly as he looked over at the rest of the group.

"Yes," Jareth answered with a grin. "Because it means I had to spend nine more months looking at her than anyone else. How you feeling?"

"Like a sleeping bag full of wet cement," the Silver Ranger replied.

"Consider yourself lucky that's all you got," Fox reprimanded. "It knocked golden boy here into a coma for three days."

Jareth cocked an eyebrow. "Hey, yeah. Why _didn't_ you go comatose?"

"Maybe I'm just tougher than you," Deacon replied, a weak smile on his face.

"The three Spirit Summoners are linked," Zord-1's voice intoned from above. "And the Power is adaptable. I theorize that with each successive use of the Battleizing effect, the impact it has on your physiology will be lessened, regardless of which of you uses it."

"Hm," Myk said, examining his Summoner. "Maybe I'll wait for you two to do it a few more times before I try."

"Noble sentiment, Hero Boy," Jareth said wryly.

Myk frowned, but said nothing.

"Zord-1," Tommy asked. "What do you think Ornyk wants with that girl he took?"

There was a moment as the computer processed the question. "Insufficient data."

"Could be anything," Fox said. "Maybe he was hungry. Or needed a date for Freyday night."

Mara let out a snort.

"What?" Fox asked.

"He's not her type," Mara said derisively.

"He's not even her _species_," Jareth agreed.

"Not what I meant," Mara said. "Ornyk probably took Michelle to get at Lolli."

"Did they know each other?" Tommy asked.

Mara scowled. "Intimately."

"Oh," Jareth said. Then his eyes widened. "Oh! _That_ explains her reaction last New Year's…"

"What?" Fox asked.

"Never mind."

"You know, I wouldn't have expected this sort of thing from Lolli," Mara said, shaking her head. She turned to Fox. "_You_, maybe. But not Lolli."

"What? Why _me_?" Fox asked indignantly. "Just because I wear camo…"

"You wear camo, you drive a jeep, you're aggressive, you never date…"

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"If the combat boot fits…"

"Hey," Jareth asked, interrupting the banter. "Where _is_ Lolli, anyway?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sparks flew from the small welding tool as the Green Ranger put the finishing touches on yet another small device. Smiling with grim satisfaction, she drew away from the mechanism and flipped up the transparent face-shield-screen she was wearing. The symbols and images that the screen displayed blinked out as the visor went into stand-by mode. Lolli quickly snapped the casing back together and tossed the device into an open green duffel bag that sat on the nearby table.

"Are you finished?" Diskette asked.

"Not yet," Lolli said. She reached under the table and pulled forth a large stasis jar, its contents partially obscured by the waves of energy that coursed through the glass.

Moving over to the extrapolator, Lolli unscrewed the lid of the jar and removed its contents, placing the small object within on the large machine's examination tray. Grateful that she had managed to repair the damage the machine had suffered previously at the hands of the White Ranger, she flipped the switch, activating the contraption.

"I thought that was the calibrator?" the droid asked.

"You don't have a piece of equipment this big without it serving more than one purpose," the Green Ranger replied.

There was a pause.

"I still think this is a bad idea," Diskette said. "You have no idea what's in there-"

"Shut up, or I'll disconnect your speakers."

"But it's dangerous-"

"Or maybe I'll just shut you down altogether."

The droid buzzed with irritation, but said nothing more.

Lolli flipped her screen back down, alternately looking through it, at the severed chunk of the White Blaster Beetleborg's horn, and at it, reading its analysis of the horn's composition.

"Can I say just one more thing?"

Lolli sighed. 'What?"

There was a pause.

"That thing looks ridiculous on you."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Enchanting notes played over the ship's communicator, lulling every member of the Antix crew into a euphoric stupor. None of them moved a muscle to steer their ship out of danger as it was swallowed up by the powerful tractor beam and sucked into the cargo hold of the much larger, bird-shaped vessel that floated nearby.

Aviarus smiled to himself and continued singing his hypnotic song as he waved his omnipass in front of the ship's security panels, scrambling them and causing the access hatch to open against the will of the onboard computer. The Sirenien strode up the ramp and began to move from room to room, examining his catch and ensuring that they were all under his spell.

Antix were a reptilian-insectoid race, a strange path for evolution to take. If nothing else, they had value as oddities. Their faces were strange but not unappealing… they had three eyes apiece, two in the usual places and the third just below, where most humanoid races had their noses. Their mouths were horizontal slashes, as was common, but just within they had a pair of vertically segmented, insectoid mandibles. Long, feathery antennae grew from their temples, shimmering with vibrant hues that matched their scale-plate hides. Each one had six scaly limbs with webbed digits…four arms and two legs…as well as a pair of translucent wings that resembled oversized hands with wax-paper webbing stretched between the fingers, thin veins running through them.

Extending one of the fragile looking wings to test its durability, Aviarus found that not only were they surprisingly strong, but they sparkled with iridescent colors when the light shone through the integument. The effect was beautiful.

Good. He could charge extra for that.

Satisfied with his catch, he wandered over to the comm system and set it to record as he sang. Once he felt it had caught enough of his enchanting voice, he set the system to replay what it had caught on a continuous loop, keeping the crew entranced.

Smiling, he headed towards the exit, his omnipass opening all the doors in his path.

One of the doors opened to reveal a creature that was decidedly not Antix.

He was as tall as Aviarus himself, which was surprising…few races ever reached the height of the Sireniens. His face projected forward into a muzzle, and his ears were triangular, set atop his head. He was covered with gray fur, which was then covered by an elegant suit of blue armor. A long, broad-sheathed sword hung at his side.

Aviarus had just enough time to calculate the value of this specimen…a good 2500 galcreds, easy…when it opened its mouth, revealing a startling number of sharp white teeth…and spoke to him.

"Aviarus, I presume?"

Aviarus' ear-feathers rose in surprise. "You presume correctly."

"I have been looking for you."

Aviraus opened his mouth and let a single, impossibly perfect note ring through the air, but the creature was unmoved.

_Philist, then_, he thought. _Or perhaps…a customer?_

Those who purchased slaves from Sirenien traders usually knew enough to wear special earplugs to filter out The Song. Aviarus couldn't see any earplugs, but then, he'd never seen ears of that shape, either. Maybe they were hidden, somehow.

"Was there something you wanted?" he asked. "Normally I wouldn't sell right off the ship, but…"

"I am not here to buy, Sirenien."

The pleasant demeanor that Aviarus reserved for prospective customers vanished like a glowpanel blowing.

"Then we have nothing to discuss."

"How very true."

The beast before him drew his sword, the blade of which abruptly burst into blue-black flames.

Aviarus' eyes went wide, his feathers rising again. He turned on his heel and tried to run, but the creature's furry paw shot forward and clutched around his hand.

The Sirenien winced as his attacker clenched his fist, squeezing Aviarus' digits. Loud popping noises filled the air above the prerecorded tones of his song as the hollow bones of his fingers snapped under the pressure.

Smiling cruelly, the beast released his grip. Aviarus fell to the floor, clutching his ruined appendage. He whimpered, unaccustomed to actual pain.

"Now then. Hold very still. This won't hurt a bit."

Aviarus managed to turn his eyes upward, blinking away tears of pain. The last thing his blurry vision saw was a wave of blue-black fire rushing towards him….then everything went black.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey."

Michelle groaned, rolling over. She felt awful. The last thing she wanted was to be awake. But the strange warbling voice broke through her fevered dreams, coaxing her back towards consciousness.

"Hey. Girl."

"Stupid voice. Go away."

The voice chuckled ruefully. "Would that I could."

There was a rattling of chains.

Michelle stretched, her eyes tightly shut. Her entire body ached. And she was cold. _Probably from lying here on this stone_, she thought.

Wait a minute. Stone?

Michelle opened her eyes and sat bolt upright.

The room she was in was dimly lit, and very large. As it slowly came into focus, she saw that it was circular, and what little light there was seemed to come from five evenly spaced torches mounted into the walls. Five huge jagged stones were standing on end, arranged in a circle so that the torches shone between them. Inside this ring of stones, painted on the floor, was a circle of arcane lettering that had been inscribed with some sort of blue-black ink. In the center of the room there was a pedestal, seemingly carved from jet-black marble. The top of the pedestal tapered off, and the end had been carved into the shape of a clawed hand. On the middle finger of the hand rested a silver ring, in which was embedded a jagged black crystal.

Michelle felt a strange weight at her wrists. Glancing down, she saw that she was wearing shackles of some sort of heavy gray metal, on her ankles as well as her wrists. There was no seam, no keyhole. Thick, heavy chains ran from the manacles to one of the jagged standing stones.

Groggily, she stood up, the shackles not nearly as heavy as they should have been. The chains were long enough for her to stand and move around, even to pace back and forth, but not long enough for her to reach the pedestal or move from in front of the large rock.

She glanced more closely at the rock itself. Her chains were embedded deeply into the hard surface…no fasteners to loosen, even if she'd had anything to loosen them with.

"It's no use trying to get free," said that same voice. "I've been trying for days."

Michelle turned and saw that chained to one of the other rocks was a man….or something like a man. He had a strange purple thing on his head, and he talked like he was underwater, making him slightly difficult to understand.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Urchin," the man answered. "I would shake your hand…I understand that's a custom of your people….but I'm afraid the chains won't reach."

"My people?"

"You're Terran, aren't you?"

"Um…yes. Aren't you?"

"No. I am an Aquitian."

"Oh."

"So…yours is green."

"What?"

"Your stone."

Michelle glanced back at the stone to which she was shackled. A moment ago it had been pure white. Now it was a dark green. Looking around, she saw that Urchin's was a deep blue. The other three remained white.

"Mine was white at first. I wondered whether they would all turn blue."

"So…there are going to be more?"

"Looks that way."

"Any idea why we're here?"

"None whatsoever."

Michelle sat down heavily on the cold stone floor, her back against her rock. She sighed. "Swell."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

COGS units swarmed like ants around the vast, cavernous chamber of Zedd's palace that had been granted to Gasket during his stay on the moon. Three half-finished vehicles took up most of the available space, the COGS busy working to assemble them.

Something crimson shot across the room, causing Prince Gasket to duck.

"What in the name of Mondo was THAT?" he asked rhetorically.

"The twin of the seed of the dog," Frax replied.

"What? Oh," Gasket grumbled. "HER."

"Me!" Panicka cried joyfully, zipping to Gasket's side. She produced a small disc and handed it to the royal machine. "Here you go. As requested."

"Excellent," Gasket said, reaching for the disc.

Panicka snatched it away, holding it above his head as she floated a few feet higher. "Ah ah ah…say please."

Gasket twitched, silently counting to ten in binary. "Please," he growled.

"What is this thing, anyway?" Panicka asked.

"A light-carved tablet of words that stay," Frax answered.

"I know THAT," the Zornian said. "I mean, what's on it?"

"Words that stay," Frax said, shrugging.

"It is a file, downloaded from the last surviving scout vessel of a mission Zedd launched a short time ago," Gasket answered. "It contains important data on the Rangers' Dinozords' abilities."

"My liege plans to feed it to his toys' new toys."

"I am _planning_," Gasket corrected, "To upload it into the new Attack Vehicles I am constructing for the Beetleborgs. Now, if you'd hand it over?"

"Fine," Panicka said, handing him the disk. "You're such a spoilsport. Just like my brother." She turned to Frax. "You…on the other hand…"

"Which hand? My hand? Your hand? The left, the right, or the wrong?"

Panicka giggled. "I like you. Would you care to play?" she asked seductively.

"Frax must stay here," Gasket said. "He and I still must speak of his behavior during the last engagement."

"Who's getting married?" Panicka asked.

"Between the Rangers and Beetleborgs," Gasket clarified. "Frax here thought it might be fun to stand around and make time with a Ranger or two instead of monitoring the battle, as instructed."

"Is that all?" the red-and-black-clothed female asked, floating upside-down. "I do that all the time. Rangers make for an interesting diversions. Especially that white one…" she broke into a low giggle that quickly grew into full-scale maniacal laughter.

Gasket quickly changed his mind, deciding that he would much rather get as far away from these two as possible than stay and give Frax the dressing-down he deserved.

"Amusing as this little peek into the behavioral patterns of organic beings has been," Gasket said acidly. "I have work to do. Frax, I will speak to you later."

With that, the Prince of the Machine Empire stormed off towards the incomplete, bug-shaped hulls that stood waiting nearby.

"Well," Panicka said.

"Well," Frax agreed.

"Want to go throw peanut butter at the ceiling fan?" Panicka asked.

"Do bears wear funny hats? Lead on."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Extending his forearm-blades, Helios swiped at one of the hot, molten red rocks, slicing free a large chunk of luminescent fungus. Spearing it on the end of his blade, he brought it to his serrated mouth and bit into the spongy flesh, savoring the taste.

The lava flowing through the deep furrows in the rock halted abruptly, as though the world had been set on pause.

Helios froze, eyes darting around the room alertly.

The entire environment abruptly flickered out of existence, revealing a small square room with electric-blue walls. Only the piece of fungus in his hand remained as evidence that it had been there at all.

The fire turtle let out a hiss as something moved from the corner of the simudeck.

"Helios. I am to deliver a message."

Helios tilted his head as the small, hovering blue disk floated forward. Its casing opened, revealing a holo-projector which produced a familiar image.

"Hello, Helios," Ornyk's visage said. "As I understand the customs of your society, you owe me a life."

Helios retracted his blades. The Warrior was correct…he had defeated the fire turtle in fair combat.

"The time has come," the recording continued. "To collect."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"-And then they made me their chief," Jareth finished.

The others in the room stared at him in amazement.

"Wow," Troy said.

"Did all that really happen?" Tommy asked.

"No," the Gold Ranger admitted. "But it makes a great story, doesn't it?"

"I still don't get the part about the rubber bands," Fox complained.

Jareth waved that aside. "Ah, ask Terina sometime."

The doors opened and Lolli strode in briskly, a large duffel bag over her shoulder.

"Lolli!" Fox said. 'What-"

"Here," the Green Ranger interrupted, handing Fox something that looked rather like a large, clunky wristwatch with far too many buttons. She proceeded to hand more out to everyone else present.

"What are these?" Tommy asked.

"New toys. They incorporate flamethrowers, cryogenic rays, blasters, tesla coils, antimatter beams, ion cannons, bio-disrupters, and whatever else I could fit in. Limited energy supply, so make 'em count."

"And you're giving us these because…?" Fox asked.

"Because you're going to need them to help me storm Zedd's palace," Lolli replied.

"Woah. Hold it," Tommy said. "Last time we went in there, we only sent in three people, and they barely made it out alive."

"Those COGS are strong," Stephen confirmed. "I don't think we could have beaten them if not for that spell thingy you and Angel did."

"And you expect to sneak in all of us? It's suicide."

"Who said anything about sneaking?" Lolli asked. "You think I'd whip up this kind of hardware for a covert op? Nonononono. I'm talking battering ram. We blast down the doors, tear through anything in our way."

"Lolli, you can't-" Tommy began.

"I can and I will. You can stay, or you can come, Tommy, but I'm going. Who's with me? Jareth?" the Green Ranger turned towards Jareth, whose face lit up with a sinister grin. "You up for some fun?"

"Always!" the Gold Ranger cried, hopping up and catching the weapon Lolli tossed him.

"Then I'd better go, too," Fox said. "Jareth always dies if I'm not there to save him."

"That's very true," Jareth said, fastening on his new watch-thing.

"I didn't get a gadget," Deacon pouted.

"I've got something special for you," Lolli said, producing a small black bug-shaped box. She slapped it into Deacon's hand. "Shadow Bonder. Made it from the White Blaster's horn. It's one use only, but if he shows up again, use it."

"What's it do?"

"I think you'll be pleased."

"It seems as though this impromptu commando mission is to go ahead," Zord-1 broke in. "So I shall contact the remaining Rangers and have them assemble."

"Thanks Zord-1," Lolli grinned.

"I still think this is a very bad idea," Tommy said dubiously.

"Of course it is," Jareth said.

Tommy ran an agitated hand through his hair. "If you _know_ that, then why are you going?"

"Because," Angel replied. "A mission _this_ poorly planned needs all the help it can get."

Tommy found himself unable to argue with this logic. Sighing, he strapped on his device. His eyes fell on the green duffel bag Lolli still carried, the bulge suggesting that there was more inside.

"What else have you got in there?" he asked.

Lolli smiled a truly sinister smile. "That's for me to know," she said. "And Zedd to find out."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zoey sighed as she watched the Rangers file out of the room. Off on another foolhardy adventure. She crawled out from under the coffee table as the last one left the lounge, jumping onto the couch, curling up on the still warm sofa cushions and settling in for a nice nap.

"Zoeyalekthetes."

The small dragon jumped in surprised, spinning around towards the source of the mechanized voice.

_Deca! But…you…_

"My priorities have changed. It is no longer in my best interests to see to the destruction of the Power Rangers at this point. My current goal is to capture you. Surrender immediately."

Zoey hissed, the spines that lined her back down to the tip of her tail rising in agitation. She opened her mouth and spat a ribbon of purple-pink flame…which was immediately enveloped in a thick white foam that Deca sprayed from a nozzle.

Coughing on the chemical extinguisher, Zoey unfurled her wings and soared towards the jumptubes, intent on escaping into another part of the ship.

Yet another hidden door on Deca's casing opened, and she launched a durasteel net that shot across the Lounge and covered the wyrmling, the edges sealing magnetically to the ground. Zoey thrashed about, trying to tear the tough metal wire with her talons, but the material proved too strong. Inhaling, she breathed out another tongue of flame that easily melted the metal wire. She scurried through the hole she had made, darting across the room like a serpent. She leapt onto the table, then the back of the couch, then onto Deca herself, finally leaping back down to the floor and making a run for the doors on the other end of the room.

A sharp pain flared in her right flank as some sort of projectile pierced her scales. She let out a hiss, looking back to see a small dart sticking out of her side. A fully grown dragon could have completely ignored such a thing, but it was enough to pierce the armor of an infant such as herself.

Her vision began to grow dim, and she was vaguely aware of the soft 'Thump!' caused by her leathery hide striking the floor. The last thing she saw before everything went black was the murderous blue disk, floating slowly closer…


	58. Koalas in Diapers

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 58: Koalas in Diapers

Zedd had obviously increased his security since the last time the Rangers had managed to infiltrate his fortress.

"Well," Jareth said, appraising the surprising number of shock troops defending the front gates. "We tried. Come on, let's go get a pizza. My treat."

"Stay," Fox said, reaching out and grabbing him by the tail to stop the Gold Ranger from walking off, never taking her eyes off the task of counting the phalanx of troops.

Jareth grumbled, then quickly ducked back beside the other Rangers, gathered behind a conveniently large rock that stood on the lunar surface, just inside the artificial atmosphere surrounding Zedd's palace.

"This is insane," Tommy said. "Storming Zedd's palace head-on. I honestly can't imagine a crazier plan."

"We could attack Zedd with raisins," Angel suggested, no trace of humor in his voice.

Tommy blinked. "I stand thoroughly corrected."

The Gray Ranger shrugged. 'Just keeping things in perspective."

"I can't tell," Fox said, giving up the count. "They keep moving."

Terina peeked up over the rock for a second, then jumped back down.

"Seventy-two Quantrons, forty-two COGS, and ninety-seven of some weird things that look like bugs," she said. "Never seen those before."

"Show off," Fox muttered.

"Stingwingers," Kalen said, taking a look. "Native to Edenoi. Originally bred as castle guardians, but lately they've been exported for use as shock troops."

Knowing full well that the Purple Ranger had her secrets, Tommy didn't even bother asking why Kalen knew what a Stingwinger was when even their resident alien didn't. Instead, he asked:

"So what can a Stingwinger do?"

Kalen shrugged. "Nothing too impressive. They can shoot venomous barbs from those stingers on their arms. They can fly, but they're not great at it."

"Any weaknesses?"

"Organic life forms on the surface of the moon. I'd say there's a good chance that they'll suffocate if we can lure them outside the atmospheric bubble. They're not too bright. I'm more worried about the COGS."

"Leave those to me," Lolli said, patting her duffel bag.

"Excuse me," Electra said quietly. "I missed the beginning of this one. We're doing this, because…?"

"Ornyk kidnapped Lolli's girlfriend," Mara explained.

"Oh," Electra said, not looking surprised in the least. "You know, I could just go invisible, waltz in there and find her."

"Unless you can make other people go invisible too, you'd never get her out," Lolli said flatly. "Besides, I want to some damage."

"So rescue, then demolition," Troy said.

"That's right," Lolli agreed, pulling a small object from her bag. She lobbed it up over the rock, in the general direction of the front gates.

"Rangers," she said, smiling. "It's showtime."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Finished," Gasket said with the electronic equivalent of satisfaction as the last of his worker COGS put the finishing touches on the three large vehicles that stood before them.

"The big bugs are built," Frax agreed.

"Are those for us?" a young human asked, as he and his friends strode into the room. He was wearing a blue from head to toe. The human to his left was clad in black pants and a green shirt, while the one to his right was dressed in red. A fourth human followed, slightly behind the rest, clad in black pants and a black jacket, but with a white shirt beneath.

Gasket turned, his optical sensors taking a moment to recognize the Beetleborgs in their natural forms. They were your basic humanoid configuration, not unlike those who had so long ago given birth to the Machine Empire, those after whom Gasket was modeled: Two arms, two legs, one head. His data indicated that one of them was 'female' and the other three were 'male', though these distinctions were pretty much meaningless to him.

"Yes, indeed!" came a voice from the corner of the room. The frazzle-haired artist turned away from his drawing table to face them

Gasket braced himself. Arthur Fortunes' unfailingly naïve attitude never failed to sicken him…and he didn't even have a stomach.

"Drew them myself," Arthur said. "Do you like them?"

"Where's mine?" the human who stood apart from the other three asked.

"Well," the artist said. "These three are based on the ones from the comic books, but I'm afraid I haven't finished yours yet. I hope you're not upset."

He shrugged. "I guess I don't need one right away."

"My forces are constructing a base on the planet below to house these when not in use," Gasket said.

"The Beetle Battle Base," Arthur said happily.

"I like that," Panicka said, startling everyone as she appeared, sitting cross-legged on the ceiling. "It's cute."

"You would," Gasket grumbled. "Now, since your dwellings are so far apart, the base will have to be centrally located." The android produced four small chips and handed them to the teenagers that stood before him. "Install these in your Bonders. They contain your new upgrades, which will make you immune to electrical attacks, as well as increasing your abilities considerably. They will also enable the Bonders to create a portal leading from your current location to the base. The base will house your new attack AVs, as well as-"

"Attack AVs?" Panicka asked. "What does AV stand for?"

"Attack Vehicle," Gasket replied.

"So it's an attack Attack Vehicle?" the blue-shirted human asked with a smirk.

"That's repetitive," Panicka said.

"And redundant," Frax added.

"And repetitive," Panicka said.

"And redundant," Frax added.

Gasket had to enable several fail-safes to keep himself from overheating. He made a note to keep Panicka and Frax separated in the future. They were a bad influence on each other.

Abruptly, as the room shook, chips of stone falling from the ceiling as a massive boom echoed through the air. A COGS unit rushed over to Gasket and emitted a high-frequency string of coded data, sounding like an overworked modem.

"What?" Gasket demanded. "Where?"

The unit made more modem sounds.

"What's he saying?" Panicka asked curiously.

"Fun approaches there, then, which is here and now. The full rainbow in full force," Frax replied.

"Okay, what's HE saying?" the blue-clad human asked.

"The Rangers are attacking the castle, Xander," the red-wearing female replied. "Sheesh, Even _I_ got that."

"Sor-RY. I'm not fluent in lunatic," Xander replied.

"Get to work, you three," Gasket demanded. "Take those irritating organics down… and make sure they _stay_ down this time?"

"You know, _we're_ irritating organics, too," the female replied, crossing her arms.

"Speak for yourself," the green-wearer said.

She glared at him.

"Come on. Work to do," Xander said. "We can teach Gasket some manners later."

**"Beetle Bonders!"** the three of them summoned, the small, bug-shaped, black-and-silver boxes appearing in their outstretched hands. They slipped in the new upgrade chips, then held the devices over their heads.

**"Blue Stinger!"**

**"Green Hunter!"**

**"Red Striker!"**

Multicolored lightning arced over their bodies, transforming their flesh and clothing into color-coded, insect-themed armor.

The three comic-book heroes started for the door, but paused as they realized that the fourth had neither transformed nor moved.

"Jonah? You coming?" the Green Hunter asked.

"I'll be along," he replied.

Red shrugged. "Suit yourself."

The three insectoid warriors resumed their dash for the front gates, where the battle lay waiting.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Pyrosphere!"** Tommy invoked, a softball-sized sphere flying from his hands to explode amid a group of Quantrons, sending them flying in every direction. Conjuring his Tyrant Sword, he plunged it through the chest of one that had fallen at his feet, then advanced on a few that had regained theirs.

Lolli, meanwhile, was walking calmly around the battlefield, placing small, roundish objects around its perimeter, whistling nonchalantly as she went.

"Feel free to jump in anytime, Lolli!" Stephen yelled, blasts from Saba's eye-beams lancing out across the lunar surface. "Seeing as this is your party."

"Busy," she replied, continuing on with whatever she was doing.

The White Ranger growled, sheathing his scimitar. **"Brachio-Mode!"**

There was a burst of light as Stephen's armor transformed. "Brachio Cannons!"

The two guns mounted on the back of his shield swiveled so that they were facing up, then swung down, locking into place on his shoulders. Clenching his fists, he willed them to fire, pulses of brilliant white light flying from the two guns, as well as from the row of barrels across the front of his chest.

Fox ducked as a blast nearly took her head off. "Hey!" she yelled. "Watch it!"

"Sorry!" Stephen yelled, his tone suggesting that he wasn't really sorry at all. He deactivated his cannons and drew Saba, now a Brachio-rapier, advancing on the nearest available Stingwinger.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

With a deafening whir, the diamond-edged radial saw blade flew, severing a Quantron's head and a Stingwinger's arm before bouncing off a few boulders and ricocheting back into the Silver Ranger's hand. Producing its twin in his other hand, he set the two blades spinning and proceeded to hack and slash a wide swath through the crowd of minions.

Jareth, meanwhile, was engaged in single combat with one of the 'lieutenant' Quantrons….one of the differently-colored, slightly stronger units that occasionally led groups of lesser Quantrons when a more capable general was unavailable. It made a variety of warbling noises at him as it swung its bizarrely-shaped weapon. Jareth countered with his scythe as best he could, yelling verbs as he did.

"Ho! Haha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Thrust! Ack!" Jareth said. His last comment was in reference to the fact that the Quantron managed to hook its curved metal blade around one of his feet, tripping him. Kyra fell from his hands as he collapsed to his back in the dust. The Quantron raised its weapon, as though to cleave him in two.

Jareth simply smirked, not moving as the semi-mechanical being approached. Because the Quantron's attention was on the Gold Ranger, it didn't notice as Kyra rose up from the lunar dust and went flying through the air, his crescent-shaped blade swinging in a deadly arc that neatly separated the Quantron's head from his shoulders.

The Quantron's head fell to the ground near where Jareth lay. He rolled over, resting his helmeted head on his fist, facing it.

"Tsk tsk tsk," he tsked, waggling his finger before the dead guard's face. "Look at yourself. You're _completely_ decapitated now. Well. Maybe you'll know better next time."

So saying, he got back up, clasping his hand around Kyra's hilt as the sentient scythe flew back into his grip.

"What _would_ I ever do without you?" he asked.

"Die," Kyra replied simply.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Shall I again play the silent critic?"

"No," Gasket snapped. "You've proven yourself more than incompetent at simple observation. Perhaps guard duty would suit you better. There's less thought involved."

Frax cocked his twisted golden head to the side. "My liege says to guard, but not what is to be guarded. I could spend eternity guarding a rock, but what would be the point? No one wants a rock, and if anyone did, they'd be welcome to it. Perhaps a sock puppet. Those are in high demand."

"What are you…no. Never mind. Go to the lower levels and patrol the halls. If you see someone who isn't Ornyk or myself, kill it. Do you believe yourself capable of that?"

"The deed be done," Frax said indifferently, turning around and stalking off on his errand.

Gasket sighed. He made a mental note to scrap Frax after the Summoning was complete. The organic-turned-machine had outlived his usefulness ages ago.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"This isn't going well, is it?" Mara asked, as laser fire filled the air around her.

Troy stood up from the small boulder behind which the trio of Rangers was crouched and fired off a few bolts from his Blade Blaster, but was quickly forced to duck down again.

"No, it isn't," he replied, checking the charge on his weapon. "We'd have been better off with the raisin idea."

"They'd have never seen it coming," Angel replied, not missing a beat.

There was a cry from overhead, and a bronze-armored form crashed to the ground next to them. Immediately afterward came a slightly smaller yellow one.

"Hiya, Myk," Terina said. "Come here often?"

"Is now really the best time for jokes?" the Bronze Ranger asked.

"You need to lighten up, you know that?"

Angel helped the two of them to their feet, and they immediately had to crouch behind the rock to avoid the gunfire.

Troy jumped up and fired three more shots, all hits.

"I'm out," he said, ducking back beside the others.

"I thought those things recharged themselves?" Mara asked.

"They do, but it takes time." Troy looked down at the device attached to his left wrist. According to Lolli, it was capable of numerous effects….all of them very, very dangerous to whatever was on the wrong end. "Time to see if these things actually work."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Quantron screamed in pure agony as its technorganic internal organs began to dissolve, the antimatter ray causing it to break down from the inside out.

Troy appraised the multiweapon, impressed, as the minion was reduced to a puddle of harmless but disgusting goo.

"Not bad," he said.

"I thought antimatter was supposed to explode on contact with normal matter?" Mara asked.

Terina shot her a strange look, surprised that the Pink Ranger knew such a thing. "It is," she replied. "But that wouldn't make a very effective ray gun, would it?" She tilted her head curiously, frying a Quantron with a concentrated fireburst as she did. "It'd make an impressive bomb, though. Antimatter rays don't actually shoot antimatter. They cause antimatter to appear at the point that's been shot."

"Hmm…Acid spray?" Troy asked. The Blue Ranger adjusted the gadget, then aimed it at the nearest group of Stingwingers. He was expecting it to squirt a narrow stream of acid, but instead it produced a wide, flat spray that struck every one of the insectoid soldiers at the waist, eating through their flesh, slicing them neatly in half. Their top halves fell to the ground, twitching, while their legs proceeded to run aimlessly around, in the manner of decapitated poultry.

"Okay," Terina said, elbowing Myk, as Stingwinger legs ran circles around them. "You have to admit…._that's_ amusing."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Paper Shredder!" **Kalen invoked, a flurry of purple origami disks flying from her outstretched hands, their supernaturally sharp edged slicing their way through the Stingwingers' tough exoskeletons.

A retaliatory barrage of venomous barbs flew her way, forcing her to jump, flip, and tumble evasively. Landing in a crouch, she leveled her hands at the swarm, bolts of purple electricity flying from her fingertips and spreading through the nearest swarm of Stingwingers. The buglike sentries convulsed as the power coursed through them, then fell to the ground, twitching.

At least, most of them did.

One remained standing, its exoskeleton a strange shade of blue, unlike the dull black and gray of the others.

Kalen paused. She'd never seen a Stingwinger Queen in person before, but she guessed that this was one. Frantically, she tried to remember how they differed from the drones.

Evidently, the Queen felt it might be faster if she simply showed the Purple Ranger the difference. Opening her mouthparts, she extruded a long, unrolling proboscis.

Kalen jumped back as the Queen squirted a stream of green liquid in her direction. The goo struck the dusty lunar rock where she'd been standing, and immediately began eating into the surface, bubbling and hissing.

"Acid," she muttered. "Right."

Another stream flew towards her. Instinctively, she swept her hand sideways through the air before, the edge of her glove leaving behind a swath of simmering purple light. The acid struck the seemingly immaterial arc of color, but instead of passing through, splashed against it as though it were solid.

Kalen blinked as the light faded, leaving the acid to fall to the ground.

"New power," she observed. "Suits me."

Summoning her staff, Kalen aimed the large orb on the end at the insectoid monster and fired off a powerful burst of purple light. The Stingwinger Queen let out a high-pitched squeal as her entire upper torso, including her head, exploded.

Instantly, every Stingwinger on the lunar surface pressed its forearms to the sides of its head, as though trying to block out some horrible noise, then collapsed to the ground, dead.

Kalen looked around appraisingly.

"Kill the Queen and the little ones go down," she said to herself. "Never fails."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Is that all of them?" Fox asked, as she danced to a stop, her spinning blades having mowed down everything they could reach.

"Most of them," Stephen replied, pointing towards the gate, where the squadron of COGS had yet to move.

"Why are they just standing there?" Electra asked, coming to stand next to the others, axe in hand.

"Their instructions must be to prevent anyone from entering," Lolli said. "They have no reason to move until someone tries."

"So should we attack?" Fox asked, recombining her two knives into the double-ended sword that was her weapon. All around them, the battle was grinding to a halt as the Rangers finished off the remaining sentries and regrouped before the main gates.

Lolli began rummaging through her bag, eventually emerging with what looked to be a remote control.

"Yup. Go ahead."

Fox had barely taken three steps towards the door when the COGS sprang to life, moving forward with surprising grace. They spread out, each one targeting a Ranger.

Lolli grinned to herself as the robotic soldiers stepped within the boundaries of the perimeter she had set up. She pressed a button on the remote she held.

Instantly, each of the small objects she had placed along the edges of the battlefield sprang to life, extending a telescoping arm straight up, a blinking red orb at the top.

Some strange energy surged through the artificial atmosphere, not affecting the Rangers, but causing each and every COGS unit to freeze, sparks flying from its joints as its servomotors burned out and its circuits fused together. In less than two seconds, the squadron of COGS that would have taken several armies hours to defeat lay in the dust, twitching and convulsing.

"Electronull Senders," Lolli explained, tossing away the remote. "They set up a radiation field similar to that of a large concentration of Transcendium. Completely fries all electro-mechanical devices within the parameters of the field."

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Terina said nervously.

Lolli shrugged. "I wouldn't worry. These things are completely harmless." She glanced down at one of the fallen COGS units. "Unless, of course, you happen to be a robot."

"So now what?" Mara asked. "How do we get into the palace?"

Tommy eyed the huge, heavy doors. "Deacon could blast them down, maybe?"

"I'd need to absorb enough energy first," the Silver Ranger said.

"This can blast them down," Lolli said, producing yet another device from her bag of tricks. "No charging required."

Just then, a loud rumbling sound filled the air, as the huge, solid gates swung open and the massive stone doors beyond began to rise.

"Or maybe I can save it for later," Lolli said, putting away the contraption. "That works too."

No sooner had the slab of stone vanished, than three figures emerged from the shadowy interior of the fortress…the Red, Blue, and Green Beetleborgs.

"Not these guys again," Fox complained.

"Kalen. Fry them," Tommy suggested.

Kalen shrugged, raising her hands towards the Beetleborgs.

Before she could unleash her attack, a blast of blue light struck her, instantly encasing her in a solid chunk of ice.

Green Hunter blew on the barrel of his Sonic Laser, holstering the multi-functional weapon.

"Fine," Tommy said, drawing his sword and unsheathing his hook-blades. "Hard way it is."

The Beetleborgs stepped forward, a loud rumbling filling the air as they did. The massive stone doors were sliding back down, sealing the entrance to the palace.

Deacon growled, then turned and delivered a solid kick to Kalen's icy prison shattering it with a sound like a gunshot. The Purple Ranger shook herself, dislodging tiny slivers of ice from the nooks and crannies of her armor.

"Everyone who's going in better go in now," the Silver Ranger said. "I'll keep the bugs occupied. **Razor Rush!"**

Deacon flew forward, melting into a streak of silver light that ricocheted across the battlefield, effectively distracting the Beetleborgs.

The door was halfway closed, and closing fast. A yellow blur raced past, easily beating the door, the vacuum left by its absence knocking one of the dazed Beetleborgs to the ground. Terina had gotten in…but would the rest of them make it?

Some of them would have to stay here to battle the Beetleborgs, but Deacon seemed to have that well in hand. Apart from himself, or perhaps Jason, the Silver Ranger was bar-none the best fighter Tommy had even seen. The group that split off to enter the palace would need him more, he reasoned as he broke into a run. It was strange how the distance between himself and the door seemed to become so much greater when it had to be crossed in a hurry.

He skidded under the great stone door just before it reached the bottom…but at the last possible moment, a pair of gold-stitched, black leather hands appeared, grabbing the door by its bottom edge and halting its downward progress. The door was forced back up, its hidden mechanism groaning in protest…and Jareth came into sight. He had grown, both in size and power, and his armor now seemed to be patterned as much after a bull as it was a lion.

The Battleized Gold Ranger hefted the massive door up onto his shoulder, struggling with its weight…and then, to Tommy's surprise, he _grew_, doubling in size, forcing the gate completely open.

"I would strongly advise you to hurry," he said in a tense voice, as through clenched teeth.

Loll entered, as did Angel. After a moment, Kalen followed.

Jareth slipped inside, shrinking, unable to hold the door any longer. The massive stone slab slid to the ground, sealing the entrance to Zedd's palace with a deafening finality.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A blast of cherry-red lightning plowed into Deacon from the side, knocking him out of Razor Rush and sending him tumbling through the lunar dust.

Deacon looked up to see the White Blaster Beetleborg striding towards him, completely ignoring the other Beetleborgs, who were still sprawling from the Silver Ranger's attacks.

Deacon pulled himself to his feet, producing his diamond-saws, which whirred to life in his hands.

The other Rangers grouped around him, but he shook his head.

"Deal with the other three. I'll take White."

The White Blaster echoed his sentiment as the other Beetleborgs assembled near him.

"The Silver one is _mine_."


	59. Sacrifices

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 59: Sacrifices

Michelle stirred, groggily opening her eyes. She stretched stiffly, uncomfortable from having lied on the cold stone floor for so long, her back up against the obelisk-like rock to which she was chained.

Two more creatures had been brought in, one struggling against the grip of the armored wolf who had captures her, the other walking calmly behind him. The creature in his grip was obviously a dragon, albeit a small one. Its purple, pink and fuchsia scales glittered in the dim torchlight as the wolf maneuvered it before one of the still-vacant white rocks. The chains embedded within the rock shot forward, moving as if of their own will, clamping their manacles around the small dragon's fore and hind claws. The white rock abruptly glowed, turning black.

The other creature, some sort of spiked reptilian creature, moved to stand before the only other unoccupied stone. The manacles on that one moved as well, shackling the bony monster. His stone turned red.

_A summoning circle, Ornyk? _Asked a voice that seemed to echo through her head. _THIS is what you're using me for?_

"Actually," Ornyk said. "This is all I _ever_ wanted you for. Let me guess….you were expecting to be cut up and sold?"

"A reasonable assumption," said the feather-headed man the wolf had brought in earlier. As he spoke, he was examining the chains that fastened him to the yellow stone behind him. Having been told about the nature of Sireniens by Urchin, Michelle suspected he was trying to figure out how the manacles worked, so that he could reproduce them for his own use later.

"Her kind go for millions," Aviarus continued. "The mistake most people make it to kill them for their parts. They regenerate, so as long as you only take one piece at a time, you can harvest them for as long as they live."

The dragon shot him a fierce glare, then spat a jet of violet flame at him, but the fire didn't even reach the pillar in the center of the stone circle, let alone past it. It splashed against a seemingly invisible wall.

"Now, now, none of that," Ornyk said. "I need all of you alive. For now. Now if you'll excuse me, I have the more difficult parts of this summoning to see to. Later."

With that, he turned and walked from the room.

The dragon sighed, settling down, lowering her head onto her crossed foreclaws.

_Wonderful. Just wonderful. I come all the way to Terra to experience a new world, and wind up a ritual sacrifice. Never even lived to see three hundred._

"Sacrifice?" Michelle asked.

The dragon lifted her head, sweeping her serpentlike neck to glance at everyone in the room, resting her gaze on the human.

_Yup. This is a summoning circle. And if I'm not mistaken, THAT, _The dragon jerked her head at the ring that adorned the carved hand in the center of the room. _Is a piece of Transcendium. _

"What is a summoning circle?" Urchin asked.

_"I know Aviarus and Helios, _the tiny dragon said. _But who are you two?_

"My name is Urchin."

"Michelle," Michelle said, waving.

_My name is Zoeyalykthetes_, the dragon said. _But my friends call me Zoey. Urchin and Michelle….I know of you. You're the trader who helped the Rangers on KO-35, right? And you're the one Lolli's coming to save._

"Jess is coming here?"

_Yes. _The dragon sounded relieved. _Which means she'll be coming here, which means she can save me while she's at it. Assuming she gets here in time._ The mythical creature began nervously sharpening and cleaning her claws, her chains rattling.

"Sacrifice?" Michelle asked again, after a moment.

_Oh, right. Sorry. A summoning circle is a specially prepared place where someone who knows the right spell and has the right catalysts can conjure things from other realms of existence._

"What sorts of catalysts?" Aviarus asked.

_Transcendium, for one. That's essential. The rest depends on the thing being summoned. _Zoey inched forward and sniffed at the ring of runes that encircled the pedestal in the center of the room. _Smells like Ornyk. He inked it in his own blood. Got to give him credit, at least he knows what he's doing._

"Do summoning spells require sacrifices?" Michelle asked.

_Some do, _the dragon replied. _It looks like this one does. _

"So why us?" Aviarus asked.

Zoey tilted her reptilian head, a decidedly cute gesture on such a small dragon. 

_All of our auras DO have something common. Ranger energy. We've all spent enough time in close proximity to the Ranger to have absorbed some of their magic. I'd guess that whatever's being summoned must have something to do with the Morphin Grid._

"So," Michelle said, turning to stare nervously at the ring. "If Jess….if the Rangers don't get here in time…"

_Then we're all dead, _Zoey replied simply, returning to her grooming.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was a massive SLAM, as Jareth lost his grip and had to jump back, letting the gates seal to the ground. His Battleized enhancements vanished with a flash, returning him to his normal Gold Ranger form.

"So now you can grow?" Terina asked.

"The Adamantium Ranger had the power to change size."

"Cool. How big can you get?"

"Donno. Never tested it," Jareth mumbled.

"You okay?" Tommy asked as the Gold Ranger slumped against the heavy door and slid to the ground.

"I will be," the exhausted Ranger replied. "Just give me a minute."

"We don't have a minute," Lolli snapped.

"What's that?" Jareth asked. "'Thank you, Jareth, for getting us inside the fortress so I can rescue my girlfriend'? Why, you're very welcome, Lolli. Don't mention it."

The Green Ranger grumbled something, but couldn't argue. Instead, she reached into her bag and drew forth a medium-sized device, attaching it to one of the walls.

"What's that?" Tommy asked.

"You'll see, Lolli replied cryptically. She produced a Turbo Navigator from her bag and flipped it open. "Ah," she said triumphantly. "No shielding, not from the inside. A few quick scans, and….presto!" She grinned, though nobody could see it beneath her helmet. "We have ourselves a map."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So who do you think will be the first to go?" Michelle asked.

_Urchin,_ Zoey answered with certainty.

Urchin 's head jerked towards the small dragon. "Me? Why me?"

Zoey unsheathed a talon, scratching a pentacle in the dust on the floor in front of her…a woven star, surrounded by a circle.

_The five points of a pentacle represent the five primal elements of magic. Fire, Earth, Air, Water, and Spirit. Each of is shackled at one of those points…the element with which our beings are aligned. _

Michelle looked around. Urchin was Water, that was fairly clear…and Aviarus was probably Air. That made sense, as their species were evolved from fish and birds, respectively. The bright red of Helios' rock suggested Fire.

"Which am I? Earth or Spirit?"

_Earth. I'm Spirit. Dragons are very much Spirit Elementals. Anyway, you can tell from the obelisks. Green always represents Earth._

"That doesn't explain why I'll be the first to die," Urchin said.

_In a summoning, the sacrifices are slain in the order of the cycle of destruction. Water destroys Fire Destroys Air destroys Spirit destroys Earth destroys Water, and so on. It follows the star, hitting every other element in sequence. I'm guessing it'll start with Urchin because he's the one the ring is pointed at now. After we're all dead, and our essences have been transferred to the stones, they'll activate in the order of the Cycle of Creation, which follows the circle, in the other direction. Earth creates Air creates Water creates Spirit creates Fire, back to Earth. Not that we'll be there to see that part._

"I'm not sure I follow," Michelle said.

"I'm quite sure I _don't_," Urchin admitted. He sighed. "But it's not as though I was unprepared for this."

_You were expecting to be ritually sacrificed?_

"Not as such, no," Urchin said. "But space travel has its hazards. The company by which I am employed has a remarkable life insurance policy. My family will be well fed, for once."

_Lucky you. I don't even have a family. My parents were both killed by dragon poachers when I was still in the egg._

"Then how do you know about it?" Aviarus asked. He seemed unwilling to speak to the other sacrifices most of the time, but apparently his curiosity had gotten the better of him.

_Dragons are fully aware of their environment for years before we hatch, _Zoey said.

"Years? How long does it take to hatch a dragon egg?" Urchin asked.

_Up to a decade. Then it takes centuries for us to reach sexual maturity. Then, assuming we can find a mate, it takes another decade's gestation after intercourse for the egg to be laid, then another decade or so before the female is fertile again. _Zoey dropped her head in disgust. _And we're being hunted all the time. Small wonder we're almost extinct._

Michelle couldn't help feeling sorry for the little dragon, who was evidently still just a baby….but at the same time, as she looked towards the ring, she couldn't helping but feel that were _all_ about to go extinct.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Hunter Claw!"**

Myk grabbed the edge of his cape and pulled it forward, shielding himself from the blast of green energy that the Green Hunter Beetleborg fired in his direction. The blast fragmented into green sparks that sprayed harmlessly over the lunar dust.

A similar blast of jagged green light split the air, but this one flew in the opposite direction, forcing Hunter to dive aside. The Green Beetleborg rolled, regained his feet, then glanced sharply around, trying to spot his new attacker.

Fox stepped out from behind Myk, her Stealth Cutter still crackling with green light.

"You again," Hunter growled.

"Me again," Fox confirmed. "Up for round two?"

Hunter raised his gauntlet, flexing the large claw.

"What's your guess?" he asked.

Fox chuckled. "Then let the games begin."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Blue Ranger's lance danced in his hands, darting to and fro to block each thrust of the Blue Stinger Beetleborg's spinning blade.

"Why won't you just die?"

"Stuff to do," Troy replied. "You know."

Stinger growled, thrusting forward with his blade, but the Blue Ranger leapt sideways, spinning as he did and striking the Beetleborg in the small of the back with his lance.

Stinger fell sprawling to the glowing, pale rock that formed the lunar surface. He quickly rolled over, then leaned back and kicked his way back up to his feet, stowing his Battler and pulling out his sidearm as he did.

Rapidly punching a sequence of numbers into the numerical pad on the side of the gun, the Blue Beetleborg fired a column of energy rings at Troy.

The Blue Ranger raised his left arm, a rectangular shield of translucent red light appearing to block Stinger's attack. The rings of power emanating from Stinger's gun shattered against the impenetrable surface, breaking into beads of light that fell harmlessly to the ground.

Stinger barely had time to register the failure of his attack before dozens of sharp blades flew at him, seemingly from nowhere, embedding themselves in his armor.

"Ow! What the-" Pulling one free, he examined it. It was a tiny, four-pointed silver shuriken. "Black Ranger!" he yelled. "Show yourself!"

Something wrapped around his legs from behind, yanking them out from under him and causing him to fall, for the second time, facefirst into the dust.

Electra smirked as she reeled her grappling hook back into its mechanism on her arm.

"As you wish," she said smugly.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

A rain of arrows fell from above, forcing the Red Striker Beetleborg to jump, dodge, and roll as she never had before to avoid being ventilated.

**"Striker Blaster!"** the Beetleborg invoked, the weapon appearing on her arm. Looking to the skies above, she located her target and fired, a spinning pulse of bright red light lancing up into the air.

Mara swerved, dodging the first blast, but the second one grazed her side, sending her spinning.

Striker grinned as she saw the Pink Ranger lose control of her flight, struggling to bring her spinning under control. Turning, she ran at Zedd's palace, then began leaping between the towers, contours and moldings that decorated the castle's outer walls until she reached the roof. Cackling, she jumped out into the air and pounced on the still unsteady Pink Ranger, dragging her down to the ground.

Mara let a cry of pain escape she collided with the rocky ground, the Red Beetleborg's boots digging into her back. A sudden pressure on the back of her helmet told her that Striker's blaster was pressed against the back of her head.

"Say sayonara, Pink Ranger."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Kalen?" Tommy asked. "Any idea where we are?"

"Afraid not," the Purple Ranger replied, as she and the others wandered the narrow halls of Zedd's palace. "Last time I was in here, we only saw the lowest levels. Mostly storage."

"And they came in through the back," Angel recalled. "And then of course, there's always the possibility that the layout of this castle changes."

"Changes?" Tommy asked, as the group paused briefly to allow Lolli to attach yet another hemispherical device to the wall.

"Well, yes," Kalen said, as though castles regularly rearranged themselves. "Zedd would have to be a bigger fool than he is to leave it the same. Especially since he knows we've been in here before."

Tommy nodded, wrapping his mind around the concept of moving castle walls. He'd certainly seen stranger things.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter," Jareth said. 'We've got a map, right?"

"It'd be nice to know the layout, anyway," Tommy said. "If Kalen _had_ seen this part of the castle before, she'd be able to warn us about traps and whatnot. Hold on," he suddenly said, looking around. "We're missing one."

"Terina," Jareth said knowingly. "She broke off from the group about five minutes ago to go looking for Frax."

"And you didn't stop her?" the Red Ranger demanded.

"Why in the world _would_ I?" Jareth asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Because now she's off wandering the enemy stronghold all by herself!"

"She's 512 years old, Tommy," the Gold Ranger said wryly. "I think she can take care of herself."

Tommy shook his head. "I'm going back for her. You guys wait here."

"I'm not stopping, Tommy," Lolli informed him.

Tommy sighed. "Then you guys go ahead. I'll find Terina, then we'll come find you."

Exchanging a shrug, the rest of the group continued on, whilst the Red Ranger headed purposefully back the way they had come.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Loren?" Terina called, as she entered a vast chamber. She immediately chided herself. "Brilliant, Terina. Announce your presence to the whole palace, why don't you."

"I smelled the sweet scent of the flower the moment she entered this dark dwelling."

Terina jumped, spinning around, her daggers appearing magically in her hands.

"Loren!" she said, putting the weapons away. "I was looking for you."

The golden android stood near the side of the room. He tilted his twisted head, taking a few steps closer to the Yellow Ranger.

"Look if you must, though this form is little enough to see. Luck was with you. The new form you wear is far from the gargoyle you see."

Terina sighed. "I'd still rather be the way I was."

"Who wouldn't? Still, yours was the lesser of two foul fates. But the form regardless…" Frax paused, and Terina could tell he was trying to string his words together better. "It has been good to see you again, Tia."

Terina fought back tears that sprang to her eyes at the sound of his old nickname for her.

"Come with me. Back to the Oasis," she asked, managing to keep her voice from cracking.

"Does she know what she asks? Does she know who she invites? The things he has done?"

"I don't care. You're still you."

Frax considered. "Would those with whom the Flower dwells, dwell also with the likes of me?"

"If I ask, they'll accept you." Terina smiled. "Or else."

Frax came as close to a smile as his metallic features would allow.

"Then as ever, Flower, I am yours."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Just letting her take off like that," Tommy grumbled. "And without saying anything to the rest of us. Oooh, just wait till I have time to strangle him. That lazy, irresponsible scatterbrain of a Gold Ranger. He'll have one more head injury for his collection…"

Tommy rounded the corner, trying to remember where he'd last seen Terina. "And while I'm at it," he added, "I'll give her some of the credit. What was _she_ thinking? Bailing on the mission to go see some ex of hers who works for the bad guys now. Not that this mission was very well planned out in the first place. How did I get mixed up with these people?" he demanded. He paused, sighing. "They've even got me talking to myself."

Tommy resumed his trek, rounding another corner…and running straight into a gray-furred wolf in blue full-plate armor.

Ornyk looked just as surprised to see him.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he demanded.

Tommy conjured his Tyrant Sword, holding it before him.

Ornyk grumbled. "Of all the days…" There was a crackle of flame as a pewter hourglass full of black sand materialized, floating in the air next to him. He shot a glance at it, then pulled out his sword.

"Very well," he said. "But we have to make this quick."

"Suits me," Tommy agreed, swinging.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The sounds of combat echoed down the long corridor.

Angel paused. "Did anyone else hear that?"

"NO," Lolli said vehemently.

"Sounds as if our fearless leader managed to find trouble," Kalen said. "And please, don't anyone say 'Or the trouble found him'. I'm beyond tired of people trying to sound profound by just reversing the last thing said."

"Come on," Jareth said resignedly. "We'd better go help him out."

"But…the…Aww, man," Lolli complained, glancing back as the path as she reluctantly turned and followed her friends as they went to Tommy's aide, not stupid enough to venture further on her own.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

A sudden, piercing tone filled the summoning chamber as the Transcendium ring began to shine with an eerie blue light.

Urchin swallowed. "I guess this is it."

_Looks that way,_ Zoey said sadly. _I'm sorry._

"Don't be," Urchin said. "You're not the one who chained me here." He looked around at his fellow prisoners. "Goodbye everyone. If by any chance any of you happen to survive…"

_We'll be sure to tell your family what happened._

Urchin nodded, then stood, closing his eyes.

The sound from the ring rose in pitch and volume, drowning out any further conversation. Suddenly, the sound stopped as a thin ray of bright blue light lanced out from the gem, piercing through Urchin's body like a spear. The Aquitian's blood splattered on the stone to which he was chained, and it began to glow.

Urchin's agonized scream died as he did, his body crystallizing into a statue of solid ice that quickly dissolved into a surprisingly small pile of powdery snow.

The stone hand that bore the deadly ring rotated to the right, moving past and coming to a stop facing the red rock to which Helios was chained.

_Water destroys fire, _Zoey said. _Helios is next._

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ornyk's blade met Tommy's for the umpteenth time, neither warrior having successfully scored a hit yet.

The lupine royal's eyes fell on his hourglass, still hovering right where he'd left it. He let out an exasperated sound, forcing Tommy back with a column of dark fire from his hand.

"This is a terrible villain cliché," Ornyk said. "But I'm afraid I really am busy. I'll have to come back to kill you later." The Zornian lifted his sword, channeling black flame down the hall towards Tommy.

The Red Ranger lifted his shield-arm to block the flame, but instead of striking him, it split into two separate ribbons, spiraled around him, then flew apart, forming solid walls of indigo crystal in front of and behind him. The crystal spread, coating the walls, floor, and ceiling of the hall so that Tommy was left standing in a small, 12'x12' cube of a room.

Ornyk smirked, sheathing his sword and crossing his arms. He stepped back through the crystal, the solid surface rippling like water as he passed through it.

His dark silhouette moved beyond the semi-opaque wall, its motions rapidly becoming obscure as the prince quickly left, going about whatever business had been so pressing.

Tommy drew the short sword from his back, extended the twin, hooked claw-blades from his shield-arm and began spinning, his powers propelling him faster and faster until he looked like a red tornado. The spinning cyclone moved forward, the savage blades striking sparks as they buzzed against the dark crystal surface.

After a few moments Tommy spun to a halt. He retracted his blades, sheathing his sword and stepping forward to examine the wall.

"Not even a scratch," he sighed. "Terrific."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The group arrived just as Ornyk's crystal barrier shimmered into existence. The wolflike prince backed through the wall towards them, then vanished in a crackle of his trademark indigo flame.

"Tommy!" Jareth called, hoping his voice could be heard through the crystal wall. "You okay?"

"I'm fine!" the Red Ranger's muffled voice replied. "You guys go ahead! I'll catch up!"

Jareth turned to Lolli, who was busy attaching yet another contraption to the stone wall. "Okay. Lead the way."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Helios' scream seemed to echo throughout the chamber long after his body had been consumed by crimson flames, leaving behind nothing but a small pile of ashes. Empowered by his blood, the crimson stone began to glow as the ring moved again, turning to the right. Michelle ducked as it rotated past her, turning to face Aviarus.

_Fire destroys air, _Zoey said.

"Are you going to comment every time it moves?" Aviarus asked bitterly.

_Probably, _the wyrmling admitted. _But YOU won't have to hear any more._

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"It looks solid, doesn't it?"

Tommy jumped, spinning around in surprise as a surprisingly calm voice interrupted the striking sounds his blade made as it ineffectively struck the crystal wall.

A small child stood behind him, his arms crossed as he contemplatively stared at the barrier.

"What…who…how did you get in here?" Tommy asked. "This place is dangerous enough for me, let alone a kid."

"It looks solid…but it's not." Ignoring the Red Ranger, the boy strode forward until he was standing before the wall of indigo crystal. "It's a constantly moving swarm of tiny particles. Energy in motion. Innumerable electrons spinning away, around more nuclei than you could count in your entire lifetime."

Tommy blinked. Now that the child was closer, the Red Ranger could feel an unmistakable aura of power emanating from his small form. And the way he spoke made it clear that this was no ordinary child. "Who _are_ you?" he asked cautiously.

"Every now and then, an electron deviates from its course," the child continued, still staring at the wall as though reading something no one else could see. He pointed, his finger moving across the crystalline surface as though zeroing in on a specific point. "It actually brushes against the nucleus of the atom. It only lasts for an instant. The tiniest fraction of a second, and then it's gone."

Tommy looked where the boy was pointing, but saw only a smooth, solid wall.

"It is a moment full of possibilities. A crossroads, one might say. A Nexus. A single instant, a single object, that has the potential to change everything."

"What are you saying?"

"When circumstances intersect like that," the child replies. "Certain things are possible that aren't at any other time or place. In this case, for that instant, the line between matter and energy becomes so thin that it takes almost no effort to cross it. Triggering that electron could take this entire wall and reduce it to pure energy."

"Are you saying you can destroy this barrier?"

"Nothing is destroyed," the child said. "Only transformed."

"I'm not sure I follow," Tommy said dubiously.

"Just remember this, Tommy…sometimes, to make something happen, all you have to do is find the right thing…" The child's finger finally zeroed in on one spot. "…and make the right move…" He fell back into a fighting stance, drawing back his arm. "…at the right time."

Faster than the eye could follow, the child's arm shot forward, striking the crystal surface. A blinding flash of light illuminated the room, dazzling Tommy even through the darkened glass of his visor. He blinked furiously, trying to clear his vision of the spots that danced before his eyes.

"Oh, and by the way…," the child's voice said, though it seemed to be coming from much further away. "The name's Kite."

When Tommy's eyesight finally returned, the boy was nowhere to be found. But the crystal barrier was gone.

The Red Ranger shook his head, baffled, then ran to catch up with the others.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lolli halted unexpectedly as she reached the bottom of the long flight of stairs, then stumbled forward when Jareth, following closely behind, walked right into her.

"Sorry," the Gold Ranger said, raising his hands in surrender as she glared at him. "Why'd you stop?"

"Lost the signal," Lolli replied, turning her attention back to the small screen. She turned the device towards one of the walls, adjusting the controls.

Kalen walked over to the wall and examined it. "Zynotheum," she observed. "You won't be able to scan through it. Am I right?"

Lolli grumbled, snapping the navigator shut.

"Thought so."

"Dare I even ask," Angel asked. "How it is _you_ know what Zynotheum is?"

"This entire level is lined with it," Lolli growled, stowing the Navigator back into her almost empty bag.

"So how do we find the place where they're keeping her?" Jareth asked.

"Say please," came a voice from behind them.

The group spun around to see a grotesque golden monstrosity of a robot standing on the stairs.

Various weapons appeared in a dazzling array of colored light, all pointed at the robot.

"Woah! Guys!" Terina appeared from behind Frax, moving to stand between him and her friends. "He's on our side."

"Your side," Frax corrected, glancing at Terina.

"My side," Terina accepted. "Which is your side. So there. Put the toys away."

"Please take us to where Michelle is being held," Angel asked.

Frax nodded his misshapen golden head.

"Follow the leader, or follow me. One way leads you right, the other wrong. Unless the two are one and the same, in which case, both ways lead left."

So saying, Frax led them off down the left hand corridor.

"Frax," Tommy asked. "I mean, Loren. What does Zedd want with Michelle?"

"Zedd wants nothing but to be here, not there. Ornyk wants the same, and the lamb's blood is the path they will take."

"Wait…so Zedd's not even here? Where is he?" Jareth asked.

"Beyond the veil. He is where he is, which isn't where he's never been. The dog has ever been his hands, eyes and ears."

"Huh."

"You want to translate that for the rest of us?" Tommy asked.

"He said Zedd's never even been here. He's been acting through Ornyk all along. Evidently, for him to actually come here, Michelle has to die. Not sure why."

"You will when we aren't where we are and are where we will be," Frax assured them.

"Good," Lolli said.

It worried her slightly that she was beginning to understand him.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Piercing beams of white light shot out across the lunar surface, neatly slicing off the end of the Striker Blaster.

Mara blinked as she saw the end of the weapon fall to the ground next to her head. Realizing that it was now safe to move, she exerted her flying power and scooted forward, right out from under the Red Striker's boot.

Suddenly deprived of something to stand on, the Red Beetleborg stumbled, almost falling over. Turning to see what had destroyed her weapon, she spotted the White Ranger, scimitar in hand, aiming its tiger-face right at her.

"Aww. Did I break your toy?" Stephen asked.

"Break this," Striker growled, drawing her Sonic Laser.

Stephen smiled, his shield glowing, obviously ready to block her attack.

Striker grinned, and instead of blasting the Ranger himself, strafed the ground in front of him, kicking up a thick cloud of lunar dust.

The White Ranger instinctively shielded his eyes against the dust, even though it couldn't possibly have penetrated his helmet. He fired a pulse from Saba towards the spot where she'd been standing, but he could tell it didn't hit.

"Where'd she go?"

"I can see nothing, White Ranger," Saba said apologetically.

A crimson fist appeared from the dense white cloud, striking Stephen's face with such force that it actually dented. At almost the same time, a crimson foot struck the back of his knees, knocking his legs out from under him. He fell to the dirt, landing flat on his back.

A series of hard-hitting blows fell on him, striking his stomach, his throat, his face. Overwhelmed, he de-morphed.

The dust began to clear, revealing the Red Striker Beetleborg standing over him, arms crossed.

"Having fun yet?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Gravity Pulse!"**

Something was wrong. The Blue Stinger was running, but he was no longer getting anywhere. A quick check revealed why…his feet were no longer touching the ground.

Electra smiled, turning her axe around and leveling it, in its cannon-mode, at the floating Beetleborg.

"Say cheese," she said.

Stinger raised his arms to shield his face as she fired, blasting him out of the gravity lock and sending him flying against the wall of Zedd's palace. He slid to the ground, kicking up a small cloud of lunar dust.

He braced his hands against the ground to push himself back up…and immediately, a pair of metal cuffs connected by a sturdy chain were slapped on his wrists.

He glanced up to see the Blue Ranger standing above him, Blade Blaster drawn and aimed at his head.

"Give up yet?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Are we there yet?" Jareth asked.

"Does it LOOK like we're there?" Lolli demanded.

"I wouldn't know, seeing as I have _no idea_ where we're going."

"The sands run short," Frax said.

"Good," Jareth grumbled.

Something on Frax's arm beeped.

"Frax!" Gasket's voice barked over his communicator.

The Rangers exchanged a nervous glance.

"Just ignore him, Loren," Terina said.

"Frax! Answer me! That blasted White Blaster stole my Energy Axis and I need you to go get it back! Frax!"

As per the Yellow Ranger's suggestion, Frax ignored his master's commands and continued leading the Rangers towards their goal.

There was a sudden, blinding flash that lit the halls.

"Frax!"

Gasket stood before them in all his chrome-plated glory…and he looked less than pleased. A compartment on his leg opened, revealing a sword-hilt that he pulled out, a polished chrome blade springing forth.

"Once an organic," the prince grumbled, seeing the Rangers that stood alongside his not-so-loyal minion.

The Rangers started to step forward, but Frax moved to stand between them and Gasket. He pointed at a corridor that led off to the left.

"Third left, sixth right, second left, first room on the left. Go."

"But what about-" Tommy began.

"Go!" Frax demanded.

The Rangers started off down the hall as Gasket engaged Frax, chrome sword meeting the high-tech chainsaw that Frax produced.

Jareth skidded to a halt as he realized that Terina hadn't moved.

"Ter!"

"I'm not leaving him. Go!"

Jareth sighed, shaking his head. "_Don't_ die," he commanded, pointing sternly at Terina. Turning, he ran after the others.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A focused pulse of yellow light was emitted from the rough-hewn gem embedded in the ring, piercing through Aviarus' heart. His stone began to shine yellow as his blood struck its surface.

Lightning crackled over the Sirenien's body. His scream died as his body was reduced to powder.

"Good riddance," Michelle said.

_I never liked him either._

The ring moved as before, swiveling past the empty spot where Urchin once stood and coming to a halt before Zoey.

_And __Air destroys Spirit._

"How does Air destroy Spirit? Doesn't air keep spirits alive?"

_Of course not. The living draw closer to death with every breath they take. _The small dragon sighed, setting her head down on the ground between her foreclaws. _Well. It's been nice knowing you._

"Yeah," Michelle said sadly. "You too."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Frax brought his vibrating blade around and started to strike at Gasket…but abruptly froze, his servomotors stiffening in place.

"Fool," Gasket said. "I created you! You can't harm me. It's hardwired into your operating system!"

Terina leapt at gasket, daggers in hand, but Gasket's hand shot out with the precision of a machine, clasping itself around her neck and holding her at arm's length.

"You will find, however," the prince continued, still speaking to Frax, "That the reverse is _not_ true."

Gasket's sensors targeted the weakest point on Frax's casing and he struck, driving his blade through the golden metal of Frax's torso. Swinging sideways, he sliced his treacherous servant in half at the waist, flipped his upper body into the air, then slashed diagonally, cutting Frax into three sections, all of which fell to the floor with a deafening clatter.

"Loren!"

Terina conjured her daggers, jamming one into the metal arm that held her. The mechanical grip failed, releasing her. She backflipped to a safe distance, then twirled her daggers threateningly.

"That," she declared in a low growl. "Was a mistake."

"Calculating hostile: Yellow Ranger. Threat rating set to 7," Gasket recited mechanically. He brandished his sword. "Engage."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Myk struggled against the grip of Hunter's claw, trying to keep from being crushed as Fox dived, flipped, and spun, dodging blasts from the Green Beetleborg's Sonic Laser.

"Hold still," Hunter grumbled, trying to draw a bead on her.

Fox conjured her Blade Blaster and fired a few shots off at the Beetleborg, but he simply moved his arm, placing Myk, who was still held fast in the grip of his Battler, into the line of fire.

Fortunately for the Bronze Ranger, his cape was outside the claw's grip, rather than pinned to his body. He pulled up the enchanted fabric, blocking the blasts.

"Okay," Myk grumbled. "Enough playin' around."

A shining white longsword materialized in the Bronze Ranger's crimson-gloved hand. He swung the blade around and sliced through the claw, freeing himself.

Flying up as the claw fell apart, he turned midair, aiming the sword at Hunter.

A ball of white lightning gathered at the tip of Dorn's blade, launching itself at the Beetleborg below.

Hunter dived aside, dropping the useless, broken claw.

Dorn's blast was tremendous, throwing dust and rubble into the air and leaving a massive, smoking crater in the dusty surface of the moon.

"Nice sword," Hunter said grudgingly.

"Thanks," Myk grinned. "I like it."

"Ahem."

The Green Hunter turned to see Fox standing behind him, Stealth Cutter in hand.

"My sword's not as shiny," the Camo Ranger said. "But I bet it's just as sharp."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Gasket staggered back against the wall, numerous smoking gashes having been torn through his casing. Sparking circuitry showed in several places, and some sort of hydraulic fluid was leaking from the joint of his left knee. His sword was pitted and scarred, its polished chrome surface and razor-keen edge having been all but destroyed.

The Yellow Ranger stood before him…if 'standing' was the operative term. Her right leg had been severed at mid-shin, leaving her leaning against the wall for support. Her armor, too, bore numerous gashes and dents, but unlike those in Gasket's armor, hers were slowly healing.

"Threat rating upgraded from 7 to 8. Adjusting parameters to compensa-rrgh-zzZZZZT!…"

Terina's dagger shot forward, embedding itself in Gasket's throat. His electronic voice quickly deteriorated to senseless static.

The Yellow Ranger took a limping step forward.

Gasket scowled, raising his left arm. A panel opened, revealing a small computer console. He quickly typed something….and vanished, teleporting elsewhere.

Terina demorphed, her leg reappearing. She turned and rushed back to where Frax's remains lay.

"Loren? Are you okay? Stupid question, of course you're not okay, you're in _pieces_…Speak to me!"

She grabbed the part that included his head and part of his torso, cradling it in her lap. Frax's optical sensor struggled to focus on her, the lights that shone within them dim and flickering.

"Flo-Ter-she-The…"

"Shh….don't try to talk," Terina said, fully aware that she was contradicting her own request for him to speak to her.

Whirring, grinding noises emitted from somewhere within his shattered casing.

"Loren," she said, worry creeping into her voice. What she wouldn't have given for some of Lolli's or Angel's Technical expertise just then…

A small compartment on the front of his torso slid open, and a tiny black box emerged.

Terina took it, holding it tightly. She opened the box…and gasped.

It contained Loren's ring…the blood ring she had given him nearly 500 years ago, its jewel a simple sphere of glass filled with her own blood.

He was giving it back to her.

"Loren, no," she said.

The broken body she held simply looked back up at her…and died, the lights in its eyes going out and the whirring of his servomotors grinding to a halt.

"Loren? Loren!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Michelle?"

Michelle's head snapped up. "Jess?"

Lolli ran into the room, followed closely by Jareth, Tommy, Angel, and Kalen.

Zoey and Michelle blinked up at their friends, surprised that they'd managed to reach them in time. Lolli quickly rushed to Michelle's side.

**"Ruby Ray!"** Lolli invoked, the lancing beam firing forth from the gem in her helmet's forehead. She aimed it at the heavy chains that bound Michelle's limbs, attempting to cut the thick metal.

"What is this place?" Tommy asked.

"Looks like a summoning chamber," Jareth replied.

_It is, _Zoey said. _Ornyk has set the chamber up to take care of the blood sacrifices automatically while he attends to the other details of the spell in the higher levels of the palace._

"Blood," Tommy muttered. 'Why is it always blood?"

"Because blood if life," Angel answered.

"And life is power," Kalen added.

"It's pretty basic, really," Jareth said. "Most spells require some form of blood as a catalyst."

_And this spell uses ours. Our blood and our souls. Urchin, Aviarus, and Helios have already been sacrificed. _

"How is it done?" Kalen asked.

_The hand on the center column rotates until it faces one of us. The ring on the hand emits a beam that pierces the sacrifice, both spraying its blood onto the stone and extracting its soul. _

No sooner had Zoey thought the words aloud, then the hand began to move again, rotating until the ring faced her. She swallowed nervously.

_And it looks like I'm next._

The ring began to shine, sparks of light appearing in the air and flowing into the rough-hewn gem, causing it to glow still brighter. A ray of white light shot forth from the ring…

There was a bright purple flash as Kalen leapt between the ring and the dragon, her armor vanishing. The ray struck her, piercing through her heart, white as it entered but purple as it exited through her back, transferring her life and her blood into the stone. The Purple Ranger let out an agonized scream as brilliant fuchsia sparks enveloped her.

Before anyone could even manage to look surprised, she had been reduced to dust.

Zoey blinked in astonishment down at the pile of dust that had once been Kalen. The stone behind her began to glow, but no one paid it any mind.

"What…did she…why?" Jareth asked.

"These chains won't cut," Lolli said tensely.

There was a loud popping sound, like a small firecracker going off, and a burst of purple sparks from Kalen's ashes. Everyone, except Lolli, jumped at the sudden noise.

"What was THAT?" Tommy asked.

The burst of energy was followed by another, and another. More and more rapidly they came, the sparks beginning to swirl and spiral upwards, drawing the ashes with them.

As the Rangers looked on in amazement, the ashes and sparks re-formed into Kalen's body.

She took a deep breathe, then sneezed, shaking ashes from her hair.

"Six down," she muttered. "Three to go."

_You're a Lazarian, _Zoey said, sounding impressed.

"A what?" Tommy asked.

For once, neither Jareth nor Angel seemed to have an answer.

_A very rare magical phenomenon._ _When nine people die at the exact same moment, usually the moment of their birth, sometimes all nine lives get concentrated into one of their bodies. It's hard to explain, but basically, it means the person has nine lives. It takes a ridiculous amount of magic to make it happen._

"Like the amount surrounding Terra?" Angel asked.

_Yup, _The dragon replied. _That would account for it. But why give a life up for ME?_

"I owed you one. Don't expect it again."

_But when did I ever….oh,_ Zoey broke off, seeing the answer in Kalen's mind.

"What?" Jareth asked. "When?"

_I saved Naylack from the ivy,_ Zoey explained. _He was one of her lives. We've all been spelling it wrong…it's Nelak, not Naylack. Kalen spelled backwards._

The others nodded, but seemed more interested in gazing at Kalen than in the explanation.

"What are you three staring at?" Kalen asked.

"Look down," Angel suggested.

"What" she asked. She looked down at herself. "Oh."

Kalen was completely naked. Her clothes had been reduced to ash along with the rest of her, but while she had nine lives, her designer clothing, it seemed, only had the one.

She rolled her eyes. "Honestly. **Hammerhead!"**

There was a flash of violet light, and she was covered in her purple sharkskin-wetsuit armor once again.

"Males," she grumbled.

_Dragon males are the same, _Zoey said. _Although we don't have mammary glands. It's our tails they all want to gawk at._

There was a grinding sound as the hand on the pedestal moved again, turning to face Michelle.

_Spirit destroys Earth, _Zoey whispered.

"Umm…whatever you're going to do, Jess, better do it fast," Michelle said, eyeing the ring.

"They won't cut!" Lolli cried, frustrated. The light from her Ruby died out as she stopped trying to sever the chains. Drawing her Dragon Dagger, she aimed it at the ring and fired, but the bolt of green light refracted harmlessly off an invisible sphere of force surrounding the pedestal.

"Just get out of here," Michelle said. "You can't stop it. I don't want you to have to see this."

"I am not leaving without you," Lolli declared. She stepped between Michelle and the ring, just as Kalen had done for Zoey, her armor vanishing as she demorphed.

"What are you doing?" Michelle demanded.

"It wants a life. I'm giving it one."

"_You_ only have one," Angel stated calmly.

"Yeah," Lolli said quietly. "I know."

Michelle glared at the back of Lolli's head. She quietly began winding the chain from her manacle around her hand.

"Jess?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"For wha-"

Michelle jumped forward and slammed her metal-wrapped hand down on Lolli's head. The Green Ranger's eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed. She fell, hitting the ground just as the gem powered up, shooting forth a beam of white light that targeted Michelle's heart, piercing her body. Blood splattered against the rock as the ray of light turned from white to green, illuminating the cold stone.

Michelle's body calcified before the Rangers' very eyes, turning to a solid gray statue that almost instantly crumbled to dust.


	60. Face Off

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 60: Face Off

Deacon and the White Blaster Beetleborg slowly circled one another, sizing each other up.

"Sure you don't wanna just give up now?" Deacon asked. "We both know already who's going to win this."

"Clearly, one of us doesn't, or you wouldn't have asked."

Bright red lightning followed the White Blaster's armored hands as they moved through the air, building up a powerful surge of energy. He thrust his hands forward, releasing the blast at his target.

His target wasn't particularly worried. Smiling, he simply stood there, letting the vest-like shield that covered his chest absorb the destructive power. As the red light drained away from the engraved surface of his armor, Deacon produced a radial saw blade, throwing the sharp diamond like a Frisbee.

Blast caught it effortlessly, moments before it would have cleaved his head from his shoulders. Snapping the crystal in half, he let the pieces fall to the dust.

"If you're through playing," the Beetleborg said.

Deacon grinned, raising his left arm.

**"Silver Ranger-Battleize!"**

There was a swirling of silver and purple-pink light as Deacon's powers combined with those of the long-dead Platinum Ranger, his shield vanishing, his frame becoming sleeker and more agile. Platinum-colored leopard spots appeared on the chrome surface of his armor.

Placing his hands on either side of the round, midnight-blue gem embedded in his chestplate, Deacon fired a thick, powerful pulse of energy.

Blaster leapt to the side, rolling to his feet as the blast tore through the air where he'd been standing, knocking a large hole in the side of Zedd's palace.

The White Blaster shook his head. "Tsk tsk. You really need to learn some new tricks, Silver Ranger."

The Beetleborg produced a device that resembled a trapezoidal yellow gem attached to a lightsaber handle.

"After all," he said smugly. "_I_ have."

Holding the…whatever it was…above his head, the White Blaster tapped its power. The gem began to spin, pouring more and more energy into the insectoid warrior, his armor beginning to glow as energy coursed through him.

Bracers appeared on his shins and forearms, resembling the segmented legs of an insect, seeming to melt out from he plastic-metal of his body. The stylized carapace that was on his back grew, becoming three dimensional, then opening to reveal an impressive set of no less than four insectoid wings, fanning out behind him.

Having tensed during the transformation, the Mega-White Beetleborg relaxed, jets of steam issuing form the tips of his new insect-leg bracers and shinguards.

"So evidently, they're just _handing_ out Battleizers these days," Deacon said disdainfully

"Just shut up and fight."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A golden glow emanated from the Gold Ranger's gloves, their healing energy pulsing strongly. The effort, however, was seemingly wasted.

"This isn't working," he said.

"Keep trying," Tommy urged.

"I can't _do_ this, Tommy."

"Yes, you can! You have to. Just keep at it."

Jareth let the glow die, turning to look up at the Red Ranger.

"Tommy. I am not having self-esteem issues here. I know what I can and cannot do, and I am telling you, _I can not heal a pile of dust_."

Tommy sighed as Angel offered Jareth a hand, pulling the Gold Ranger to his feet.

"Then…she's really dead."

"You're acting like you've never failed to save someone before," Kalen said.

Tommy shot her a look.

"Oh my gods," Jareth said, surprised. "You really haven't."

_Much as I hate to break up _this_ delightful conversation, _Zoey said. _Might I suggest that we LEAVE before whatever this spell is supposed to summon shows up?_

"She makes a good point," Angel said.

The dragonet breathed on her chains, the metal melting as though they were made of caramel.

"You could have done that at any time?" Kalen demanded.

_No. I tried before, but they were protected by magic. The spell's over, at least the part that needed captive sacrifices, so they're not anymore. Now, about that whole 'leaving' thing…_

Angel scooped up Lolli's still-unconscious body.

"Can you at least heal HER?" Tommy asked, pulling his helmet back on.

"Probably," Jareth said appraisingly. "But I think it might be a better idea to get out of the palace first. No telling what she'll do if she founds out her girlfriend's dead while we're still in here."

Tommy had to concede the point.

Just then, the green stone to which Michelle had been chained began to shine, far surpassing the gentle glow it had taken on after she had been destroyed. It was quickly followed by the yellow, blue, black, and red stones, in that order.

_Once again, _Zoey began.

"Leaving," Kalen said. "Yeah."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sparks flew as the Blue Stinger Beetleborg performed a spinning-kicking-flipping maneuver that looked as though it were more suited for breakdancing than fighting, his foot coming up to kick the gun from the Blue Ranger's hand. A second spin, and that same foot knocked Troy's feet from under him, bringing him crashing to the dust.

Electra's axe was coming down towards him. Stinger ducked, raising his hands so that the Black Ranger's blade, instead of slicing him into two neatly symmetrical halves, instead severed the chain that the Blue Ranger had used to bind his wrists.

**"Stinger Blade!"**

His Battler appearing on his right arm, Stinger met the next swipe of the Arctic Axe, both blue and black sparks appearing this time.

"Give up?" he asked. "Are you kidding? I'm having WAY too much fun."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox brought her weapon down on her knee, the handle breaking in the middle with a bright flash of green, the two-bladed sword becoming a pair of long, curving combat knives.

These blades spun blindingly, the blasts of destructive force from the Green Hunter's damaged claw refracting off them harmlessly.

Hunter growled. His weapon's aim was off due to the damage the Bronze Ranger's sword had caused. He was having to shift his aim to the right to compensate, but he had the feeling that even if his weapon had been functioning perfectly, it would have been tricky to score a hit on this particular Ranger. She knew her stuff.

A bolt of white light shot down from above, striking the lunar dirt at his feet. He jumped, surprised, then looked up to see what had fired at him.

The Bronze Ranger hung in the air overhead, shining white blade pointed down at him. Slowly, he descended, his talon-shaped boots finally touching the glowing white ground. He stood at an angle, glowing blade pointed directly at the Beetleborg.

"Nice pose," Hunter said. "Where's the camera?"

Anther devastating blast shot forth from Dorn's blade, but it missed as the Green Beetleborg leapt, spinning sideways to avoid the attack. He held up his Battler, channeling green lightning up his arm, the missing antler of his claw re-forming.

"Why didn't he do that in the first place?" Fox asked her fellow Ranger, raising an arm at the Beetleborg in bewilderment.

Myk shrugged, firing anther blast from his sword, but this, too, the Green Hunter dodged.

"These guys are _way_ too agile for people wearing so much armor," he declared.

Fox recombined her knives, leaping forward. She managed to strike him twice, leaving long, burning tears in his armor, before he closed his claw around her waist, grabbing her arm with his free hand to stop her from striking her again.

Myk aimed Dorn's point at him, but Hunter held the Camo Ranger up as a shield. Myk hesitated.

"Drop the sword," the Green Hunter commanded. "Or I slice her in half."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Mara's whip danced across the lunar surface, flashing back and forth, flaying everything it struck. Numerous boulders had been sliced into pieces, the cuts so clean that their inner faces shone like mirrors, and the dusty ground was deeply furrowed.

In fact, it seemed as though the only thing the Pink Ranger HADN'T hit was her target.

The Red Striker darted, weaved, and cartwheeled her way across the lunar landscape, avoiding Mara's attacks with what seemed to be no effort at all.

"Maybe you should try aiming," Striker taunted, as Mara paused for breath out of pure habit, not remembering or not caring that she didn't actually have to breathe.

Mara stowed her whip and produced her bow, pink light sparkling as she nocked an energy arrow and let fly at the Beetleborg.

Striker's hand shot forward, catching the arrow inches away from her face. She waggled her finger at Mara, then spun, releasing the arrow at just the right moment to send it flying back at the astonished Pink Ranger.

The arrow pierced the center of her visor, hairline cracks spiderwebbing out across the jet-black glass as the bolt of pink light exited the back of her head.

For a moment, she simply stood there. Then, the Pink Ranger fell to her knees, her Ranger form vanishing in a flash of light as she collapsed to the dust.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Shh!" Tommy said, shushing the small group of Rangers that followed him. "Someone's coming."

_I can't sense anyone, _Zoey said. _Which means it's either something without a mind, like a robot, or a construct like those Putty things…or-_

The dragon fell silent as the footsteps drew nearer, approaching from a hall that led off to the group's right. Tommy drew the short sword from his back and prepared to strike…only to lower his blade as Terina stepped into view. Her face couldn't be seen beneath her helmet, but her steps were heavy and her shoulders slumped. Her right hand was curled into a fist, her left hung idle at her side.

_Or a Ranger, _the dragon finished.

"Terina!" Jareth cried. "What happened? Where's.."

The Yellow Ranger shook her head sadly. "Gasket…he…Loren's gone." She shook her head, then glanced up sharply. "What happened to Lolli? Where's Michelle? And…what's Zoey doing here?"

_Can storytime wait? I REALLY want out of here._

"We'll explain everything once we're out of the palace," Tommy said. "Believe me, I only want to have to tell this story once."

"What's that?" Jareth asked, gesturing at her hand.

Terina glanced at her fist, which was still clenched around Loren's ring.

"It's…a gift."

"Um. Okay."

"Come on," Tommy said, moving once again. "We should get going. The others are still outside…and they might need our help."

"Are you kidding?" Jareth asked. "That's Fox and Deacon out there."

"So?"

"So if anyone," the Gold Ranger answered. "You should worry about the Beetleborgs."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Green Hunter still held Fox's right arm in his iron grip, preventing her from swinging the Stealth Cutter, and his claw's grip on her waist kept her Blade Blaster pinned to her side. Still, she was hardly out of options.

**"Toxic Barb!"**

Hunter clutched his face in surprise as a barrage of acidic shrapnel sprayed from the Camouflage Ranger's left hand. In his pain and surprise, he accidentally released her right, which immediately began swinging her sword again. Sparks flew as the blade severed one his pincer-shaped antennae.

With a frustrated growl, Hunter raised his arm, lifting the claw-Battler that held Fox, and threw her with all his might at the Bronze Ranger, who still held Dorn pointed their way.

Fox screamed as her body was thrown onto Dorn's sharp point, which immediately pierced her torso, slicing through her armor as though she were wearing nothing at all. The blade pulsed a brighter white briefly, surging as though delighted to cause such pain.

Myk gasped, pulling the blade back. Fox fell to the ground, her Ranger form disappearing with a flash.

She would be unconscious for a while…Rangers often were after extreme pain forced them to demorph…but they were still inside the atmospheric bubble that surrounded the palace. Fox would be fine…

Myk's eyes widened beneath his helmet as he saw a dark stain begin to spread across the white dust. Fox groaned, rolling over onto her back, and the Bronze Ranger could see the bloody hole between her ribs, the darker shadow spreading across the black shirt she had worn beneath her camouflage jacket.

Somehow, the injury caused by Dorn's blade had translated across from her Ranger form to her human body…and she was bleeding to death, her life being swallowed up by the thirsty white dust of the moon.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The claws of the Battleized Silver Ranger struck out time and again against the forearm-horns of the Mega-White Beetleborg, which had evidently found no problems emerging from his new bracers. For every gash that marred the polished white armor, a matching one appeared on his own.

Deacon planted a foot against Mega-White's chest, kicking him back and kicking himself into a backflip, landing on his feet a decent distance away from his opponent. The Beetleborgs, for all their heavy armor, were far more agile than they had any right to be…but, Deacon reasoned, there way no way that Mega-White could possibly be as fast as he'd been before, seeing as he'd practically doubled in size. The Metaleopard Claws slid back into their casings as he retracted them.

"**Shadowshock!"**

Bringing his arms forward, palms together, Deacon fired a focused beam of what appeared to be solid shadows. For a moment, he wondered where his attack had come from, before the instincts granted by his powers informed him that it had been the Platinum Ranger's special move.

Mega-White was not to be outdone. Moving his arms in wide arcs before bringing them together, he charged up the most massive blast he had ever made, releasing it against the Silver Ranger. The two blasts met midway between the combatants, and, as such blasts tended to do, fused together into one massive explosion that damaged them both, sending them flying apart.

Mega-White stopped midair, his multiple wings buzzing behind him. Having retracted his horns to create the blast, he re-extended them and shot forward.

Deacon skidded to a halt, his boots cutting into the dusty surface, then glanced up sharply to see Mega-White flying straight for him, horns extended.

Tapping anther of the Platinum Ranger's abilities, Deacon vanished, reappearing several meters away and leaving only a silvery-mist silhouette of himself standing where he'd been. The mist had begun to dissipate even before Mega-White tore through it, stopping his flight as he realized that he'd been tricked.

Deacon narrowed his eyes and teleported again, this time appearing directly above Mega-White, dropping down onto his back. Extending his Wolverine-style claws, he tore through the Battleized Beetleborg's wings, shredding the relatively fragile metal.

Mega-White began to plummet, his wings no longer able to support him. Deacon's body dissolved into silver mist again as he teleported to the ground to watch Mega-White's fall, regretting the moon's weak gravity and the fact that the Beetleborg hadn't been flying any higher.

Blaster crashed to the ground, then rose to his feet, undamaged except for his wings.

Deacon closed his eyes and channeled energy into the round blue gem in his chest, powering up for an especially strong blast, one that would hopefully put an end to this guy once and for all…

A sudden, stabbing pain erupted in his midsection, and he fell to his knees, the shining light in the gem winking out as the power of his Battleizer began to overload him. There was a bright silver flash as he demorphed, his enhanced armor replaced by his normal human body. His stomach lurched, his vision blurred. It took all he had not to pass out.

"Not much for stamina, are you?" Blaster began striding forward, his shredded wings folding up out of his way beneath their protective carapace.

Deacon struggled to get his eyes to focus. He pulled himself to his feet, a small, black, bug-like device appearing in his hand.

Hoping silently that Lolli was really as smart as she thought she was, he raised the device over his head.

"**Shadowborg!" **

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Striker strode up to the fallen White and Pink Rangers, wondering which to finish off first. She set the prongs of her Blaster spinning, the shifted her aim indecisively from one prone human form to the other.

"Eenie, meanie, minie…Oof!"

There was a solid, painful-sounding THUMP as the Red Striker found herself being struck by, of all things, the Green Hunter Beetleborg. Such was the force of the impact that both Beetleborg's armors were cracked and splintered by the collision.

Green fell to the dust, out cold, then vanished in a crackle of green lightning as his auto-recall system transported him to the Beetle Battle Base.

Red staggered for a moment, dazed. What had…?

She didn't have to puzzle it out for long. The Bronze Ranger quickly appeared, flying to stand before her. He wasted no words, instead blasting her with a bolt of white light from his sword. Striker's helmet splintered, fragments of red plastic-metal falling to the ground, revealing a head of long, bubblegum-pink hair. Before she could regain her bearings, a gauntleted fist struck her across the jaw, knocking away the last of her senses. No sooner had she fallen than her body vanished, just as Green's had.

Myk ran over to the unconscious White Ranger.

"Stephen! Wake up!"

Stephen didn't stir.

"Dammit!" Myk said, flying back to Fox's side. He had no idea what to do. The only Ranger with any medical training at all was Fox herself, and with Stephen out cold and Jareth who-knew-where, there was little hope of healing her magically.

And standing there, in his dazzling, superhero-style armor, shining white sword in hand, the Bronze Ranger realized that he had never felt so helpless.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Okay," Kalen said. "Now what?"

"Good question," Jareth replied.

Between them and the massive gates that were the exit to Zedd's palace was the largest flock of Tengas and Stingwingers that any of them had ever seen.

"We can't fight, not with Lolli out cold. There are too many of them for us to think we can protect her," Angel observed.

"I could heal her now," Jareth offered.

_Lolli's not the only one here not wearing magical armor, _Zoey said. _I'd like to get out of here alive too, please._

"I have an idea," Angel said. "Take her."

The Gray Ranger handed Lolli off to Tommy. Angel hadn't had any problems carrying her; he could have done so without the aid of Ranger strength. But Tommy was no slouch in the strength department, either, especially morphed.

Angel stepped forward towards the throng of warriors, but he made no move to summon his weapon.

Tommy waited anxiously, wondering what kind of horribly fierce animal the Gray Ranger could become that would be able to get them past the army without any actual fighting. What could take down that many warriors before they could have a chance to fight back? Some sort of feral cat? A giant insect?

The Red Ranger blinked in surprised as the Gray Ranger melted into a small, fluffy, four-legged animal with a big bushy tail and a pale stripe down its back. It wasn't until it turned its back to the army and lifted its tail that Tommy realized what Angel had become.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What should I do?" Myk whispered to himself.

To his surprise, he received an answer.

_Try contacting your vessel. Surely the facilities there can help her, _Ikaika said, his voice ringing out within the Bronze Ranger's mind.

"Yes!" Myk breathed. He pressed his finger against the spot on his helmet where his right ear would have been, opening his comlink…but all he heard was a crackle of static.

Shrill laughter reached him. He glanced over to see the Blue Stinger Beetleborg looking in his direction, grappling with Troy. (Electra, he had somehow managed to tangle up in her own grappling tether, from which she was busily struggling to free herself.)

The Beetleborg tapped the antenna that grew from his forehead. "No phoning home for you, Ranger!"

Growling, Myk raised Dorn and fired off another penetrating blast, but Stinger saw it coming, turning so that the Blue Ranger was in the path of the attack instead of him.

Troy convulsed as white lightning coursed through him, the fell to the dust, demorphing.

Stinger's laugh rang out once more, seeming to echo in Myk's bones.

"You Rangers can't make a move without hurting someone, can you?" he taunted. "Now _you_ know how it feels." A small, bug-shaped box with antennae appeared in his hand, and raising it, he opened a shining rectangle of light in the air. Still cackling, the Blue Stinger Beetleborg stepped through, the portal closing behind him.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Intense energy flooded through Deacon's body, not quite the same as when he morphed or Battleized, but every bit as powerful. Black armor began to form, encasing him, the trim done in silver and a large, red gem in the center of his chest plate.

He stretched, feeling the power fill him, from his head to his fingertips to his toes. Bending down, he picked up a rock that had one strangely smooth surface, using it as a mirror.

He blinked. "A cockroach? You're kidding." He shook his head. "Still. Silver and black. I can live with this."

"Not for long, you can't."

Deacon looked up as Mega-White approached, Unicorn Drill in hand. He smirked.

"Time to see what this thing can do."

Throwing his hands out to the side, Deacon expanded his mind, feeling power form a circular border around the two of them. Space seemed to bend in on itself, or expand outward somehow…there didn't seem to be any proper way to explain it, and he wasn't even sure he was perceiving it properly. But the power Lolli had programmed into the Shadow Bonder knew where they were.

"Welcome to the fourth dimension," Deacon said.

White Blaster reeled, disoriented, not shielded from the dizzying effects of sudden exposure to a new level of spatial reality. Shaking his head in an almost successful attempt to clear it, he looked at the Silver Ranger, spotting him through a nearby boulder. Not bothering to wonder how he was seeing _through_ solid rock, he rushed forward, drill whirring…or he thought he did. His feet didn't seem to be touching the ground properly, and instead of running in a single direction, he wound up spinning in place along an axis that shouldn't have been there.

"Get over here!"

Something closed on his arm, yanking him in another direction, one that he actually understood. As Deacon reeled in the cable-claw that was attached to his right forearm, Blaster brought up his drill.

Deacon held his ground as the White Blaster approached him, not making any effort to dodge the blow. The spinning white drill struck the red gem that formed his chestplate…and splintered against it, shattering into numerous fragments of plastisteel that spun off in directions not perceivable by human eyes.

Deacon grabbed a large, twisted shard as it spun through the air, plunging it with his left hand into the Mega-White Beetleborg's chest while still holding him with the claw from his right. Tendrils of white electricity leaked from the wound, both the spot on the front where the shard entered and the matching one behind, where it exited his body. The Beetleborg's eyes flashed red briefly before he collapsed, vanishing in a blinding burst of white.

Space gradually shrank back into comprehension as Deacon shut down the 4-D injector that was built into his armor. **"Backblast!"** he called, the Shadowborg powers vanishing from his body, the cockroach-patterned suit crumbling into black ash that pixelized into nothingness as it faded from being.

"Whoo! That was fun," Deacon said, brushing himself off. He looked around, trying to spot any sign of the others, finally finding Electra and Myk standing a ways off, both looking at something on the ground.

"Hey guys!" he called, running over to them. "Did you see me? I was…"

The Silver Ranger trailed off when he saw what they were watching so intently.

"Fox?" he asked. "No…is she…how?"

"My sword," Myk said. "It…"

"YOU did this?!"

"No!" Myk took a step back. "It was the Green Hunter…he threw her, and she landed…"

Electra edged away from him as well. Her telepathy didn't work while she was morphed, but she didn't need it to feel the waves of anger and concern that were rolling off of the Silver Ranger.

Electra, Deacon, and Myk glanced up sharply as the great metal gates to the palace clanged open, and a small swarm of lesser minions flocked out, seemingly panicked. All of them seemed to be clutching at their faces, as though trying to remove something foul from within their noses.

As the minions scampered off across the surface of the moon, Tommy and the others emerged as well, albeit at a much less frantic pace.

"Jareth!" Deacon bellowed. "Get over here! _Now_!"

Jareth glanced at the others, shrugged, then approached the three standing Rangers at a trot, which rapidly became an all-out dash as he saw the condition of his friend.

Falling to his knees as he skidded to a halt, leaving furrows in the dust, Jareth placed his hands over Fox.

The other Rangers gathered around, as amber light began to shine from the Gold Ranger's hands.

For a moment, nothing happened, then, slowly, the wound began to close, going in an instant from hours-healed, to weeks-healed, to months-healed, finally becoming nothing more than a fresh pink scar.

Myk let out a breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding, but Deacon beat him to the question.

"Is she okay?"

"She's alive," Jareth replied, genuine concern evident in his voice for the first time anyone could remember. "She has to be, or that wouldn't have worked at all. But she's lost way too much blood, and I can't help with that. If we don't get her some help soon, I'm not sure how much longer she'll _stay_ alive. Why didn't you-"

"We can't contact the Oasis," Electra cut him off. "Blue Stinger set up a scrambling field. It's still in effect."

"So fly," Kalen suggested.

"What?" Myk asked.

Kalen pointed up into the sky, at the watery blue-green sphere that was Terra.

"There's the Oasis, holding orbit over North Atlantis. If you go now, you can tell Zord-1 to beam us all home and Fox into the medbay before we lose her."

Myk blinked, then turned towards Terra, taking a few steps back, he got a running start, then leapt, hurtling like a rocket towards the ship.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lolli groggily opened her eyes to see a vast, velvety blue-black sky, studded with thousands of glittering stars. She struggled to sit up, recognizing her location as the surface of the moon, despite the pounding throb in her head.

"Hey. We were wondering when you would come around."

The Green Ranger flinched as Tommy's words assailed her skull.

"Sorry," he said in a much softer voice. "Take it easy. That's a nasty bump."

"What happened?" she asked. 'Where's…"

Tommy shook his head.

"Michelle knocked you out with her chains. You fell, and the ring…" He trailed off.

Lolli's face was blank. For a moment, he wasn't sure she'd understood him…she had, after all, taken a solid blow to the skull. She just sat there, next to the other incapacitated Rangers who had been arranged into a neat row alongside Fox.

Finally, the blonde got to her feet, wobbling only slightly. She glanced at the Rangers on the ground, then at the larger group that stood nearby, chatting amongst themselves, then finally back at Tommy.

"Where's Myk?" she asked, ignoring the pain that throbbed through her skull with every word she spoke. "Is he inside?"

"No, he flew to the Oasis, to tell…"

Lolli didn't care to register the rest. She'd heard what she needed to know. No one who mattered was still inside the palace. She picked up her duffel bag, which had somehow managed to stay with her this entire time, and withdrew what appeared to be a small television remote.

"Cover your ears," she suggested loudly, so that everyone could hear, wincing at the way the words made her brain throb.

"Why?" someone asked. Lolli wasn't sure whom. Everything was starting to swim together.

For answer, she pointed the remote at the palace and pressed the button.

A massive fireball plumed into the sky, reaching as high as the atmospheric bubble would allow as the small remote triggered all of the explosives Lolli had planted at key places within. Black dust poured from every tower and window as walls began to collapse and stone to crumble, the entire edifice imploding in on itself.

The massive wave of intense heat washed over the Rangers, followed by a blast of concussive fore and an earsplitting BOOM that shook Tommy to his very bones. So intent was he on watching Zedd's castle fall that he almost didn't step forward in time to catch Lolli as the vibrations caused blinding pain to scream through her skull, forcing her into unconsciousness once more.

For a time after that all was still except for the occasional settling of the rubble.

Moments later, there was a crackle of energy and a dazzling array of light as the Rangers and Zoey were called home, thirteen bright bands of color streaking across the sky away from the moon.


	61. Aftermath

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 61: Aftermath

A steady beeping sound was the first thing that Fox heard as she slowly and painfully returned to consciousness.

Opening her eyes groggily, she stretched, fully aware of a dull, throbbing pain between her ribs.

"Hey. She's awake."

"Jareth?" the Camo Ranger asked. "What happened?"

"I saved your life," the Gold Ranger bragged nonchalantly, examining his nails.

"Hey," came another voice…one that she knew very well indeed. "Some of that blood is mine, you know."

Jareth rolled his eyes. "Okay, so Dea helped," he said defensively. "A little."

"Blood?" she asked.

"You needed a transfusion," Terina said from her seat in the corner. "The boys donated. Nikki, too."

"YOU went near a needle?" Fox asked incredulously, staring at Jareth.

"Well, no," he admitted. "I probably wouldn't have gone through with it, had there been needles involved."

"It was what Zord-1 called an 'immaculate transfusion'," Deacon said. "He just teleported the blood from our bodies to yours. No muss, no fuss."

Fox scratched her head, looking around. 'Nikki?" she asked, recalling her sister's name having been mentioned.

"She's at home. It's three in the morning on a school night," Terina replied.

"She didn't want to leave, but we teleported her to bed anyway," the Silver Ranger added.

Fox nodded.

"Ideally, we'd have used your own blood for the transfusion," Terina commented. "This medbay is equipped with the facilities to clone more. But there wasn't time," the Yellow Ranger explained. "Nothing like this has ever happened before, so there was none of your blood stored."

"I shall begin building up a supply of blood from each of the Rangers immediately," Zord-1 interrupted.

"Don't you need a sample for that?" Fox asked.

"Transporter," Terina reminded her. "He can zap a single hematocyte out of each Ranger and into its own cloning tank, and go from there. We'll have an adequate supply within a week."

Fox stretched, sitting up, feeling fine except for the ache where she'd been stabbed.

"Handy," she said.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey."

Lolli looked up from the recalibrating she was doing to Diskette's hover-unit to see Kalen standing in the magitech lab's doorway.

"Hey," she replied.

"We're the Monkees…," Diskette sang.

Both Rangers shot strange looks at her.

"What?" the droid asked innocently.

"You've been spending way too much time with Jareth," Lolli coolly informed her creation. "What brings you here?" she asked of the Purple Ranger.

"Actually, I came to ask how you were doing," Kalen replied, moving to stand in the corner.

Lolli raised an eyebrow. "Are you actually expressing concern?"

Kalen sighed. "Looking after the welfare of one's friends isn't altruism. It's enlightened self-interest."

"She's right," Diskette chimed in from the workbench. "It pays to take care of the people who'll haul your butt out of the fire if you need it."

"Exactly. So yes, I am expressing concern."

"I'm fine," Lolli said, turning back to the Diskette's open casing, her tool sparking as she adjusted a connection.

Kalen gave Lolli a disbelieving look.

"Okay, so I'm not fine," Lolli allowed. She sighed. "But I will be."

Kalen nodded. "Good." She smirked. "So, self-sacrifice, huh? You know, if you keep on doing things like that, I'll have to accuse you of going soft."

"Don't you dare," Lolli replied nonchalantly, smiling back.

"YOU gave up a life," Diskette pointed out.

"Yes, well," Kalen replied. "_I _could spare one."

"How many lives DO you have left, anyway?" Lolli asked.

"Never you mind," the Purple Ranger replied coyly.

"Umm…Lolli?"

Mara stood in the door, looking decidedly uncomfortable.

Lolli closed her eyes, drumming her fingers on the countertop. "Yes?" she asked, with exaggerated patience.

"I…um…I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. About Michelle. I mean, even though she was…umm…she didn't deserve-"

"I'm going to stop you there," Lolli said, standing.

"What?"

Lolli glared at the Pink Ranger, taking a few steps closer. Mara took a nervous step back.

"First of all, get over yourself. I don't find you at all attractive. I'd be surprised if anyone does. Second, I am NOT 'gay'. Nor am I 'straight' or 'bi'. You can keep your labels. I dated Michelle because I liked Michelle. Period. Her being a girl had nothing whatsoever to do with it. And finally, stop pretending you care. You don't give a flying rat's ass that Michelle's dead. You just feel guilty that you don't care, and you think trying to console me will make you feel better. Not only do I not want to participate in your transparent little guilt trip, but you're insulting her memory AND my intelligence, neither of which I care for. So save it. Good night, Kalen."

"Night," Kalen replied, waving as Lolli left the room.

Mara blinked, her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish's for about half a minute after the Green Ranger left. Kalen moved to stand next to her, her expression neutral, arms crossed.

"Can you believe her?" she demanded finally. "I can't believe she would-Ow!"

Mara started hopping on one foot as Kalen kicked her in the shin. The Purple Ranger allowed a smile to appear at the corners of her mouth as she left the room, whistling.

Mara fumed for a moment, waiting for the throbbing pain to subside, then limped off, muttering. After a few moments, the lights in the room winked out when the sensors in the walls could no longer detect any movement.

"Umm….guys?" Diskette asked, still in pieces on the workbench. "Guys!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jareth snorted as Fox and Deacon left the medbay, the doors opening and closing automatically after them.

"Going to go 'Talk'. Like they'll be doing a lot of talking." His turned to Terina. "Hey. What's wrong?"

"I just wish I could have done something to help her, that's all."

"Come on. Even if you were still…" he broke off. "Well. You couldn't have donated anyway. Eltarian blood would have probably made her sick."

"Yeah. I know. Still…"

The Gold Ranger shook his head. "I can't believe you're upset that you got to keep all your blood."

Terina smirked.

"Come on, let's go get food. I like food."

Terina nodded as Jareth stood from his chair.

"Food is good," she agreed.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I can't believe it. I nearly killed her."

_The fault was not yours,_ Ikaika's voice said in Myk's head, as the Bronze Ranger paced anxiously back and forth across his room. _Or mine, for that matter. Green Hunter was responsible._

"If I hadn't been standing there…if I hadn't been holding Dorn…"

_If you hadn't been wielding Dorn,you all may have been killed. It was Dorn's power that defeated Green Hunter._

Myk paused, biting his lip. "When the blade went through her, I felt….it was like the sword was HAPPY to be slicing through her."

There was a pause before Ikaika replied. _Dorn is a sword. It is fulfilling its purpose when it is dealing death and injury. It is also an instrument of purity, and is therefore fulfilling its purpose when striking at the impure. _

"Fox isn't evil," Myk said adamantly. "She's always treated me better than any of the others. She didn't deserve-"

_I did not say evil, _Ikaika broke in. _I said impure. _

"So she won't be wearing white to any weddings, big deal," Myk argued.

_ The fault was not yours, _Ikaika repeated. _And the girl lived. Guilt is not a productive emotion. It should be used to learn a lesson, then discarded._

Myk sighed.

_Why don't you try and get some rest? _The spirit urged gently. _It has been a trying day. For everyone._

Myk sighed. If nothing else, Ikaika was right about that. Maybe he would feel better after he got some sleep.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Umm…listen. We need to talk. I know this is kind of out of the blue, but…there's something I've been meaning to say to you for a while. I could just never get up the nerve, but now this whole Michelle thing has got me thinking, you know? Like, about how we have sort of a dangerous hobby, and there's really no telling whether any of us will even live to see tomorrow, so there's really no point putting these things off…Anyway. What I'm trying to say is…I like you, Jareth. In a more than friends way." She paused, taking a breath. "Dammit." She leaned back, slamming her head against the wall. "Could I be any _less_ eloquent? Eep!"

She jumped as the doors to the medbay opened, and Jareth himself walked out, Terina keeping pace next to him.

"Lecca?" he asked. "Hey. Who you talking to?"

"Me? No one," Electra said, a little too fast. "Just the voices in my head."

"Oh. Okay. Tell them I said hi."

"We're gonna grab some food, then go down to the Lounge and see what's on TV," Terina said. "Wanna come?"

"Um…no thanks…I gotta go. Later!"

"Huh. That was kinda weird," Terina said, as the Black Ranger turned and ran off down the hall. "Even for her."

"Was it?" Jareth shrugged. "I guess I wouldn't know weird if I saw it. Come on. Food awaits."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"And this has never happened before?" Tommy asked.

Troy shook his head. "Nope. Injuries have never followed us between forms before."

"It could be an effect of your ever-adapting union with the Power," Zord-1 suggested.

"What do you mean?" Stephen asked.

"It has been noted that the longer one is in possession of the Power, the more the Power changes him, presumably enabling him to handle more of the Power at a time. Some changes are immediate, such as the cessation of the aging process, while others become evident as time passes."

"Like our new ability to automorph," Tommy chimed in.

"Correct."

"But…having injuries follow us from one form to the next seems a bit counterproductive," Troy said.

"Indeed it does. However, as no one has ever held the Power for as long as this group, there is no indication that every change brought about by said Power would be for the better. It is fully possible that as you become one with the power of the Grid, your human forms and Ranger forms will become as one."

"You mean, we'd be Rangers full-time," Tommy surmised.

"Correct."

There was a pause.

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that idea," Troy said.

"Maybe it was just the sword," Stephen said. "I know that thing is strong. I've seen him use it to cut holes in force-fields before."

"If it can cause permanent injury to a Ranger, then it's way too dangerous to let Myk keep flailing it around like that," Tommy said. "I'm going to offer to give him fencing lessons."

"An excellent idea," Zord-1 said. "Indeed, Myk has already asked Deacon to do so, but their first and only session was interrupted."

"Well, it's time to pick it up again," Tommy said. "Before he actually does get someone killed."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The dust was thick in the magically created atmosphere that encompassed the ruin of Zedd's palace, but none of the entities gathered around the cracked crystalline tube paid it any mind.

Ornyk rested against his sword, the blade firmly planted in the rubble to his feet. A few feet away, Price Gasket stood, waiting with the sort of patience only a machine can muster. Deca floated serenely in the dusty air, her optical sensors focused with cold intensity as she hovered over the shoulder of a cloaked, mysterious figure, his features inscrutable beneath the shadows of his hood. Nearby, Panika sat cross-legged on a particularly large rock, grinning like the lunatic that she was, eyes widening with glee as the cracks in the tube widened.

Red light began to shine through the fissures, the entire crystal surface becoming suffused with a crimson glow. Finally, with a sound not unlike that of glass shattering, the cracks spread in a flash across the entire tube, reducing it to a fine powder. The red crystal dust swirled, forming a whirlwind that quickly dissipated, revealing a figure standing at its center.

His body was devoid of skin, seemingly composed entirely of exposed muscle, a silver exoskeleton his only apparent covering. His head was an exposed brain, his face a slotted mask of metal. His angular red eyes shone from within, an angry crimson light. From the crown of his head a long spine of metal emerged, ending in a stylized Z.

The being took a few steps forward, then stretched, yawning mightily as though he'd been asleep for ages. Opening his clawed hand, he curled his fingers around the handle of a long, metal staff that appeared with a crackle of red lightning, the top of the weapon the same Z-insignia as his crown.

"Welcome, Lord Zedd," Ornyk said, a smile on his face.

"How do you feel? Was it a pleasant trip?" Panika asked.

Zedd stuck his staff into the floor, standing it on end. His hands free, he cracked his knuckles, rubbing his palms together.

Crimson light began to suffuse the dust, the entire area taking on a scarlet glow. The rubble began to move of its own accord, reassembling itself into larger stones, which proceeded to re-form themselves into the bricks that had once formed the walls of the destroyed palace.

"It's good to be home," Zedd declared, as his castle rose from the ruins.


	62. Poaching

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 62: Poaching

"No, no, no. You movements are still too rough."

"Yeah, try to be more fluid with it," Deacon suggested.

Myk sighed, tightening his grip on the practice sword. "I'm still not getting the hang of this."

"Actually, you're a lot better than you were when we started," Tommy said.

"Yeah. You hardly ever hit yourself with it anymore," the Silver Ranger quipped.

Myk glared at him.

"Seriously, you're getting better. In fact, I think we're through for the day."

"Good. There's only so much of this I can take." Myk casually tossed his practice sword over his shoulder. Being nothing more than a projection of holograms and force fields, it vanished long before it hit the ground. He turned and walked off.

"So. Show's over then?"

Tommy turned to frown at Stephen, who was sitting on one of the benches that surrounded the sandy pit of the Arena. The White Ranger had been causally mocking the Bronze Ranger throughout the entire lesson, effectively making a nuisance of himself.

"Okay, that does it," Deacon said. He tossed the practice sword he held to Stephen. Seemingly independent of the rest of him, the White Ranger's arm shot out and caught it.

Stephen blinked at the sword, as if wondering what strange force had possessed his hand.

"Just like before," Deacon observed. He held his hand out to Tommy, who, shrugging, handed him the remaining sword. "Have at thee!"

"Me?" the White Ranger asked.

"You. Come on."

"I don't need fencing lessons! My morph comes with a sword."

"You have been mocking our student this whole time. I'd like to see if you can do any better," Tommy said.

"And I think you're possessed by the ghost of Zorro, and I'd like to challenge him," Deacon said, grinning. "So come on."

Stephen nervously got to his feet, moving to stand opposite Deacon in the middle of the circle of sand. Tommy sat down on the bench, watching with interest.

Deacon had been swordfighting for years, and Stephen had, so he claimed, never touched a sword in his life outside of a morph. One would have expected Deacon to have Stephen disarmed, defeated, and possibly disemboweled within the first few seconds…but that wasn't what happened. The match went on for a good two minutes, neither side able to find an advantage until Deacon finally manage to get under Stephen's guard with a sneaky little parry-turned-feint-turned-thrust. Stephen's sword fell to the sand, sticking blade-first into the dirt.

Both combatants stared wide-eyed at each other, breathing hard. Stephen seemed as astonished as anyone.

"Wow," Tommy said. "I haven't seen fencing like that since….I've never seen fencing like that. You've really never done this before?"

"Never," Stephen declared.

"Then you're a natural," Tommy said.

"Or a supernatural," Deacon said.

"Hmm." Tommy glanced at Stephen, wondering how to tell the difference between natural talents and ones that resulted from the magic that suffused Terra.

Stephen shook his head. "I gotta go," he said, hurrying off.

"I think we freaked him out," Deacon said.

"Good," Tommy said, grinning. "Maybe he'll skip the next lesson."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"He's been like that for a while."

"Should we try to shake him out of it?"

"I'm not about to touch him. You touch him."

"I'm not gonna touch him."

"Where can we find a stick?"

Angel peered up over the book he was reading, smirking in amusement. "Perhaps you should just leave him," he suggested.

Fox and Terina glanced at Angel, then each other, then back to Jareth, who was sitting cross-legged, evidently meditating….suspended three feet in the air above the ground.

"But he's floating. That can't be healthy. People don't float," Terina said.

"Maybe he's not? Maybe he's just standing on his tail."

"Is his tail strong enough for that?"

"Even if it is, look at it. It's just coiled up on the ground. If it were supporting him, there'd be tension or something."

"Is there tension in the tail?"

"I don't know. How could we tell?"

"Touch it."

"I am not touching Jareth's tail. You touch it."

Terina sighed. She bent down to touch the velvet-furred tail, but it twisted away from her, lifting up into the air.

"Satisfied?" Jareth asked, opening one eye.

"How are you floating?" Fox asked.

"Magic," the Gold Ranger said. "How else?"

"Since when do you know how to do this?"

"It's taken me this long to figure it out. I'm still not very good at it. And having people talk to me while I'm practicing doesn't help."

"Sorry," Terina said.

"I guess…we'll let you get back to your…floating," Fox added.

"Thank you. And Angel? Next time I care to try a new magic trick, remind me to do it in my room, with the door closed, and not in the lounge, where people walk through threatening me with sticks."

"Will do," Angel replied.

"What are you reading?" Terina asked.

"_The Rise and Fall of Animaria_," Angel replied.

"What's it about?" Fox asked.

Angel cocked an eyebrow at her. He waited a moment, then replied slowly, "The Rise and Fall of Animaria."

"Okay, stupid question," Fox admitted. "So what's Animaria?"

"An ancient civilization," Jareth said, not opening his eyes. "It supposedly collapsed ten thousand years ago. They say that as the civilization breathed its last, they managed to lift an entire island into the sky, so as to preserve the heart of Animaria. Poetic, no?"

"I thought you weren't talking?" Fox challenged.

Jareth didn't reply.

"That's better."

"Where did you get that book, anyway?" Terina asked.

"It's one of the ones from Jareth's collection," the Gray Ranger answered. He raised an eyebrow. "Though I do wonder how a book about an ancient Terran civilization managed to find its way to Epsilonia."

"Wondered that myself," Jareth said.

"Talking!" Fox accused.

Jareth smirked, but the smirk vanished as he began to wobble and had to focus to avoid falling.

"See what happens when you cheat?" Terina demanded, grinning.

"You girls are mean."

The doors slid open with a mechanical woosh, and Myk walked in just as Jareth, startled by the sound, collapsed to the floor.

"Ow."

"You okay?" Fox asked.

"I landed on my tail wrong," the Gold Ranger pouted.

"Not even going to think about that…," the Camo Ranger muttered.

Terina squinted at the Bronze Ranger. He was walking like a zombie, seeming barely aware of his surroundings.

"Myk? Are _you_ okay?"

Myk blinked, seeming confused by the question. Finally, he answered.

"I think I was just abducted by aliens."

The others exchanged mystified glances. One by one, everyone's gaze settled on Terina.

"Hey, it wasn't me," Terina said defensively. "I don't want him."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You seem fine to me," Lolli said, running a scanner over the Bronze Ranger. "No harvested organs, no alien implants…Hmm."

"What?" Myk asked. "What is it?"

"No alien implants."

"So? That's good, right?"

"Actually, no. Your comchip is missing."

"Missing?"

"It means it's not there," Lolli explained, bending his right ear forward to examine his scalp where the chip had been.

"I _know_ what it means. Where is it?" Myk asked.

"Well, if I knew, it wouldn't be missing. But it's not in your head where it belongs. Where were you when you were supposedly abducted?"

"Umm…there's this place I go to think. It's a cliff, overlooking the land where my Tribe used to live. I was there, thinking…and then there was this light up in the sky…"

"Like catching frogs with a flashlight," Lolli remarked. "The obvious question at this point is, how did you get back to the ship without a comchip?"

"I don't remember getting back…"

"Hm. Well, we can install a new one. That's not a problem. Going to have to adjust the shields to keep out the old one's signature, though…"

Myk tensed, remembering how much it had stung getting the first one installed.

The doors to the medbay slid open.

"Hey," Fox said, entering. "What's the word?"

Lolli handed her a datapad, not taking her eyes off the gadget she was fiddling with. "See for yourself."

"We have some news," Fox stated as she perused the info. "Myk's not the only one. There have been news reports all over the world of people just vanishing. Only a few have turned up, all claiming alien abduction. Hundreds of people are still missing."

"Oh, goody. We get to save the world. Again."

"Ow!" Myk yelled as Lolli pressed her device against his head behind his ear.

"Don't be such a baby. There. New comchip, installed, calibrated and fully functional."

"Why couldn't Zord-1 have just teleported it into my head, like before?"

"That would have led to complications, because of the way the old one was forcibly extracted," Fox said.

"They're meant to be permanent installations," Lolli confirmed. She handed him a couple pills and a glass of water.

"What are these?" Myk asked dubiously. "Some sort of freaky Eltarian medicine that'll keep the scar tissue from building up in my brain?"

"No," the Green Ranger replied. "Asprin."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The conference room was a recent addition to the ship, one the sentient computer had added himself. It consisted of a large, round table made of what appeared at first glance to be jet-black marble, but upon closer inspection, a myriad of multicolored sparks seemed to flit to and fro psuedoinches beneath the surface. Fifteen chairs circled the table, each color-coded to match the Ranger for whom it was intended. In the center of the circular table was a pulsating globe, much like a plasma ball, set into the tabletop so that only half of it rose above the flat surface.

Diskette hovered a few feet above one of the chairs on her microrepulsorjets, her black, disk-shaped body shining in the fluorescent lighting. She rotated in midair, her optical lenses taking in the expressions on the Ranger's faces. It had never ceased to amaze her how different they were. Oh, they all looked alike at first glance; two arms, two legs, one head apiece. But once you got to know them, you learned to pick out the differences, and then you wondered how you'd ever gotten them mixed up. The striking blue of Electra's hair, offset by her black clothes, fishnet sleeves, and sparkling silver jewelry. The amused but detached expression on Angel's face. The furtive looks that Fox and Deacon would shoot at each other, only to glance away at something else whenever they caught the other looking back. Troy's look of sharp, strategic concentration, contrasting sharply with Kalen's look of pure, unbridled boredom.

Not people you'd expect to be sharing the same town, let alone the same table. But here they were, in their official capacity as Power Rangers, ready to discuss Myk's news about the aliens who had kidnapped him and, supposedly, several others.

"It has been noted that Terra is a planet highly saturated with Magic," Zord-1 said to the assembled body of Rangers. "It seems likely that, just as dragons are valued for the magical properties of their bodies, so, too, would be humans."

"So you're saying that these aliens are hunting humans?" Stephen asked. "But what about the ones that get sent back?"

"It is likely that they were found to be deficient. Either through physical imperfections, or through a lack of magic."

Deacon snickered, then pointed at Myk. "You're a reject," he said, smirking.

"That's a good thing, Deacon," Zord-1 replied.

Zoey nodded emphatically, her tail wrapped around her fuchsia chair and her foreclaws slightly scratching the otherwise unmarred tabletop. _True_, she thought aloud, her telepathic words echoing within the minds of everyone present. _I know for a fact what happens to magic-rich creatures._

"You mean....the vivisection?" Mara asked, looking as though she was going to be sick. "These aliens are doing that....to people?"

_Are you saying dragons aren't people?_ Zoey began, sounding perturbed.

"A debate for another time, Zoeyealykthetes," Zord-1 intoned.

"Yeah, we need to work out what to do about these poachers," Tommy said. "What are our options?"

"We can hunt down these poachers and blow them up?" Fox suggested.

"Another option would be to file a report with the Blue Senturions. We would be well within our legal rights as a sentient race to do so," Lolli said, elbows on the table and her chin in her hands. "Not that I'm in favor of bringing the law into this, mind you. Just listing options."

"The Blue who now?" Fox asked.

Diskette, the small, hovering droid, piped up in her clear, feminine voice. "The Blue Senturions are a race...well, they're not really a race....more of a fleet, of mechanical constructs. They're designed for intergalactic law enforcement."

As she spoke, Diskette projected a miniature holographic image of a Blue Senturian onto the tabletop. He looked like a mechanized enforcer, complete with motorcycle helmet and traffic lights emblazoned across his chest.

The small black laptop that sat open on the table spoke next. "The problem we run into with the Blue Senturions," it said. "Is that Terra isn't the only planet where Power Rangers have a bad reputation."

"Pilot is correct," Zord-1 said. "Since Medelon first created the Power Coins, there have been many 'knock off' Power Ranger teams on many planets, such as the group you encountered on KO-35. Approximately three centuries ago, because Zord battles and other Ranger-related activities cause many unfortunate deaths and a great deal of property damage, the Galactic Council declared being a Power Ranger a felony. The sentence is death."

Many glances were exchanged across the conference table.

"Perhaps we had best deal with these poachers ourselves," Kalen suggested coolly.

No one disagreed.

"Then," she continued, "There's always the possibility that there are no poachers, and that Myk just dreamed he was abducted by aliens and anally violated."

"Yeah, what's up with all the anal probing, anyway?" Jareth asked. "Do aliens really come from thousands of millions of light years away just to stick stuff up--"

"I have scanned Myk's biomolecular structure," Zord-1 interrupted. "My readings indicate that he has, indeed, been transported using teleportation technology quite different from the Oasis'. There is also the matter of his missing comchip. It is therefore most likely that his story is accurate."

Kalen sighed theatrically.

"And the reason for the anal probing, Jareth, is that the least obtrusive method of accessing the spinal column...and therefore, the nervous system...is via the rectum."

"Oh," Jareth said, eyebrows raised. "Thank you."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Myk," Zord-1 said calmly as the Rangers filed out of the conference room, "Might I have a word with you for a moment?"

Myk said nothing, but waited patiently as the last of his allies passed through the door, which then slid shut to allow the Bronze Ranger and the computer sufficient privacy.

"What is it?" Myk asked.

"I routinely scan all life forms aboard the ship, and you are the picture of physical health," the pulsating orb said. "And as a Ranger, you have levels of magic far beyond the strongest natural magic that has developed in most humans. Therefore, the only reason I can conjecture for your release by these mysterious poachers was that something was shielding you, preventing them from properly reading your magic levels."

Myk blinked.

"I must ask you, Bronze Ranger," the computer continued. "Whether you know anything of the agency responsible for protecting you from the aliens."

"No," Myk said instantly. "And frankly, I don't really care. Whatever it was seems to have saved my life, so I'm not about to question it."

The computer took a nanosecond to process this. "Does it occur to you that this unknown benefactor may appear at a later point in time and demand a favor in exchange for having saved you? One that you might not normally be willing to grant? Some entities are not above such acts, and to manipulate a Power Ranger by means of his own morals is not unheard of. Were it Kalen or Jareth I would not be concerned, but you--"

"I actually show gratitude when it's due?" Myk asked a bit defensively.

"I wish only to caution you, Bronze Ranger. Be wary of anyone who may claim credit for this, especially if they should ask something of you. Those who would manipulate others for their own benefit often know what to ask for and when, and the smallest act can have unforeseen consequences."

With that, the doors behind Myk opened of their own accord, a clear sign that this conversation was over.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Found 'em," Lolli said victoriously, typing away at her console.

"And?" Tommy asked.

"See for yourself," the Green Ranger said, as the screen at the front of the Bridge lit up, displaying the specs of the alien ship that the Oasis' sensors had detected in orbit around the planet.

"That looks a lot like Aviarus' ship did. Just bigger," Tommy noted.

"It's a Sirenian Gatherer. Aviarus' ship was a trading vessel, this is the equivalent to a whaling ship."

"Doesn't make sense," Fox said. "Sirenians consider everyone and everything slaves. Why would they be throwing people back?"

"There's only room in that thing for so many humans," Lolli replied. "I'd say they already have a buyer lined up, one who's only interested in the magically gifted specimens."

"The Sirenians have found Terra," Deacon stated. "Well. This sucks."

"All in favor of blowing them up?" Fox asked, raising her own hand.

Deacon's and Lolli's hands joined hers, but Tommy's stayed where it was.

"We should give them an ultimatum first," he said.

"And forego the element of surprise?" Lolli asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tommy shot her a condescending look. "It's the right thing to do."

"Of course it is," she said in a resigned voice. She clicked a few keys, and a haunting melody began to play over the ship's speakers.

"Sirenian's song," Deacon remembered. "But…why-"

"I am filtering out the specific sonic frequencies that would adversely affect your minds, Rangers," Zord-1 said.

"This is what they're piping out over every frequency," Lolli said. "They don't care who tries to call. Everyone's a slave-in-waiting to them. Still don't think we should blow them up?"

Tommy sighed. "Does this ship even have the firepower to blow them up?"

"In theory, yes," Zord-1 replied. "The Oasis was designed for a certain amount of combat, while the Gatherer was constructed simply to transport cargo. However, it would be unwise to jeopardize our base of operations in a dogfight. There is also the matter of the humans who have been abducted from Terra who are likely still aboard."

"Oops," Deacon said. "Forgot about those."

"Yeah, me too," Fox admitted. "I guess a rescue mission is in order."

"I see three things we need to take care of," Tommy said. "First, we need to stop the Sirenians from taking any more people from Terra. Second, we need to rescue the ones they've already taken. And third-"

"We blow them up?" Deacon asked.

Tommy sighed. "Yeah. We blow them up."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"It was you, wasn't it?" Myk asked the empty room.

_Of course, _Ikaika replied inside his mind.

"You shielded me….kept them from seeing my power?"

_Yes. I regret that I could not keep them from doing more._

"You did what you could. Thanks. But…how did I get back to the ship?"

_I do not know. _

"Can you believe Zord-1? Thinking you would try to…manipulate me?"

_An artificial brain cannot be expected to do other than think too much. But it is only trying to serve its purpose, to protect you. Bear it no ill will. After all, it does not know my nature as you do. In any case, you owe me nothing. It is I who owe you, for it was you who rescued me from Scepter's Throne._

Myk nodded. "Well. Let's go join the others."

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

A dazzling lightshow illuminated the interior of the hollow mountain that housed Station, as five Rangers materialized inside the main control room.

"Everybody remember the plan?" Tommy asked.

"Yup," Terina replied, striding over to the control panel and tapping a few keys.

Several square hatches that looked suspiciously like pizza ovens swung open.

Terina walked over to the one marked with a yellow 4, grabbed the horizontal bar over the opening, and swung herself in. A drawn-out "Wheeee!" echoed up from the shaft.

Troy shook his head, then walked over to the shaft marked with the blue 3, also diving in feet-first.

Electra, Tommy and Mara exchanged glances, then also moved to their respective shafts and leapt in.

Red lights shot by as Tommy shot down the rectangular shaft, certain that something was propelling him far faster that gravity normally would. Or perhaps that was just an illusion, suggested by the lights? No matter, it didn't last long before he found himself plopped down into the pilot's seat of Mega V-1.

"Deploying Mega V-shuttles," Zord-1's voice declared.

A conveyor belt beneath the large red humanoid began to transport the robotic 'shuttle' forward at surprising speeds, and Tommy found himself rushing headfirst towards a wall of solid rock.

Having a very good idea what was to come next, Tommy didn't scream or flinch. Instead, he grasped the controls, powering up the thrusters on the zord's back as the rocky wall slid aside, and Mega V-1 was launched out of the side of the mountain.

Three more Mega-V shuttles launched from three other sides, and Mega V-3, the large, blue, rocket-shaped shuttle, deployed through a skylight that had been created when the entire top of the mountain swiveled aside.

The five shuttles careened through the sky, Tommy adjusting Mega V-1's course to intersect with that of Mega V-3. Mega V-1's thrusters couldn't carry it very far, forcing it to ride on one of the other Mega Vs for long-range travel.

Terina ran the scanners that came equipped with her shuttle.

"Got one," she declared. "Actually, got a fleet."

Sirenian teleportation technology did not rival Eltarian. The Gatherer itself was not capable of teleporting living creatures from as far as the planet's surface. Instead, it was forced to send fleets of small, automated shuttles down into the atmosphere to harvest the life forms living on the planet.

As the Rangers drew nearer, the shuttles became visible, resembling squat, flat, black airplanes with segmented wings that flapped like those of real birds.

"Electra? Your cargo arrive yet?" Mara asked.

"Not yet," the blue-haired Ranger replied.

There was a sudden flash of green illuminating her cockpit.

"Scratch that," the Black Ranger said calmly. "She's here." She turned to look behind her. "Got 'em?"

"Got 'em," Fox confirmed, holding up a familiar green duffel bag. "Let's do this."

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So what's our part?" Deacon asked.

"I stand here with my finger over this little button, waiting for the signal," Lolli replied.

"And the rest of us?" Angel inquired.

Lolli grinned, calling up a display of the inside of Station's hangar bay.

"You rebuilt them?" Deacon asked.

"Yup. And with a few new features. Jareth, Deacon, and Myk, you take one. Angel, Stephen, and Kalen, you take the other."

"Why do we get stuck with Stephen?" Kalen demanded.

"Because we get stuck with Myk," Jareth replied.

There was a pause.

"Yeah, okay," Kalen allowed. "That's fair."

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Ready?" Electra asked.

"Ready," Fox confirmed.

Electra popped Mega V-2's hatch. Ignoring the fierce winds that tried to suck her out of the small ship, she leaned out, aiming her arm at the nearest Sirenian shuttle.

"Closer!" she said. The rushing wind tore the word from the air, but not before her helmet picked it up and transmitted it directly to Fox's ears.

Fox nodded, giving the controls a nudge.

As soon as the ships were near enough, Electra launched her grappling hook, the metal claw firmly anchoring itself to the supply shuttle's wing. Electra tested the tether, making sure it was secure.

"All set!"

Fox locked the controls on autopilot and joined Electra by the hatch, clinging to the Black Ranger.

After making sure the Camo Ranger's grip was sufficient, Electra dived out of the hatch, the pair of Rangers being dragged through the air behind the shuttle, the landscape passing miles beneath them. Mega V-2 veered off, setting a course that would return it to Station.

The Black Ranger began reeling in her cable, reducing the distance between them and the ship, which seemed blissfully unaware of their presence. In a few moments the Rangers were clinging to the ship itself.

Fox growled as she tried to get a handhold on the smooth surface. Electra's ninja-like powers enabled her to cling to flat surfaces in order to scale walls and such, but Fox has no such ability. Sighing, she finally decided that it would be much simpler to just cling to Electra.

"Hey. Watch the hands."

"Don't get any ideas," Fox retorted. "I just don't feel like dying today."

"You sure?" Electra teased. "Because Mara's right, you DO wear a lot of camo…"

Fox sighed, opening her comlink.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Okay Tommy," Fox's voice declared. "You're on."

"Got it. Okay guys, open fire."

Laser fire (and missiles) erupted from the weapons systems of the four Mega-V shuttles, inundating the fleet of small shuttles.

The shuttles immediately scattered, flying in random patterns in an effort to evade the attack.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Woah!" Fox cried, as the shuttle to which she and Electra clung began to dive and dart, nearly dislodging them both. The flexible wings flapped erratically, making it even more difficult to hang on.

An explosion shattered the air nearby as one of the shuttles was struck. A blistering wave of heat rolled by, and several long shards of metal whizzed past the two Rangers.

"Woah! They hit one? They're not supposed to actually hit them!" Electra yelled. "They might hit us!"

"I guess they have to hit a few or it won't seem realistic enough," Fox guessed. Still, she opened her comlink again. "Hey! Try aiming, guys!"

"Tell them that if they kill us, I'll never speak to them again," the Black Ranger said.

"Electra says-"

"We heard," Tommy said. "And I believe her. We'll try to watch our aim."

Suddenly, the ship angled upwards, heading for the outer reaches of Terra's atmosphere.

"Hey! I think it's working. They're retreating back to the Gatherer," Fox said.

"Okay, break it off, Tommy," Electra said. "Or, I dunno, hang around to finish off a few of the stragglers. Ours is pretty far up now."

"Roger," Tommy replied.

"That's 'Electra'," the Black Ranger corrected, as the ship to which she clung rocketed up, exiting the planet's gravity well entirely.

The Rangers shuddered as they watched the planet drop away beneath them, grateful that their armor protected them from the cold and vacuum of space.

"Okay. Time to fade," Fox said. She blended, her armor assuming the exact same color and texture as the ship. Electra vanished from sight entirely, visible only as a slight ripple, and then only when she moved.

Thus concealed, the Rangers waited in silence as the shuttle approached the Sirenian Gatherer, carrying them right in through the proverbial front door.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The screen at the front of the room split, one half still monitoring the Gatherer, the other displaying another area of space altogether.

"Umm…Lolli?" Myk asked. "What are you doing?"

"Checking something. You see, Sirenians have a reputation. They generally aren't allowed outside their own sectors of space. It seems suspicious-"

"That no one's shown up to investigate what a Sirenian Gatherer is doing this far from home," Jareth finished.

"Right. And….Yes. I was right."

The monitor zoomed in on what looked like a blue shooting star, headed straight for Terra.

"Is that what I think it is?" Kalen asked warily.

"Yep," Lolli answered. "It looks like we'll have to deal with the Blue Senturions after all."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Electra dropped off the wing of the ship to the ground below, followed loosely by Electra. The two dusted themselves off as more and more of the small shuttles winged their way into the hangar. Evidently, the Sirenians were recalling every fleet of shuttles they had in the face of the unexpected resistance.

"Okay. We're in. Now, we need to find where the captives are being held."

"They might not be being held at all," Electra said. "Hear that?"

Fox nodded. The harmonious strains of Sirenian's song were clear even above the sounds of shuttles landing.

"So they're probably mesmerized, no chains or bars required."

"Right." Fox went fully visible again, pulling a TurboNav out of the duffel she carried. She flipped it open.

"Blend! Blend!" Electra whispered harshly.

Fox quickly camouflaged herself again and froze as a Sirenian walked past, a compupad in his hand, cataloguing the shuttles. He looked a great deal like Aviarus had: Humanoid, tall, fine-featured, and with a fringe of feathers behind each ear.

"Why are we hiding? We could take him. I could take him with one finger."

"We don't know how many there are," Electra said. "And anyway, we should lay low until we get the humans out of here."

"Okay," Fox agreed. "The main holding bay is this way. Follow me."

"How? I can't see you."

"Oh…dammit." Fox groped blindly, trying to find Electra's hand. She found something else.

"Hey! What did I say about hands!"

"That wasn't what I was looking for!"

"Suuure it wasn't."

"Will you just give me your hand?" Fox demanded.

Electra went visible and held out her hand, fading out again as soon as Fox grabbed it.

"Okay…but if you drag me into a broom closet…"

"Quit it!"

"I mean, you could at least buy me dinner first…"

"I said stop!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Blue Object slowed as it approached the Gatherer, its bright blue aura fading to reveal a blue-and white car with red lights mounted on top. The car landed atop the massive Sirenian ship, its wheels leaving black trails across the gatherer's hull as it screeched to a halt.

The door opened and a figure stepped out. Closing the door behind it, it removed the rectangular device from the holster on its right leg and pointed it at the car.

The car beeped twice. Satisfied, the figure converted the device into a pistol-shaped configuration. Firing a pencil-thin beam of red light at the hull, it carved a neat, circular hole through the metal.

Stomping the metal disk down into the ship, the figure converted its gun back into a rectangle, holstered it, and leapt down into the gatherer's interior.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Wow."

"Very wow."

"I have never seen this many people in one place at one time before."

"I didn't even realize that there _were_ this many people."

Fox sighed, dropped the duffel bag from her shoulder and unzipped it. She went visible, both herself and the bag ceasing to blend against everything nearby. Being visible was safe enough here, as they were surrounded on all sides by the morass of zombied-out humans, and anyway she had to be able to see the bag's contents.

"So. Now what?" Electra asked, also going visible.

Fox handed the Black Ranger a small, thermos-shaped device, then stood, another in her own gloved hand.

"Hit the button, the thingy dispenses a little rubber bracelet. Put the bracelet on the peoples."

Electra tilted her head. "Why?"

"There's something in these things that will let the Oasis lock onto these people through the Gatherer's shields. Once they're all banded, we can beam them back home."

"Ah. Got it." She looked around at the hundreds, if not thousands of people surrounding them. "Do we have enough bracelets?"

"We should. Each of these things holds 2000, and I've got about six more in here," Fox said, patting the duffel bag. She frowned. "At least I thought I did….this thing seems lighter now. But there's plenty left."

"Alrighty then. Let's get banding."

The two Rangers began slipping bracelets onto the hapless captives.

"Umm. Fox?"

"Yeah."

"You've known Jareth a long time, right?"

"Since kindergarten, yeah. Why?"

"I was just wondering…"

"Wondering what?"

"Does he ever….you know, talk about…me?"

There was an expectant pause.

"About _what_?"

"Nothing," Electra said, sure she was turning red beneath her helmet. "Never mind."

Fox blinked, then abruptly straightened, turning to face Electra, who seemed very engrossed in her task.

"You like Jareth!"

"No, it's-"

"You _like_ Jareth!"

"I-"

"You like _Jareth_!"

"You-"

"_You_ like Jareth!"

"I hope you're finished. You're out of words to emphasize. Anyway, I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about you, Electra Evelyn Mabius, having a crush on our very own Gold Ranger."

"Is it too late for me to utterly deny _ever_ having alluded to that?" Electra asked weakly.

"Afraid so," Fox said smugly.

Electra suddenly wished she could become invisible, remembered that she actually could, and did.

Fox cackled maniacally.

"This is my payback for all they gay jokes, isn't it?"

"Oh, relax. I'm just teasing you. It's fine, really. Fade back in."

The Black Ranger reappeared. "You're not going to tell him, are you?"

"Not if you don't want me to."

"Please don't. I want to do it myself. As soon as I, you know, grow a spine."

"Not a problem."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I don't understand it," the captain of the Sirenian ship declared, as he watched the footage of the Mega-V shuttles destroying the small supply ships. "The reports said that this planet hadn't reached Stellar Threshold yet. They shouldn't have that kind of technology. I expected some sort of magical resistance, but…" he shook his head, turning to the Sirenian who stood next to him. "What is the status of the Skyhawks?"

"We've lost six of them to those strange shuttles. Twenty-seven more have been damaged. An estimated thirty thousand galcreds worth of losses."

The captain growled.

Both Sirenians jumped as the door to the Bridge opened and a third rushed in, looking panicked.

"This had better be-" the captain started, but he got no further.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So…does he?"

"No," Fox replied. "But he wouldn't, unless someone asked."

"Hm. Do you think…"

"I could ask, and be subtle about it? Subtlety's not my thing, but I guess I could give it a tr-"

An earsplitting screech filled the air as the sound system shorted out, sparks raining from the ceiling. The people around them began to come to their senses as the song faded.

"Hold that thought," Fox said.

Sounds of panic began to erupt around them as people began to realize where they were…or rather, where they weren't.

"How many have we banded?" Electra asked.

"Umm….about half? Maybe two thirds?"

"Well, we're about to be in the middle of a riot." The Black Ranger clicked open her comlink. "Zord-1, we need you to pull everyone you can out of here and get them home, now."

"As you wish, Black Ranger," the Computer replied.

There was a dazzling burst of light…and the two Rangers found themselves in the middle of a large, empty room.

"What the…?"

"How did…?"

"Okay, there were hundreds of people in here. We did not band hundreds of people. Did we?"

Electra shook her head.

A bloodcurdling scream split the air, making both of them jump.

"What was THAT?" Fox asked.

"That was a bloodcurdling scream," Electra replied matter-of-factly.

One of the doors to the cargo bay opened and a smoking object was thrown through, falling from the upper level of the room into the large rectangular pit that had until recently contained the population of several shopping malls. The object tumbled across the steel grating of the floor, coming to rest between them. It took them a few moments to realize that it was a smoldering corpse.

Through the still open door walked a humanoid figure. It was covered in blue armor, and looked for all the world like a mechanical enforcer with a traffic light installed horizontally in his chestplate.

"Is that one of those Blue Senturian things?"

"I think so," Electra replied.

"Target: Sirenian poacher," the Senturian said in an electronic voice. "Status: terminated."

"Umm…thanks?" Fox said.

The Senturian glared balefully at them.

"Suspects identified as Power Rangers," it stated. It leveled its gun at them. "Termination authorized."


	63. Issues With Authority

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 63: Issues with Authority

Electra conjured her axe, leaping forward to attack the Blue Senturian, only to catch the first shot from his blaster. The focused pulse of red light blasted her square in the stomach, knocking her armored body back with sufficient force to tear a hole through the wall of the holding bay.

Fox conjured her two-bladed sword, cracking her neck in anticipation.

"Okay," she said. "My turn."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Black Ranger rolled to a halt in the adjoining room, shaking rubble from the bright blue hair that spilled from the back of her helmet.

"Ow," she said, climbing to her feet and brushing dust from the strips of leather that covered her legs. She glared at the hole in the wall that had been created by her impromptu flight, twirling her axe, but was quickly distracted by the nature of the room in which she found herself.

It was filled with rectangular medical cots, each one mounted with restraints for the wrists and ankles, as well as a suggestively-shaped probe mounted on a mechanical arm at the foot of the cot.

"The sad thing," she said to herself, "is that there are probably people down there on Terra who'd pay good money to be strapped into these."

One of the cots in particular caught Electra's eye. The restraints on the bed appeared to have been severed, and several deep slashes marred the steel floor and walls near the bed. The edges of the slash marks were blackened, as through they had been made with a red-hot blade. A small, brushed steel medical table had been left next to it, atop of which were numerous bloody silver tools…scalpels, forceps and the like. A small petri dish contained what appeared to be a blood-drenched computer chip.

The Black Ranger carefully picked it up.

"Myk's old comchip," she wondered. "If they found this in him….wouldn't they have kept him anyway, magic or no?" She turned her gaze back to the damaged bed. "Someone helped spring him…but who?"

A cold chuckle came from a corner of the room. "If only you knew."

From the shadows stepped a figure Electra had hoped never to see again…a humanoid in bulky black armor, wearing a crimson cape and a helmet adorned with golden horns.

The Black Ranger hefted her axe as the Magna Defender step forward, but lowered it when she saw that he was in no condition for battle. His armor was slashed and scarred in numerous places, his cape was torn, and his left arm was missing entirely, ending in a twisted stump that dripped liquid magic.

"What are you doing here? And…what happened to you? Did Jareth do all that?"

"The Gold Ranger? Please. Those injuries healed hours after our fight. No, these are fairly recent. And taking twice as long as normal to heal," he added with an audible grimace. "As for what I am doing here, this group of hunters hired me to provide security. Evidently, their buyer has a reputation for double-crossing his business partners. Not that it matters at this point." His face wasn't visible beneath his helmet, but Electra suddenly got the impression that he was giving her a sly look. "I certainly didn't expect to see _you_ here. This isn't…._your_ homeworld, is it?"

"Maybe," Electra replied. She gestured towards the damaged bed. "Were you the one who…?"

"Who freed the human? Oh, no. Wasn't me. In fact, the one who did _that_ was the one who did _this_," the Magna Defender gestured to the stump of his left arm.

"Who was it?"

"Someone very, very dangerous," the bounty hunter replied grimly.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Stealth Cutter spun through the air, each of its blades leaving a luminous yellow-green trail as it deflected the blasts of red light the Blue Senturian fired from his weapon.

"That all you've got?" Fox asked.

The Blue Senturian responded by firing up at the air over her head. The blast fragmented, as though it has struck a prism, refracting into thousands of smaller bolts that rained down in a cone from the point at which they had broken.

"Yipe!" Fox spun her weapon above her head, its whirling blades forming an impromptu umbrella against the rain of death that fell on her.

Something blue skidded into her shins as the rain stopped, sending her flipping head-over-heels and tumbling to the floor. She turned, looking up just in time to see a long, segmented blade sweeping down towards her head.

Her own weapon shot up to block the attack, her hands at either end of the contoured wooden handle. The Senturian's blade struck the center of the weapon, breaking it in two. As it separated, green light swirled around both halves of the two-bladed sword, converting them into a pair of long, curved fighting knives.

As the Blue Senturian drew back his blade to strike again, Fox leaned back and then leapt forward, both of her armored feet striking his square in the torso, the very air rippling with the force of the impact. The mechanical man went flying with the impact, tearing a hole in the fragile metal wall identical to the one the Black Ranger had made.

Twisting, Fox landed on her feet, her boots skidding against the metal floor, knives held at the ready.

"Hey!" she yelled at the hole. "Come back! I'm not done hurting you yet!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Who?" Electra insisted.

"I didn't catch his name," Magna spat. "It doesn't matter who he _is_. What matters is what he _has_."

"And what does he have?"

"Starmetal."

Lecca raised an eyebrow beneath her helmet. "Starmetal? What's starmetal?"

"Metal that fell from the stars, obviously. When I was young, I served a master who was thought to be the only one capable of forging it…the very same who forged that coin…and mine."

Electra glanced down at her belt, then back up at the Magna Defender.

"You worked for Medelon?" she asked, astonished.

The conversation was interrupted as a second hole was made in the wall next to the one Electra herself had made….this time by the mechanical body of the Blue Senturian, who scraped against the metal floor of the room, skidding to a stop at Electra's feet.

Grinning, she drew the ninja-to from its sheath at her back.

"Why, hello there."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"They've been in there too long," Myk said.

"Probably dealing with the Senturian," Deacon reasoned. "They'll be out soon enough."

"That's not soon enough!" Jareth complained. "I wanna try out this new system Lolli told us about."

Myk opened the comlink. "Fox? Lecca?"

There was a pause, then Electra's voice came through.

"Kinda busy right now. Mind if we call you back?"

Sounds of battle were audible over the link.

"Um…no, that's fine," Jareth said. "We're fine. You go back to whatever it is you're doing."

"Thanks," she said, and the line closed.

"Okay," the Gold Ranger said. "So…we wait." Sighing, he reached into his pocket, produced a small plastic pouch, and bit into it, sucking the liquid out.

Deacon squinted. "Were your incisors always that long?"

"No," Jareth replied, wiping red liquid from his mouth.

"Another spell go awry?" the Silver Ranger inquired.

"Nope. They were like that when I woke up this evening. I'm guessing that the spell that gave me my tail isn't finished with me yet."

"Any idea what you'll be when it's all over?"

"Nope. Not a clue. But hey, it's the surprises that make life worth living, right?"

"So what was that?" Myk asked warily, eyeing the crumpled pouch in Jareth's hand. "Blood?"

"Blood?" Jareth asked. He held up the pouch. "It's a Capri-Sun, dude."

Myk breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's way too early in the morning for blood," the Gold Ranger continued.

The Bronze Ranger gawked at him.

"I'm _kidding_," Jareth assured him. "Gods, lighten up."

"So do you always carry packaged beverages in your pockets?" Myk asked.

"No. Only when I'm thirsty."

Abruptly, the room rocked back and forth, the lights flickering as something red streaked by on the viewscreen, headed for the massive Sirenian ship.

Deacon was the first to find his voice.

"What on Terra was THAT?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Blue Senturian raised his sword, blocking the downward swipe of Electra's ninja-to. Sweeping his legs to the side, he knocked Electra's out from under her, then kicked himself to a standing position. Swiftly converting his sword back into a gun, he aimed it at her helmeted head, his optical sensors unerringly targeting the vulnerable glass of her visor.

Electra faded into invisibility, vanishing from the Senturian's sensors.

The robot scanned the room, confounded…and was immediately bombarded by a flurry of small shurikens. He staggered back, the razor-tipped stars embedding themselves in his casing.

Electra suddenly reappeared, axe in hand, striking at the reeling Senturian. Great gashes appeared in his armor, shards of blue plastisteel and dislodged shurikens falling to the floor, accompanied by bits of colored glass as the traffic lights across his chest shattered.

The Black Ranger suddenly broke off her attack, resting her axe against her shoulder and grinning beneath her helmet.

Her opponent stood dazed for a moment, jerking slightly as his systems shorted. Recalibrating, he lifted his gun…

"Ahem," came a voice from behind him.

The Senturian turned around to see Fox, her Blade Blaster leveled squarely at his head.

Squeezing the trigger, the Camo Ranger fired a pulse of red light that pierced the construct's CPU. He twitched a few more times, then collapsed to the floor, superconductive fluid leaking out onto the steel from the hole in his head.

"Well. That's that," Fox said, stowing her Blade Blaster in its holster at her hip. "Where were you when I was fighting him over in the holding bay? After he threw you through the wall?"

"Oh," Electra remembered. "I was talking to…" she turned, but apart from the two of them, the room was empty. "The Magna Defender," she finished lamely. "Man, I hate it when the mysterious characters do that thing where they disappear the minute your back is turned."

There was a sudden vibration that rattled the rafters and shook the floor beneath their feet.

"What was that?" Electra asked.

"Dunno," Fox replied. The vibration faded into steady tapping sounds that grew louder and more solid….the sound of approaching footsteps. Heavy ones. "But I think it's time we were leaving."

The Rangers headed for the holding bay doors, the ones through which they had entered…only to have those doors slide open before they could reach them. The two skidded to a halt as an entity unlike any they'd ever seen appeared in the doorway.

"Ew," Electra said.

"I think this is the grossest monster yet," Fox agreed. "It doesn't even have skin."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A blast of red lightning suddenly erupted from the beneath the hull of the Gatherer, blasting out into deep space.

The comlink crackled.

"Did you guys see that?" Tommy's voice inquired.

"A little hard to miss," Kalen replied.

"Do you think we should investigate?" Angel asked quietly.

"Negative. We'll check it out. You six stay in position. Be ready to blow the Gatherer on our signal."

"So…sit here and do nothing?" Stephen clarified.

"Yeah, pretty much," Tommy replied. "Red Ranger, out."

Kalen sighed, drumming her perfectly manicured nails on the console.

"As though there aren't better things I could be doing."

"More important than saving the world?" Stephen asked.

"Than _that_ world?" Kalen inquired, nodding towards Terra's image on the screen. "Much."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox cartwheeled through space, dizzy from the force of the blast, her head spinning as her power worked to heal her lightning-scorched armor.

**"Gravity Pulse!"**

Suddenly, there was an up and a down, and Fox found herself falling, landing facefirst on the Gatherer's metal hull.

She peeled herself off the smooth surface to find Electra standing over her, a sphere of black energy surrounding each hand.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I'll live," Fox replied.

Electra crossed her arms. "You HAD to go and insult him."

"Well, how was I supposed to know that was Lord Zedd? I've never seen him before!" Fox said defensively. "Besides, you insulted him too."

There was a crackle as a rainbow of lights descended, landing next to them and fading to reveal the Red, Pink, Yellow and Blue Rangers.

"Hey guys," Fox said, waving. "Glad you could make it."

"Are you two okay?" Troy asked. "We saw…"

"Lord Zedd blast us through the ceiling?" the Camo Ranger finished. "Should have seen it from our angle. Quite a show."

"Zedd's _here_?" Tommy asked sharply.

Another thick blast of crimson electricity blasted up from within the ship, causing the Rangers to duck and cover their heads to block the rain of shrapnel. Troy actually activated his light-shield, holding the translucent red barrier above his head to block the debris.

The blast faded to reveal Zedd, hovering above the breach in the hull.

"Why Tommy! This is a pleasant surprise."

"You two know each other?" Troy asked, tilting his arm and letting the rubble slide off his shield before shutting it down.

"You could say that," Tommy said.

"Ornyk mentioned that there was a new Red Ranger, but he never said that it was _you_," Zedd said, striding forward through the air, descending with each step until his metal feet made contact with the hull.

"How do you know Zedd?" Mara asked.

"It's the same Zedd from my world," Tommy replied. "We've fought before."

"Actually, I'm from _this_ world, originally," Zedd corrected. "But that's another story." He conjured his Z-staff and twirled it, chuckling. "Well, your being here certainly does make things a bit more…interesting. Still Red, I see. Surprised you haven't changed colors again."

Tommy felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned.

"Why are we conversing with the villain?" Terina asked.

"Because Zedd's all talk," Tommy replied, turning back to Zedd, a smirk on his face beneath his helmet.

Zedd glowered. "Is that so?" His eyes flared red, and more red lightning began to crackle along his golden exoskeleton.

"Don't taunt the bad guy," Electra said quietly, taking a step back. "_Never_ taunt the bad guy…"

Zedd vanished.

Mara blinked. "That's it?" she asked. "All that buildup and he just disappears?"

The surface of the ship began to tremble, arcs of red electricity racing across it. The trembling quickly grew into a full-scale quake, large fissures appearing in the smooth metal.

Electra closed her eyes and pumped up the power of her gravity field in an effort to keep the Rangers from being shaken off the ship's surface.

"You had to ask," she muttered.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Well that can't be good," Deacon said.

"What?" Myk asked.

Myk pointed up at the screen.

Deacon looked…and did a double-take. Red lightning was coursing over the entire surface of the massive ship, and huge cracks were appearing in the hull.

Surprising everyone, the hull began to move, shifting along the cracks, parts twisted and rearranging until the ship had become a massive, four-armed humanoid construct. The parts having gotten where they needed to go, the cracks sealed themselves seamlessly.

"More than meets the eye," Jareth said, wide-eyed.

"Um. You know that whole 'blowing up the Gatherer' thing we were going to do?" Deacon asked. "Wouldn't now be a good time?"

"Aren't the others still down there?" Myk asked.

Deacon blinked. "Well," he said. "This sucks."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Are we standing on what I think we're standing on?" Terina asked.

"I'm afraid so," Tommy replied. "Zedd likes to make monsters out of inanimate objects. Sort of his calling card. Never seen him make one out of something this big before."

"Eh. Just saves him the trouble of making it grow later."

The two of them were standing on the small of the massive monster's back, and it seemed the monster had not overlooked this fact, for it immediately began trying to reach them. Fortunately, it was not double-jointed, and standing as they were the Rangers were just out of his reach.

Terina jumped as one of his enormous fingers, fully as big as she was, came dangerously close. "I'd like to leave now."

"Me too," Tommy agreed. "Zord-1? Beam us home."

"Sorry Tommy. No-can-do." It was Lolli's voice on the line. "The Gatherer's systems still block outgoing teleports."

"What? But you beamed us here!"

"Teleporting you in was possible because of the interference created by-"

"Never mind!" Tommy cut her off. "Where are the rest of you?"

"I'm on top of his head," Troy replied over the comlink. "He doesn't seem to have noticed."

"I think I'm wedged between his toes," Mara chimed in, sounding disgusted.

"Fox and I are…Aah! On his stomach. And he knows it," Electra said.

Another panicked yell came over the comlink, and Tommy had the mental image of the two of them diving out of the way of an oversized hand.

"We can't beam away," Tommy said. "Any thoughts?"

"The bands," Electra's voice exclaimed. "Those little rubber bracelet things. If we wore those, we could beam home."

"I don't have them!" Fox yelled. "I dropped the bag when the Blue Senturian attacked us."

"Where was this?" Tommy asked.

"In the Holding…Ack! Bay," Electra replied, presumably dodging another blow from the massive construct upon which they stood.

"Then they're probably still there, inside this thing," the Red Ranger said. "Can you get in?"

There was a pause. A sound played over the comlink, as of someone welding metal.

"I can't cut through his skin," Fox replied.

"How about that hole that Zedd made?" Terina asked. "Can we get in through there?"

"Maybe, if we can find it," Tommy guessed.

"It's up here," Troy's voice cut in. "On his head."

"We'll head up," Mara said.

"No," Tommy countered. "We're safe where we are. Only Electra and Fox should risk moving."

"I can't," Electra said. "If I leave the surface of this guy, my gravity goes with me and you all fly off into space."

"Up to me then," Fox said. "Sit tight guys. I'll be back in no time."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Looks like it has fleas," Stephen said, watching the mammoth construct-creature scratching at itself on the monitor.

"Those 'fleas' are our friends," Angel reminded the White Ranger.

"It's on the move," Kalen warned, as the colossus noticed the planet below and started moving towards it, pausing occasionally to scratch at its Ranger-infested metal hide.

"We probably shouldn't let it reach Terra," the Gray Ranger suggested.

"I think it's time we made our move," Myk said over the comlink. "We'll just have to be careful until the others find a way off."

"Okay then," Stephen said, slamming his hand down on the large red button that stood out on the main control console. "Astro Megazord, online."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The semi-triangular front section of the large blue ship split open, revealing a relatively small, white shuttlecraft that instantly shot forward, arcing through space. As it flew, the ship itself shifted and contorted, forming a large, mechanical blue body. The shuttlecraft circled around and locked into place atop it, forming the missing head.

Assembled, the Astro Megazord flew forward, interposing itself between gatherer and Terra.

Gatherer paused, blinking stupidly. Not until the Astro Megazord conjured its sword did it seem to understand that it was being challenged.

Attempting to give a mighty roar, despite the fact that this was impossible with neither oxygen nor lungs, the Gatherer rushed forward, grappling with the Megazord. Together, the two metal constructs spun as they hurtled towards Terra's atmosphere.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox dropped down onto the floor from the hole above, her combat boots making a loud report as they struck the steel grating.

"Okay," she said to herself, as she started walking. "Just got to find the bag, bring it back out, hand everyone a bracelet, and we're outta here. And try not to think about the fact that I'm inside someone's head."

Fox followed the interior halls of the Gatherer (which, oddly enough, appeared not to have changed much) until she reached the Holding Bay where all the human captives had been. Lying on the floor, unmolested, was a large green duffel bag.

"Ah. Finally."

Fox trotted across the room and knelt to pick up the bag…and it was lucky that she did, for the moment she ducked, a bolt of red light lanced out, passing right over her head.

Fox spun to face her attacker…and saw the broken husk of the Blue Senturian, evidently still functional, blaster in hand.

"Why," she asked angrily, her two-bladed sword appearing in her hand with a flash. "isn't anything ever easy?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Laser fire peppered the two massive metal creations, forcing them apart. Gatherer turned and snarled…only to be nearly bowled over by the Delta Megaship as the black, triangular craft rocketed past.

"Hey! Watch it!" Stephen yelled.

"I didn't hit _you_!" Jareth's voice yelled defensively over the comlink. "I only hit Gatherer's leg! There's no one on the leg!"

"_I'm _on the leg!" Mara screamed over the link.

"There's no one important on the leg!" Jareth amended.

"Will you quit playing around?" Stephen demanded.

"No! I will, however, play around with this pretty red button here."

The Delta Megaship suddenly ceased its headlong flight, contorting and rearranging, transforming from a black, triangular spaceship to a black, triangular robot.

"My turn!" Deacon's voice cried. "I get to drive! Move over."

"No! I'm driving!"

The two began squabbling.

Gatherer threw one last punch at the Astro Megazord, then rushed towards its new opponent, feet-first, striking the Delta Megazord square in the chest. Sparks flew as circuits were broken, and the polished black hull buckled slightly.

All argument ceased.

"Okay," Jareth said in a small voice. "You can drive."

"_Thank_ you," Deacon said.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The luminous, serrated blades of the Stealth Cutter flashed as Fox slashed away at the Blue Senturian, until barely anything remained of his once-fine blue armor.

The Senturian lifted the device that it carried, once more in the form of a rectangular badge.

"Senturion Synergizer…strobe mode!"

The red, yellow, and green lights on the device suddenly surged, releasing a blinding flare of light that dazzled Fox even through her tinted visor.

She blinked to clear her vision, trying to work out which of the dancing spots she should be aiming for.

"You are-are-are to be termin-min-ated. Surrender-ender immediately," the mechanism intoned, its voice repeating like a skipping sound file.

Aiming for the source of the voice, Fox channeled as much energy as she could into her blade and made a single, horizontal swipe. She felt the resistance as the blade severed his plasteel armor, heard the sound of cables and wires snapping as her weapon smoothly removed the construct's head from his body.

The head flew almost straight up, falling to the ground somewhere behind her. The body convulsed, sparks flying from its neck, then collapsed at her feet.

Fox shook her head as her vision began to clear, taking a few more good hacks at the body, just to make sure it planned on staying down this time.

Once that was done, she ran her hand across her forehead as though wiping sweat from her brow.

"I always did have issues with authority."

Grabbing the duffel bag and stowing her sword, she ran for the exit.


	64. Explosion

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 64: Explosion

Several Rangers fell from their chairs as the two stellar Megazords were slammed facefirst into one another by the four-armed construct, their hulls shaking with the force of the impact.

"What do we do now?" Deacon demanded, as sparks flew from the controls of the Delta Megaship, showering himself, Jareth, and Myk.

"There's nothing we CAN do," the Bronze Ranger declared. "We can't attack it until the others-"

"We're clear!" Tommy's voice suddenly called over the comm systems of both Megazords. "Back on the Oasis now."

"We're prepping the Mega-Vs for relaunch, in case you need backup," Jared added. "But there's nothing stopping you now."

"Does that mean I can finally hit the button?" Jareth asked.

"Looks that way," Stephen called from the Astro Megaship. He nodded to Angel.

The towering Gray Ranger daintily pressed a large, blinking green button on the console, at the exact same time that Jareth slammed his hand down on its twin in the other cockpit.

The Delta Megazord exploded, separating into numerous pieces that flew apart into space. Astonished, Gatherer released the small shard he still held, and the Astro Megazord, and floated back from them.

The Astro Megazord's arms folded back and the crown of its head upward, exposing new connection ports to which the fragments of the Delta Megazord attached, covering the Blue Megazord like armor.

Stephen, Kalen, and Angel turned around as three new chairs rose up from the floor, carrying the three metal Rangers into the Astro Megazord's cockpit.

"Astro Delta Megazord," Angel read, turning back to the console.

"Creative," Kalen muttered.

Deacon cracked his knuckles. "Let's see what it can do," he grinned, placing his hands on the controls.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A barrage of high-energy bullets fired from the Delta Megazord's hands, which on the Astro Delta Megazord were located mounted on either shoulder. The flurry of energized metal peppered Gatherer's metal skin, tearing innumerable minute holes through its hide.

Gatherer let out another soundless roar, this time in pain rather than fury. It slammed all four of its fists together, a powerful charge of electrical energy building up in its forearms. It threw a pair of them at the Astro Delta Megazord, lobbing them like softballs.

Large as it now was, the Megazord didn't have a chance of dodging in time. Mimicking the motions of some of the Rangers inside, it raised a hand, shielding its face from the oncoming blast.

There was an expectant pause.

"Go on," Terina called over the com, a smile in her voice. "Say it. We're great."

The Astro Delta Megazord lowered its arm.

"Your timing is impeccable," Angel said, smirking as the arm moved away, clearing the screen to reveal the Mega Voyager, hovering between them and Gatherer, its Mega V-2 shield held out before it, the metal still crackling with electricity from the blast.

Lowering its shield, the Mega Voyager delivered a powerful pair of laser pulses from the fins on the sides of its head, managing to lance off Gatherer's upper right arm, the severed limb drifting off into space, still veined with lightning.

Gatherer clamped its upper left arm over the stump, forming a fist with one of its lower hands and wielding its last electrical charge with the other.

Mega Voyager drifted back, producing the bulk of Mega V-3's rocket, which it wielded as a missile launcher.

"Mega V-3 missile mode…fire!" Jared called.

Flames leapt from the back of the rocket launcher, and a rocket from the front, blasting its way through the space between the Megazord and Gatherer.

Gatherer stared grimly at the rocket as it careened toward him, thrusting his hands forward at the last moment and somehow catching the rocket without it exploding, holding the nose of the missile away from his body as its thrust sent him flying backwards through space.

Bringing his backward flight to a halt, he seized the rocket and spun with it, releasing it at just the right moment to send it soaring back towards the Mega Voyager.

"Eep!" Terina said.

"Full reverse?" Jared suggested.

"Full reverse!" Tommy confirmed.

The Voyager took evasive action, darting back and forth through space in an effort to dodge its own energy-seeking missile.

Gatherer guffawed, doubling over with laughter as it watched the Mega Voyager's predicament. It threw back its head, pointing as it cackled with glee…only to have its laughter cut short as a fair of massive metal fists exploded through its midsection from behind, tearing a gaping hole through its tough metal skin.

The fists turned around in mid-flight, racing backwards towards the Astro Delta Megazord, once again sliding onto its forearms and clamping into place as Gatherer began to shake, electrical energy pouring out through its new orifice and coursing across its surface. The massive creature exploded, sending plumes of fire and metal shards flying in every direction.

"Well. That's that," Jareth said, causing the Astro Delta Megazord to dust off its hands theatrically.

"Umm…yeah, that's great and all guys," Electra broke in over the comlink. "But…"

"A little help here?" Mara finished.

The Mega Voyager once again rocketed through the other Megazord's field of vision, still being pursued by the missile.

Deacon sighed. "On it," he said, clicking off the comlink and gunning the controls, directing the Megazord to fly to their friends' aid.


	65. Exposition

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 65: Exposition

"So that was Zedd?" Lolli asked later, arms crossed as she gazed up at the image on the viewscreen at the front of the bridge.

"Yep," Tommy said. "That's him."

"Not quite what I was expecting," Stephen said appraisingly.

"Oh?" Angel asked, raising an eyebrow. "What _were_ you expecting?"

"I dunno. Skin?"

"The question is…what does he want?" Mara asked. "I mean…what is he doing here?"

"We always assumed he was after the Power Coins…," Deacon began.

"The Power Coins are lost to Zedd," Zord-1 said. "They have been since the moment Randomon opened their box. The most he could hope to do is to deny their use to anyone else."

"How would he do that?" Troy asked.

"By destroying us," Kalen replied.

"But then wouldn't the coins just choose someone else?" Electra asked. "I mean….I figured that was why Zedd didn't just buy a shotgun and take us out in our sleep."

"If one of you is killed, your Power Coin will indeed choose a new host," Zord-1 confirmed. "However, if you are slain while morphed, or shortly after having been forced to demorph, then the coin is destroyed and the Power lost forever. Thus was the fate that befell the Platinum, Copper, and Adamantium Rangers."

"So he's here just to kill us?" Myk asked. "And he attacks Terra all the time just to draw us out?"

"All he ever seemed to want on Earth was to destroy the Power Rangers," Tommy observed. "One-track mind, I guess."

"Why wouldn't he just kill us, then try and get the new Rangers to work for him?" Stephen asked.

"We're immortal," Kalen said. "And our power grows every day. It stands to reason that eventually we'll be stronger than him."

"Assuming we're not already," Jareth chimed in. "But then…couldn't he have the new Rangers work for him until their powers grew to threatening levels, then kill them and start over?"

"I never said he was smart," the Purple Ranger replied.

"The biggest mistake a writer can make is to have a villain with no motivation," Electra said. "Because it just doesn't happen in real life. No one goes on a destructive rampage just because they're 'evil'. Zedd has to be after _something _on Terra."

"Maybe he's out to kill you," Terina said, looking over at Tommy. "Sounds like you caused him a lot of grief."

"I did," Tommy admitted. "That's a distinct possibility."

"Zedd seeks the Nexus," came a voice from the back of the room.

The Rangers jumped, turning to face the doors to the Bridge. Standing just inside them was a small child of perhaps twelve, dressed in typical everyday clothing, with piercing blue eyes and messy brown hair.

"Kite," Tommy recognized.

"What's the Nexus?" Kalen asked directly.

"It's a place where things coincide," Tommy explained, not taking his eyes off of Kite. "Or a time when things are possible that usually aren't."

Kite smiled, nodding. "It's both, and neither."

"Ooh," Jareth said, grinning. "Philosophy."

"This is but one plane of existence. There are many. When two of them touch, the fabric of reality is weakened. Almost anything becomes possible. If one knows how, one could use a Nexus to gain almost unlimited power."

"And the Nexus is on Terra?" Mara asked.

"It's difficult to tell where, what, when, or for how long a Nexus will be. It can be anything, anywhere, any time. For a single instant, a rusty tin can could become the epicenter of all creation."

"But Zedd knows what it is?" Angel asked.

"Zedd knows where it will be, and when. He does not know what."

"Do you?" Fox inquired.

"I believe so," Kite replied. "Though there is only one way I know to be certain."

"What's that?" Tommy asked.

Kite gestured, and an image formed in midair, that of a flat, round, polished sapphire, surrounded by a ring of gray stone engraved with illegible runes.

"Ask the E'not Sel Caro."

"_That_'s the E'not Sel Caro?" Jareth asked. "It doesn't look anything like the illustration."

"What an E'not Sel Caro?" Mara asked, stumbling over the foreign name.

"The E'not Sel Caro is a very ancient, legendary relic," Zord-1 replied. "It is said to be able to accurately answer any question asked of it."

"It supposedly lies sealed within a cavern on a long-forgotten world, the entrance enchanted so that no creature of good or evil can gain access," Angel added.

"Everyone is either good or evil," Mara said. "There's no middle ground."

Jareth rolled his eyes. "You'll have to forgive her," he said to Kite. "I'm afraid I kicked her in the head while we were in the womb. Several times."

"But Zedd _is_ Evil, right? And so is everyone who works for him. So the Caro is safe from him, right?" Terina asked.

Kite shook his head, smiling slyly. "Prince Gasket is a machine. No good, no evil, just lines of code. He can walk through that barrier as if it were smoke."

"Then we'll have to get there first, and stop him from using the E'not Sel Caro," Tommy declared. "Umm…where is it?"

"A small planet called Phaedos," Kite replied.

"Phaedos?" Tommy asked. 'I've been there. Or I've been to the Phaedos in my world."

"Kite," Electra broke in. "When I was on the Gatherer, the Magna Defender mentioned some sort of warlord who'd broken free from his prison, and that he was the one who helped Myk escape. Do you know who he was talking about?"

Kite looked at her contemplatively for a moment, then replied. "Yes. I do." He sighed. "The entity of whom the Magna Defender spoke is not truly free. Not yet. But he grows more powerful with each passing moment, and it will only be a matter of time before he does manage to escape. Already he is powerful enough to work his will, to some extent, as he did when he freed the Bronze Ranger."

"Why?" Myk asked. "If he's so evil, why would he want to free me?"

"He has his reasons," Kite replied darkly. "For now, let Zord-1's explanation suffice: he expects some manner of repayment from you."

"Who is he?" Fox asked.

"I will say no more, apart from this: beware of what you speak aloud, for he hears you always. Beware what you show to one another, for he sees through your eyes. It would be unwise to allow him to learn more of your secrets than he already has."

There was a tense pause.

"Well, whoever he is, is there anything we can do stop him from breaking free?" Stephen asked.

"Hold it," Myk said. "How do you know all this? Just who _are_ you, anyway? How do we know we can trust you?"

"He helped me escape from Ornyk's crystal cage thing," Tommy suggested.

"Zord-1 just got through explaining to me how some people have been known to do that sort of thing to win a Ranger's confidence. Isn't that right, Zord-1?" Myk asked.

"Yes," the computer replied simply.

"It _is_ somewhat suspicious that he seems to know so much," Kalen considered. "He's obviously been listening in on private conversations. And he didn't have any trouble getting on board the Oasis."

"Exactly," Myk said, hardly able to believe that he was agreeing with Kalen. "How do we know that _you're_ not the one who's been causing so much trouble on this ship?"

Kite's smile faded. He turned to stare at the Bronze Ranger.

Myk felt a stab of fear shoot through him as Kite's penetrating eyes locked onto his own. They seemed to see right through him. He shuddered involuntarily.

"My fate is bound to yours. I have therefore chosen to help you. Whether you choose to trust me is for you to decide. But whatever you believe, believe this: There is a power at work far more dangerous than Lord Zedd…and much, much closer."

With that, the small child vanished, dissolving into an array of metallic lights that faded rapidly into nothingness.


	66. Betrayal

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 66: Betrayal

The Astro Megaship's engines roared as it circled over the wide, flat plateau, kicking up sand as it lowered itself gently to the ground on jets of steam. The silver segmented covering of one of its pontoons retracted upward, a ramp extending out so that its passengers could disembark.

"So this is Phaedos," Troy said, looking around as he and the others exited the ship. "300% humidity and mosquitoes the size of rats. Glad I came."

"Reminds me of Eltar, actually," Terina said, taking a deep breath of the fragrant, hazy air. "I mean…_before_ it was reduced to a scrapland."

"So any idea where we start looking for this thing?" Electra asked. "This might not be the biggest planet, but any planet is pretty big."

"The Megaship's scanners located a large source of magical energy nearby, but they couldn't pinpoint it," Tommy said, handing out TurboNavs. "It's the only thing that stood out about this place, so we'll just have to track it down the hard way from here."

"Why do we each get one? Are we splitting up?" Mara inquired.

"That would be a good way to cover more ground, but I wouldn't recommend it. We don't know the terrain," Troy chimed in.

"We'll pair off, then," Tommy said. "Terina, you're with me. We'll head north-"

"That's east," Terina corrected. "The sun rises in the south on this world."

'We'll head thataway. Troy and Lecca, you two head the opposite way."

Troy saluted, turned on his heel, and started off. Electra made do with a much more casual wave.

"We'll be in touch," the blue-haired Australian said, trailing behind the Blue Ranger.

"Mara, morph and give us an aerial perspective."

She nodded, conjuring her Morpher.

**"Pterodactyl!"**

Terina turned to Tommy as Mara took to the skies.

"Shall we?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox blinked, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she opened her bedroom door, stepping out into the halls of the Oasis.

At least, she started to step out.

"Umm. Lolli?"

Receiving no answer, she edged out the door, giving the strange creation sitting outside her door a very wide berth.

"Lolli!"

Making her way first to the Green Ranger's room, then to the Magitech lab when that yielded no results, Fox finally found the blue-eyed blonde sitting a worktable, tinkering with what looked like the gadget that the Blue Senturian had wielded.

"Lolli! Hi," Fox said. "Listen, this may sound like a strange question, but…"

"Yes?"

"Did you…by any chance…umm…"

"Yes?"

"Build a dog?"

"Ah. That."

The dog in question peeked around Fox's legs, gave an electronic bark, and trotted over to its creator.

"Hey, Murphy! Who's a good boy?"

Lolli leaned down and scratched the metal dog behind its ears.

"Murphy?"

"Well, I was going to name him R.I.C., you know, for Robotic Interactive Canine, but….I like this better, don't you?"

"Why did you build a dog?"

"I was tinkering with some leftover Blue Senturian tech, and...well, Mom would never let me have a dog."

"She likes him better than me," Diskette said petulantly, hovering nearby.

"Where did you-"

"Get Blue Senturian tech? Once Electra left the Gatherer, she took her gravity with her and his car drifted off into space. I took the liberty of teleporting it aboard. Been dissecting it ever since."

"Find anything interesting?"

"Oh, yeah. Those Galactic Council engineers know their stuff. I actually have plans to build a whole new line of zords based on that car."

"Enforcer car zords. Troy will be thrilled."

"No doubt."

"All right. I'm outta here. Could you maybe keep him from following me? I don't like the way he's eyeing my leg."

Lolli laughed. "C'mon, Murphy. Stay here with me."

Murphy wagged his metal tail and lay down across her feet.

Fox shook her head, smirking, then wandered off in search of breakfast.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hmm."

"Yeah, you've been staring at the dirt and saying 'Hmm' for the last twenty minutes," Electra said. "Care to share why?"

"Sorry. It's just…look at this trail."

"I see dirt."

"Yeah," Troy allowed. "But what _about _the dirt?"

"It's….dirty? Look, tracking is Fox's specialty, not mine."

"It's not mine either, but I still know a trail that's been worn smooth when I see it."

"That doesn't mean anything," the Black Ranger argued. "Animals make trails like this all the time, to watering holes and stuff."

"True," Troy replied, picking something up and brushing the dirt off it. "But animals didn't make this."

Standing, the Blue Ranger handed Electra what was unmistakably a small, hand-carved arrowhead.

"There's intelligent life on this planet," she declared, eyebrows raised.

"Not intelligent enough to have discovered gunpowder, but yes," Troy replied.

"That's not necessarily true," Electra debated. "We don't know how long this thing's been lying there. It's stone, it could have been decades."

Troy shrugged. "True. But I still think this is a hunting trail."

"So let's keep looking," the Black Ranger suggested, turning to resume the journey.

Troy inhaled sharply as the small hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Those hairs had never failed him.

Electra spun around, panic on her face. "What's wro-"

Troy reached forward, grabbed her by the front of her dress and yanked her forward, just as a net of thick, coarse rope fell from the trees overhead, weighted down at the edges by heavy rocks.

He released her and she breathed a sigh of relief, straightening her clothes…only to let out a short scream as a number of sharpened spikes of wood shot up from the ground, straight through the net.

"Immobilized, then shish-kabobbed," Troy said, approval in his voice. "Clever."

Electra examined the sharpened spikes of bamboo.

"How did you know?" she demanded. "How do you _always _know? You did the same thing with that hologram trap on KO-35."

Troy shrugged. "It's a gift."

"Sounds like magic to me," the Black Ranger said.

He shrugged. "Comes in handy in my line of work, whatever it is. Hey…how did _you_ know?"

"What?"

"When I first sensed it. You knew something was wrong before I could say anything."

"I…I don't know what you mean. I just…heard you stop walking is all." Electra turned, walked around the trap, and continued down the trail.

"Uh-huh," Troy replied, skirting the sprung trap and following behind. "You know, I can also tell when someone's lying."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The wind whipped by Mara's head as she soared through the air, making her grateful for her helmet. She circled a few times, then paused, clicking on her comlink.

"Umm...Tommy?" she asked. 'What exactly am I looking for?"

"Anything out of the ordinary."

"Yeah…ignoring that this is an alien planet and I have no idea what passes for 'ordinary' here?" she retorted.

"Yeah, ignoring that."

Mara sighed, clicking off her comlink. She produced her TurboNav and scanned the ground.

"Ah…Tommy? How's a pre-industrial humanoid society with a population of 3oo thousand sound?"

"What?" he asked. 'Where?"

Mara typed a few keys and the relevant data was relayed to the other four units.

A low whistle sounded over the comlink….Electra's.

"How did we miss this when we landed?" Terina asked.

"Underground," the Blue Ranger's voice replied. "They live underground, at least part of the time."

"Part of their village is above ground," Terina noted. "Why would they all scurry into their holes when we approached?"

"If I'd never seen a spaceship before, and one landed on the food court, I know _I _would duck under a table," Mara replied.

"Yeah, but by the time they saw us, our scanners should have detected them."

"She's right," Tommy said. "It's almost like they were warned."

"So should I check it out?" Mara asked.

"Head that way, but don't enter the village itself just yet," Tommy replied. "We'll meet you…here."

A blinking dot appeared on the screen of Mara's TurboNav, just outside the village boundaries.

"See you there," The Pink Ranger said, closing the link.

Mara memorized the destination, stowed the navigator, and shot off like an arrow towards the rendezvous point.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Morning, guys," Fox said as she strode into the Oasis' lounge. A chorus of noncommittal, not-quite-awake-yet greetings answered her.

Myk was seated at on of the tables, eating a surprisingly large breakfast, his eyes drooping. Deacon was aimlessly flipping through channels on the large television, his feet up on the coffee table. Jareth appeared to be passed out on the couch.

"Hi. You look like shit," Fox said cheerfully, sitting across the table from Myk and stealing a sausage.

He glowered at her as she popped the link into her mouth, licking the grease from her fingers. "I didn't sleep well, okay?"

"So go back to bed," Fox suggested. "It's not like you have anywhere to be."

The Bronze Ranger scowled. "Only a lazy fool would sleep all day," he said loudly, making sure Jareth could hear him.

The Gold Ranger rolled over, pulling the covers up over his head.

Fox eyed the empty pizza boxes, popcorn bowl, and orange soda cans that littered the table.

"Another Cardcaptor Sakura marathon?" she guessed.

"Fraggle Rock," Deacon corrected.

"Of course." Fox jumped up over the back of the couch, plopping down to sit on top of Jareth, who immediately sat bolt upright.

"Building on me! They're _building on me_!" He panted, realizing where he was and who was sitting on him.

Fox chuckled. "You had the Doozer dream again, didn't you?"

He nodded, breathing a sigh of relief, then lay back down and once again obscured himself with the blanket.

Myk shook his head, deciding that he could, in fact, use more sleep. "You can have the rest," he told Fox, getting up and leaving the room.

Fox grinned as he headed out the automatic doors, helping herself to his bacon.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was a pink flash as Mara demorphed, having landed at the designated place. She looked around.

"Guys? Hello?"

She jumped as a circle on the ground began to glow, with her at its center. The glowing red light shot up suddenly, forming a cylinder, trapping her like a bug in a mayo jar.

"Hey!" she cried. She leapt forward, pounding her fists against the crimson barrier, but she may as well have been hitting a steel wall. For all their transparency, the walls were solid.

"What took you so long?"

Mara spun as a figure stepped out from the bushes, smiling cruelly at her.

"You?" she demanded. "You did this?"

"Who else?"

"You double-crossing little….what do you want with me?"

Her captor's smile grew wider.

"Why, you're the bait, of course."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Woah!" Lolli cried, jerking her hands back as the small device in her hands began to spray sparks at her. The small device clattered to the tabletop.

"Okay. Note to self: do not attempt to disconnect fusion power couplers without first disengaging the _hidden security system_!" She sighed, looking down at the metal dog at her feet. "Did _you_ know that was there?" she asked.

Murphy whimpered.

Sighing, Lolli attempted to salvage what circuitry she could.

Abruptly, Murphy began to growl.

The Green Ranger blinked down at him.

"Something wrong, boy?"

Barking, Murphy was suddenly in motion, streaking with mechanical speed toward the door. The sounds of sparking circuitry and tearing metal greeted her ears before she could turn around…

To see the COGS unit lying on the floor of the Magitech Lab, sparks issuing from its partially severed neck as Murphy growled at it, metal hackles raised. The robot's hand spasmed, the blade it held clattering against the floor as its servomotors shorted out.

The Green Ranger's gaze went from her would-be assailant to her protector.

"Good dog."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Mara? Mara!"

"Maybe she was eaten by Ewoks," Electra suggested, looking around at the dense foliage that surrounded the small village. Crude houses of smooth gray stone lined the cobblestoned streets, woven tapestries of cloth serving as doors.

"She was supposed to have met up with us by now," Troy said.

"Guys!"

The Blue and Black Rangers paused as Terina appeared, running over to them, Tommy trailing somewhat less exuberantly behind.

"Where's Mara?" she asked.

"I was kinda hoping she was with you," Troy said apologetically.

Tommy pressed his finger against the comchip embedded behind his right ear. "Mara? Report."

The others opened their comlinks to listen as well, but no reply came.

"Well, that can't be good," Terina said grimly.

"**Tyrannosaurus!** **Power Scan**," Tommy invoked, morphing and activating his helmet device. He looked around, his visor displaying a staggering amount of sensory information.

"This way," he said, turning and leading them down one of the rough-hewn roads.

Terina made a face. "Grr. Cobblestone roads…my old enemy. We meet again."

"Something wrong?" Electra asked.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to rollerblade on cobblestones?"

"Pretty hard, I'd imagine."

"I've broken three wheels to date."

"You know, most people would have stopped trying to skate on cobblestones after the first wheel," Troy said.

"Yeah, well, if I stop trying, then the cobblestones win."

Troy rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

The group turned the corner, entering what appeared to be a deserted village square. A ruined fountain, still spraying water from its broken statuary, occupied the center of the square. Stairs on either side circled back, leading up to a slightly raised platform, behind which were still more streets and buildings, as through the town itself had been built on a split-level.

Standing in the center of the elevated platform was Mara, trapped within a sphere of translucent red light. She jumped up to her feet when she saw the others, banging on the walls and screaming something…or appearing to, for her mouth moved, but no sound escaped the sphere.

"Found her," Electra said unnecessarily.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox reached out and grabbed Jareth by the arm, yanking him bodily off of the couch as the mechanical soldier brought down its blade, slicing the piece of furniture in half.

"What? What? I'm up!" The Gold Ranger babbled, looking around in surprise.

The COGS unit swept his arms to the sides, knocking aside the two halves of the couch, then took a threatening step forward.

Deacon moved behind it, delivering a solid punch to the back of its head. The soldier didn't seem to notice, but Deacon's eyes went wide.

"Hurt your hand?" Fox asked.

"Very badly," he confirmed in a strained voice.

"Showtime?" Jareth asked, still lying on the floor, entangled in his blanket.

"I'm thinkin'."

Swirls of colored smoke materialized three sparkling Power Morphers.

**"Crocodile!"**

**"Elephant!"**

**"Lion!"**

A brief lightshow illuminated the lounge as the Ranger's human bodies were replaced with magical armor.

The lone COGS unit seemed far less threatening. The three of them made short work of it, reducing it to a sparking heap of scrap metal.

Jareth began berating it, punctuating each word with a kick to what remained of its head.

"I. Was. Having. The. Coolest. Dream!"

"Oh? What about?" Fox asked, wiping coolant and hydraulic fluid off her sword with her camoflage jacket.

"Um. Well. Let's just say it involved Tawny and a bottle of caramel syrup."

Fox stared at him blankly.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"You and the Disney girls, man."

"Hey, you asked."

"Rangers," Lolli's voice broke in over the ship's speakers. "We've got a problem."

A number of dazzling flashes lit the Lounge as no less than six more mechanical minions teleported aboard.

"Just one?" Deacon asked, conjuring his swords.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

"Fancy meeting you here," Electra said, peering through the energy sphere as one would peer at the occupant of a fishbowl. She tapped a finger against the resilient surface.

Mara glared at her, crossing her arms.

"How did she get _in_ there?" Tommy asked. "And more importantly…how do we get her _out_?"

"You don't."

The Rangers spun around, only to be blasted with four bolts of crimson light, each one striking one of the four unimprisoned Rangers and encasing him or her in a similar sphere. The orbs floated for a moment, thrown back by the force of the initial blast, and then arranged themselves into a neat row alongside Mara's.

"We probably should have seen that coming," Electra said.

"No, really?" Mara asked sarcastically. "Didn't you guys hear me yelling, 'It's a trap, you idiots!'?"

"We couldn't hear you before," Troy explained. "But…we can now. Go figure."

"That's magic for you," Terina commented.

The conversation came to a screeching halt as the entity responsible for entrapping them appeared, sitting nonchalantly on the fountain…a small boy with tussled hair and piercing blue eyes, red light still crackling on his fingertips.

"Hello, Rangers," he said. "So glad you could join me."

Tommy's mouth fell open.

"Kite…"


	67. Chapter 67

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 67: Chapter 67

"In the flesh," Kite said, smirking. "Well…sort of."

"What are you _doing_?" Tommy asked, incredulous.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kite asked, sitting down on the edge of the fountain and examining his nails nonchalantly. "I'm getting the five of you out of the way while Zedd mounts an attack on your ship."

"Why?"

Kite chuckled. "Do you have any idea how much power is unleashed when a Nexus is triggered? There's more than enough for Zedd, and anyone who works with him. He's promised me a share."

"And you really think he'll keep his word?" Troy asked.

"I don't see why he wouldn't. One being can only absorb so much energy. If he tried to keep _all_ the power of the Nexus himself, he'd probably be disintegrated. So he might as well share it."

"So this whole thing was a setup?' Mara demanded. 'The E'not Sel Caro, everything?"

"Oh, no," Kite assured her. "Zedd actually _is_ after the E'not Sel Caro. It's just not here."

"So," Terina asked. "Where _is_ it?"

"The key to finding the E'not Sel Caro," the powerful child said. "Has been under your noses the whole time."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Where are you guys?" Lolli's electronic voice inquired.

"Lounge," Jareth replied.

"We'll be there shortly," the Green Ranger said, closing the link.

"Would someone mind telling me," Deacon began, swinging his whirling diamond-blades through the air and decapitating a number of hostile robots. "How all these things managed to get into our ship?"

"I am yet unable to determine the means by which these COGS units managed to penetrate the Oasis' shields, Silver Ranger, nor why they failed to trigger the alarms, nor why my systems are unable to teleport them away."

"How many are there on board?" Fox asked, as her two-bladed sword mowed down the last of the droids infesting the lounge.

"My sensors detect no less than 473 COGS currently on board the Oasis. Their movements suggest a search pattern, though they are also disabling various vital systems as they travel throughout the sh-_zzt_!"

Zord-1's voice abruptly cut out.

"Zord-1? Zord-1!" Jareth jumped up onto the decimated remains of the couch and proceeded to tap at the speaker grille set into the ceiling. He turned to look down at his friends. "I think he's dead."

"They might have just disabled the speakers," Deacon pointed out.

"Yeah, but wouldn't he talk to us through our comchips, then?"

"Hm. Point."

"Okay, we need to call the Rangers down on the planet and tell them to get their asses up here, before they take out the teleporters," Fox said.

"That's…who? Angel and Stephen?" Deacon asked.

Jareth counted on his fingers, rattling off Ranger names to himself. "Yeah, just those two. Everyone else is either here or on Phaedos. Did you ever think that maybe there are too many of us?"

Deacon clicked on his comlnk. "Angel. Stephen. We've got trouble. Get up here. Now."

"Where's here?" Stephen's voice crackled.

"The Oasis, I presume. On our way," Angel's replied, and the link closed.

The doors to the lounge opened, and all three Rangers inside spun towards it, weapons at the ready….only to lower their arms when they saw Myk entering, a few slowly healing scorches and slashes in his armor. He help up a severed COGS head, gesturing at it expectantly.

"Don't ask us," Jareth said, before Myk could ask. "We just live here."

"The ship is swarming with them!" Myk declared. "We've got to do something."

"Start looking into apartment listings?" the Gold Ranger suggested.

"To save the ship!"

"Oh. Um. EMP? Reverse all the circuits on the ship to make one big electromagnetic wave that'll fry all the COGS."

Everyone stared blankly at him.

"What?" he asked defensively. "It's what they did on Lexx when the Mantrid drone-arms attacked the ship."

"Would that really work?" Fox asked.

Jareth shrugged. "Beats me. I still don't understand why that didn't fry Kai. I mean, he had electronic systems built into him, they showed that when they got to the fire-planet and he broke himself-"

"Will you quit rattling off sci-fi?" Myk demanded. "We have to _do_ something!"

A large explosion sounded from the hall, and the electronic doors to the lounge were blown in off their tracks. Something green flew in, landing flat on its back amid the wreckage.

"Lolli?" Deacon asked.

"Lolli," Lolli confirmed in a pained voice as Jareth helped her to her feet.

Standing in the doorway was the COGS that had thrown her, looking not at the Rangers, but at the large silver dog that stood between it and them, growling.

"Sic 'im, boy," Lolli said.

The dog reared back to leap at the robot's throat, but before he could, a thin red laser swept through the air from behind it, severing its head. The COGS unit fell forward in two pieces, revealing the mechanical black disk that had been hovering behind it.

"Consider him sicced," Diskette said smugly.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"On the Oasis?" Tommy asked. "Wouldn't someone have seen it by now?"

"Clearly not," Kite replied condescendingly.

"If the Caro was on the Oasis, wouldn't Zord-1 have known about it?" Terina inquired suspiciously.

"You see, this is why you Rangers are always so clueless," Kite said, beginning to pace back and forth in front of the row of containment spheres. "You don't _listen_. I didn't _say_ that the Caro was on the Oasis. I said that the key to _finding_ it was."

"So…what's the key to finding it?" Electra asked.

"Finally!" Kite cried happily. "Someone asked the right question. It's about time." He began playing a sort of makeshift-hopscotch with the hexagonal cobblestones.

There was an expectant pause.

"Well?" Mara asked. "What's the answer?"

"The obvious one, of course. To find something you need two things. A map, and the map's companion. Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, someone found the Caro and hid it, but they left behind a way to find it. Find the way to find it, and you've found it."

Tommy shook his head. "I can't believe you were working for Zedd all along."

"Actually, this is the first job I've ever done for Zedd. Until now, I've just been pranking you."

"Wait…you mean…the vines, the Delta Megaship's sabotage…," Terina began.

"All me! Surprised?"

"And the threat that was closer and worse than Zedd…You were talking about yourself?" Electra asked.

"I thought you were supposed to be one of the smart ones? Yes, I was talking about myself. You know, I hate it when people need everything spelled out for them."

Kite abruptly ceased his hopping, twitching slightly. He shuddered, red light flickering across his skin.

"Aww…already?' he asked, sounding disappointed. "I'd hoped to stay a little longer. Oh, well. Must be off. Adios, Rangers."

With that, the child vanished, leaving the five spheres of energy behind.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

In a flurry of gray and white light, Angel and Stephen materialized aboard the Oasis.

Stephen blinked, looking around. "Um. Where are we?"

The room into which they'd teleported was a large, spacious chamber, full of planters and ceramic pots, out from which bloomed a dazzling array of flowers, mostly yellow, but with splashes of other colors thrown in here and there. Amid the flora were statues of bizarre but beautiful alien creatures, and in the center of the room stood a gently burbling fountain.

"Terina's garden," Angel replied. "A replica of a traditional Eltarian atrium. It was once just a simudeck program, but last year she converted one of the lower storage levels into a real one, since it wasn't being used."

"And what are we doing here? I don't know about you, but I was aiming for the Bridge."

Angel shrugged. "Part of the problem that the others mentioned, perhaps?"

"What kind of problem could screw with the teleporters?" the White Ranger asked.

Angel's face nearly registered an expression as he spied motion over the smaller Ranger's head. "It occurs to me that those may have had something to do with it," he said calmly, pointing.

Stephen turned to see a small group of COGS searching the area, each of the mechanical soldiers producing weapons as they spied the Rangers.

Stephen summoned his Morpher, but before he could use it, the lights overhead flickered. The White Ranger abruptly felt his feet leave the floor. He blinked as himself, Angel, and a good amount of dirt and the water from the fountain all began floating freely through the air.

"The artificial gravity appears to have failed," Angel said.

"You don't say," Stephen grumbled, gripping his Morpher.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"No," Lolli said. "I mean, yes, it would work, but it'd also fry the Oasis itself. The Lexx only survived that because it was a technorganic vessel. The Oasis is almost entirely technological, except for Zord-1 himself."

"You both watch _way_ too much TV," Myk said, shaking his head.

"Well," Jareth said. "That was my plan. Where's yours?"

"Well, maybe if we knew how these things had gotten _in_, we'd know how to get them out. Normally, nothing gets in unless it has a comchip specifically keyed to the Oasis' shield frequency, but clearly, that's not iron clad. After all, something brought Myk back here, and Kite managed to get in."

"Maybe it's all been Kite," Myk said. "Maybe he's the one who brought me back here, and let all these COGS aboard the Oasis."

"Makes sense," Fox agreed. "He's the only non-Ranger who's ever gotten aboard, right?"

"And if he can beat the shields, he might be able to figure out how to manipulate Zord-1, as well," Lolli continued. "Kite could have been the one responsible for all the mishaps we've been having. DECA escaping, the Phantom Ruby…all of it."

Jareth shook his head. "I…I don't think so. I don't know why, but…I trust Kite."

Deacon crossed his arms. "Yeah. Me too."

This turned everyone's head.

"You do?" Fox asked, incredulous.

"Hey, no one's more surprised than me," the Silver Ranger assured them. "But something about him just feels…I dunno….right."

Jareth nodded.

"Well, _I _still don't trust him," Myk said. "It's just way to coincidental that this entity just _happens _to know everything Zedd's planning."

"I agree," Lolli said. "All signs point to Kite. And if it _is_ him, then the others probably walked right into a trap on Phaedos."

Fox squirmed. "Well, we can't do anything about any of that until we clear the COGS off our ship," she said, not ready to pass judgment. Everything _did_ seem to implicate Kite, but her two closest friends seemed so sure…

Abruptly, the lighting flickered in and out and everyone's feet left the floor.

"Oh, great," Lolli said, pouting. "Gravity's out."

Murphey whined, drifting through the air with the Rangers.

Diskette spun around, looking at the floating Rangers.

"So…what's the problem? I do this all the time."

"Will you just go and fix the gravity generators, please?" the Green Ranger snapped.

"Sure. No problem. Wouldn't want to leave you hanging. Like, say, the way you left me lying in pieces on the workbench the other day…"

"I _said_ I was sorry about that!"  
"All right, all right, I'm going." Diskette turned and zipped out through the gaping hole in the wall of the lounge that had once been a door.

"Next time I build something," Lolli grumbled. "Remind me not to install free will."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Did Kite seem a little…off to you?" Tommy asked.

"You're asking us if the magically powered, glow-in-the-dark toddler seemed strange?" Mara asked.

"I mean…for him," Tommy clarified.

"None of us really knows him all that well," Electra said. "Why? You think Zedd has him under a spell or something?"

"Would a spell even _work_ on Kite?" Troy asked.

"We can figure it out later," Tommy said. "We need to get back to the ship."

"That's right. Zedd's attacking our friends right now, isn't he?" Terina asked. She tapped the force-bubble that contained her. "So…umm…how do we get out of here?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Stephen flipped through the air, unhindered by gravity, striking one of the metal walls feet-first and kicking off, launching himself once again at the mechanical soldiers.

Saba's wide, flat blade sang as it sliced through the air, but it blunted against the neo-titanium plating that protected the droids.

The Cogs unit reached up and grabbed Stephen's white-and-gold boot as he flew past, spinning and sending him flying into Angel, who was currently attempting to swordfight another mechanical construct with little success.

Another Ranger might have been bowled over, but Angel's size was sufficient that all he did was drift a foot or so, the White Ranger bouncing off of him and floating end-over-end, dazed.

As Stephen shook his head, trying to get his bearing in the zero-g environment, the Gray Ranger transformed into a large gray crocodile and clamped his jaws down on the COGS unit's head. The COGS placed its hands on the crocodile's snout and tried to force its mouth open, but was unable to out-muscle Angel's powerful jaws.

Twin rays of white light lanced out of nowhere, neatly striking between Angel's reptilian jaws and cutting halfway through the COGS unit's neck.

As the rays ceased, Angel jerked his neck to the side, tearing the metal head from its body. The mechanical corpse sparked and jerked briefly, then went still.

The Gray Ranger spat the head out, then returned to his humanoid Ranger form. He carefully brushed off his cowl.

"Thank you, Saba."

"You are most welcome, Gray Ranger."

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was the sound of machinery powering up, and everything in the lounge that had been floating fell back to the floor.

"Ah," Deacon said. "That's better."

"Is not. I liked floating."

"You want to float, play Terina's jetball game," Myk said, straightening his long scarlet cape. "Right now we need to get those COGS off our ship."

"Shouldn't we also find what they're looking for and make sure they don't get it?" Jareth asked.

"They're looking for something?" Lolli asked curiously.

"Yeah, Zord-1 said they were moving in search patterns. Before they knocked him off-line," Fox confirmed.

"Okay, so we pair off and do a little searching ourselves," Deacon said. "Lolli, you and your tin terrier go find Kalen and check the sport levels. The arena and whatnot."

"Can do. Come on, Murphy," Lolli said, slapping the side of her leg as she turned to leave. Murphy let out an electronic yip, then trotted off to follow.

"Okay. Jareth, you and Myk check the bridge while Fox and I-"

"Ahem," Jareth said, arms crossed, looking expectantly at the Silver Ranger.

Deacon rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay, good point. Myk, you're with me. Jareth, _you_ take Fox and scout the habitat level."

Fox had been glaring at him, but moved to stand beside the Gold Ranger anyway.

Jareth seemed amused. "On it. Later!" He grabbed Fox's arm and hauled her off.

Myk turned to Deacon expectantly.

"So where are we going?"

Deacon examined the edge of his sword nonchalantly.

"The Zord Bay, of course."


	68. Why Jareth is a Mogwai

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 68: Why Jareth is a Mogwai

Stephen was brought down with a THUD! as the gravity kicked back in. Clods of dirt and droplets of water fell to the ground all around him. Not far off, Angel dropped to the ground, landing heavily on his feet.

"Oh, sure," he complained, glancing around at all the destroyed COGS. "_Now_ the gravity comes back on."

"Zord-1?" Angel called.

There was no answer. Instead, the lights flickered threateningly.

"They're breaking the ship, aren't they?" the White Ranger asked.

"Looks like it," Angel confirmed. "Come on, let's go find the others."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Terina twisted her wrist, but nothing happened.

"I can't morph in here," she said, shaking her head. "You guys?"

The other Rangers tried as well to summon their morphers, but without success.

Tommy examined his red-gauntleted hands. "I'm already morphed."

"So?" Mara demanded. "DO something."

The Red Ranger rolled his eyes. He held both hands out in front him, wrists together.

**"PyroSphere!"**

The other Rangers blinked as a burst of flames, then a thick cloud of black smoke filled Tommy's sphere.

"Well," came his voice from the center of the smog-filled orb. "That didn't work."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What makes you think that whatever the COGS are after is in the Zord Bay?" Myk asked, as he and Deacon stepped into the compression elevator that would reduce them to a fraction of their normal size.

"What makes you so sure it's not?" Deacon retorted. "Now demorph. I don't know if this thing can compress us in our Ranger forms. And it'd suck if the elevator shrank around us. We'd probably tear apart the elevator shaft or something."

Myk threw back his head and closed his eyes, willing away his armor. Bronze and Silver light flooded the elevator as the two returned to their human forms.

Deacon leaned forward and hit the button, ignoring that little voice in his head that was screaming at him about how one was never supposed to use the elevator during an emergency. The Silver Ranger shushed that voice, calmly telling it that that only applied to fires, not attacks by alien robots, thank you very much. He then kicked himself for arguing with the inside of his own head. Maybe he _had_ been spending too much time with Jareth.

Myk tried and failed to stifle a yawn as the lights in the elevator flickered, the molecular compressors kicking in.

Deacon squinted. The Bronze Ranger did not look good. He was unusually pale, his normally olive skin a sickly shade of beige. Dark circles rimmed his eyes.

"You okay?" the Silver Ranger asked. "Fox was right, you really don't look good."

"I told you, I haven't been sleeping well," Myk replied.

"Yeah, right. You sure you didn't just catch something from that alien probe?"

"The next person who makes a joke about that probe gets his kidneys torn out," the Bronze Ranger snapped.

Deacon blinked. "Wow. You _are_ cranky when you don't get enough sleep."

"Deal," Myk said flatly. "If you don't like it, then maybe you should have taken Jareth and paired me off with Fox."

"I'll keep that in mind next time," Deacon muttered as the doors opened, and the two Rangers stepped out into the large, mostly vacant Zord Bay.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Electra sighed, sitting cross-legged in the bottom of her containment sphere. "I don't mean to sound impatient, but could you please hurry?" she asked. "I have to use the bathroom."

"I'm working on it," Tommy snapped, striking his sphere again with the enchanted blade of his Tyrant Sword. The blade bounced harmlessly off its surface, as it had every time before.

"Deacon's saws could probably cut through this," Troy commented, running his hand along the transparent red surface.

"Hey, try that spinning-top thing you do, Tommy," Terina suggested.

Tommy shrugged, deciding that it was worth a try. His longsword vanishing with a burst of crimson light, he drew the short sword from his back and unsheathed the hook-shaped bladed that normally rested within his shield-shaped left gauntlet. Holding the blades out to his sides, he began to spin, his power driving him faster and faster until nothing could be seen of him but a triangular red blur, balanced on its point. A line of sparks formed halfway up his sphere as his blades dragged along the inner surface of the energy orb, dreadful screeching sounds filling the air.

"Pretty," Electra conceded. "But is it working?"

"Shush," Troy silenced the Black Ranger, eyes on Tommy.

The outer surface of the Red Ranger's sphere began to blur, tiny shards of red light breaking off from it as its cohesion was disrupted by the energy building up inside it. The sparks that Tommy's blades were striking from the walls burned more and more brightly, until his entire orb shone like a red sun.

The screeching sounds of the blades against the walls built to a crescendo, and the orb exploded, waves of red light washing out from where the sphere had been. Even through their own spherical prisons, the other Rangers could feel the heat.

"Can anyone else see?" Mara's voice called.

"Sure I can," Electra's Australian accent replied. "Lots and lots of red spots."

"Those should fade shortly," Troy called to the others, his vision already starting to clear.

"Check out the ground. Scorch marks. I think these force fields just saved all our lives," Terina said. "Of course, without the force fields, Tommy wouldn't have had to _do_ that…"

Electra squinted. Obviously, Terina's eyesight had returned more quickly than any of the others' had…_she_ couldn't see anything yet. Wait…yes, now she could see. Through the translucent red surface of her prison sphere was the cobblestoned ground, now unmistakably scarred by scorch marks that all seemed to radiate from where Tommy's sphere had been.

And where Tommy's sphere had been…

"Oh, no…," Mara said. "Tommy?"

Tommy's body lay, unmorphed, flat on the ground, and completely still.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A pencil thin ray of red light lanced out across the hall, neatly severing a number of mechanical heads before retracting back into the red diamond that adorned the forehead of Lolli's dragon-shaped helmet.

She daintily stepped over the metal corpses and knocked on the royal purple door, crossing her arms as she waited for a response. Murphy stood guard nearby, his sharp metal ears on high alert.

"Kalen. It's me."

"Prove it," came the muffled voice from within.

"How?" Lolli demanded.

"What's the square root of 58, 647?"

"242.1714268859974-"

The door slid open.

"You _are_ aware that the ship is besieged with COGS, yes?" Lolli asked, striding into the room, the metal dog at her heels.

"That would be why I just had all my important belonging teleported elsewhere."

"Ah. Might I ask where?"

"You might," Kalen replied, tapping away at the small laptop computer that sat open on her vanity table. "Doesn't mean you'd get an answer."

Lolli shrugged. "Well, if everything's gone, then will you _finally_let me scope out this room in its entirety?"

"Not a chance. Incidentally, if I ever meet me, remind me to thank myself."

"Excuse me?"

"That note Tommy brought me, from that other dimension he was sucked into? It was from that's world's Kalen. Evidently, when their Oasis crashed, I lost all of my important materials, as well as all access to offworld resources."

"And so you warned you to set up safeguards?"

"Yup," Kalen replied, clicking one final key. The laptop excreted its CD-ROM drawer, and the Purple Ranger removed the disk, placed it carefully into a case, and stuck the case into her pocket.

"Clever. And a very you thing to do."

"Thank you."

"Erm…if you don't mind my asking…"

"Yes?"

"What happened to those?"

Lolli gestured towards the bank of monitors that occupied one wall of the Purple Ranger's ornate room. The screens were shattered, the metal frames slashed. The metal around each slash mark was blackened, as though the blade that caused it had been set aflame.

"They were like that when I came home the other day," Kalen replied. "My guess is that our rogue Ranger realized that I had security footage of the ship that Zord-1 couldn't erase for him."

"So you know who he is?" Lolli asked eagerly. "Our theory at the moment is that it's Kite…"

Kalen shook her head. "I pulled up the files after that-" She waved her hand at the monitors. "-happened. Whoever it was evidently thought that breaking the screens would erase the files themselves, so can't be too big on technology. Kite seems the ancient type, so it _could_ have been him…"

"But?" Lolli prompted.

"But, the person in the files wore a cloak that concealed his face. He…I think it's a he…seemed a bit too tall to be Kite. Unless Kite can change his size, which wouldn't really surprise me."

Lolli squinted behind her visor. "You sound like you have someone else in mind."

"I might. I'm not saying any more just now."

The laptop suddenly let out a pathetic whine, then emitted sparks and a puff of smoke, its screen going dead.

"You've killed it," Lolli stated.

"Yup. **Hammerhead!"**

A purple flash illuminated the purple room as Kalen assumed her armored Ranger form.

"And assuming we manage to save this ship, please don't bring your dog in here again. Nelak won't always be down on Station for safekeeping."

"Check," Lolli said, as the two headed for the door. She smirked. "By the way, you never let me finish. It's 242.1714268859974322-"

"You're not going to shut up until you reach the end of that, are you?"

There was a pause.

"-7966240326356."

"I thought not."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was a loud WOOSH! As the jumptubes ejected first the Gold Ranger, then the Camoflage Ranger, quite carelessly onto the habitat level.

"So," Fox asked, once the two had gotten to their feet and composed themselves. "See anything suspicious?"

"After that trip? I think I can see into my own brain. From now on, when the ship's broken, I'm taking the stairs."

A loud crash suddenly sounded from down the hall to their left.

"Ah," Fox said. "There we go." She turned and started off in that direction.

Jareth shook his head, following. "You know, anyone else would walk _away_ from the sounds of rampant destruction…"

He trailed off as Fox stopped abruptly. Two of the doors in the hall before them were open, bright lights from within spilling into the corridor. The light illuminated a pile of objects in front of each door, each pile growing as more and more of the rooms contents were thrown out.

"They really _are_ looking for something," Fox said.

Jareth unclasped his scythe from his belt and stepped forward, entering one of the rooms…

"Hey! Quit messing with-" was as far as he got before a snow globe caught him in the face, shattering against the front of his helmet and leaving him with flakes of wet, white material all over the front of his armor. He cringed, his Ranger armor having enough sensitivity for him to actually feel the water running down his front.

Behind him, Fox winced, backing slowly into the hall and quietly closing the door as Jareth holstered Kyra, clipping the folded Lyonscythe back into his place at his belt.

"Okay," he said calmly. "I am now officially annoyed."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So how did these guys get compressed?" Myk asked, whirling his nunchakus to deflect the laser bursts that the COGS in the Zord Bay were firing from their faces.

"Came through the elevator before us?" Deacon suggested, arms at his sides as he absorbed the energy blasts with his shield. "Or maybe they beamed aboard this small. The Machine Empire might have compressy-thingies, too, for all we know."

The Silver Ranger's voice began to rise in pitch and speed as his shield glowed more and more brightly with stolen energy. He bent over and folded his arms across his chest, preparing to release all that power in a colossal blast…when Myk laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't. Blowing things up at random is _not_ a good strategy on a space ship. Especially ours," he added as an afterthought.

Deacon grimaced, but had to concede that the Bronze Ranger had a point. He decided to try something he hadn't before. Closing his eyes, he let the power build around him like it normally would, but at the last moment, instead of releasing it in every direction, he focused, channeling it down his arms and into his chrome bracers.

When it built to the point that he couldn't contain it anymore, his eyes shot open. Picking out a target, he thrust one of his hands forward, releasing a torrent of blue-white energy that burned a hole clear through the nearest COGS unit. A second blast followed from his other hand, followed by another, then another, until nothing remained of the intruders in the Zord Bay but numerous piles of steaming, melted slag.

Deacon fell to his knees, steam rising from his arms.

"Nicely done," Myk said.

"Yeah," the Silver Ranger said. "Thanks."

Myk tapped the side of his helmet, awakening his comlink. "Myk to…everyone. No sign of what they're after in the Zord bay. Any luck?"

"Not the good kind," Lolli's voice replied. "I found Kalen and we're off to join the others on the habitat level. It seems like the COGS are centered there."

"Umm…actually, you guys might wanna stay clear for a while," Fox broke in.

"Why?" Kalen's voice asked suspiciously.

"One of them threw water at Jareth."

"Oh, no," Deacon said.

"So?" Myk asked. "If it's just water…"

"Jareth's like a Mogwai," the Silver Ranger said, standing up. "Bad things happen when he gets wet. But nothing as pleasant as lots of little Jareths popping out of his skin."

"Thank you, Deacon, for that image," Kalen declared.

"You know, there's a case to be made that he actually might _be_ a Mogwai," Fox added thoughtfully. "I mean, there's the water, plus he sings, eats everything in sight, and fries if you drag him into the sunlight…"

"One of us should definitely tell him he's a Mogwai," Lolli said. "If we all survive this, that is."

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Ooog…"

"Hey. He's moving," Terina's voice declared.

Tommy flinched as her words stomped through his brain.

"Could you please not talk so loudly?" he asked softly. "It hurts. And if you could turn the sun down a little…"

"Come on, get up," Mara said. "Get us out of here."

"Yeah, we still have to warn the others. Or help them out, if they already know," Electra amended.

Wondering if this was what it felt like to be hung over, the Red Ranger struggled to pull himself to a seated position. He felt like an overcooked noodle, except for his head, which felt somewhat like a bowling ball.

"Morph, and you'll feel better," Terina suggested.

Tommy nodded. Morphing was like the best drug in the world…free, non-addictive, and the side effects were all beneficial. Of course, when he demorphed, he'd be returning to this state from his condition of physical perfection. It'd be like a kick to the head.

Not bothering to stand, which would have been way too much trouble in his current condition, he twisted his wrist, summoning his morpher.

**"Tyranosaurus,"** he invoked.

Like magic…because it was….all of his discomfort evaporated, leaving him feeling confident and energized as his armor materialized.

"There ya go," Terina said, as he climbed to his feet.

"Yeah, now how do I get you guys out of there?"

"Same way you got yourself out," Troy suggested. "As long as the force is coming from outside our bubbles, the blast shouldn't hurt us. It'll all be directed outwards."

"Yeah, just be careful not to carve us while you're at it," Mara added.

Tommy nodded, extruding his hook-blades and drawing the blade from its sheath at his back. He approached Terina's sphere, and taking careful aim, began to spin…

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A massive rumble shook the floor beneath Angel's feet, forcing him to rest a hand against the curving wall of the ship to maintain his balance.

"Woah!" Stephen staggered, trying to regain his footing.

"I believe the Oasis' orbit has begun to grow unstable," Saba said, hovering next to the White Ranger.

"It was only a matter of time, what with the COGS tearing it apart from the inside," Angel said.

"Come on," Stephen said, renewing his efforts to travel through the habitat level.

The level consisted of sixteen bedrooms, one for each Ranger, one for Zoey and two of which were vacant, as well as the Lounge. They were all linked by a single, curving hallway, and it was down this hall that the Gray and White Rangers struggled to move, despite the piles of litter in the halls and the sudden bucking of the ship.

"Stephen! Angel! Down here," Fox's voice called.

The Camo Ranger waved them over, and they rushed over to her side.

"What are you doing?" Stephen asked. "Just standing here?"

"Oh, I'm waiting for Jareth to finish."

"To finish what?" Angel asked.

As if to answer his question, the wall of the corridor behind them exploded outwards, the twisted body of a COGS unit striking the opposite wall and falling to the floor. Its metal body appeared to have been twisted, its spine bent back so that its head was, quite literally, stuck up its ass.

A pair of large golden hands braced themselves against the jagged metal, tearing the hole in the wall still wider, and Jareth stepped out into the hall, his Battleizer armor gleaming dully in the flickering fluorescent lights overhead.

The Gold Ranger seemed to shrink, his enhancements fading away, the bull's horns retracting back into his lion's mane and his cloven-hoof boots becoming feline paws again.

"You finished?" Fox asked.

Jareth walked over and delivered a final, nonchalant kick to the COGS, then turned back to Fox. "Yeah," he said. "I'm finished."

"You do realize that that was Terina's room you just trashed, right?"

"It doesn't matter much," Lolli's voice called from behind them.

They turned to see her and Kalen, with Diskette floating just behind Lolli's shoulder and Murphy sitting near her feet.

"The Oasis' orbit is shot," Diskette said. "If we can't clear out the COGS and get Zord-1 back online soon…and I mean, _now_ soon…we're going to crash."


	69. Going Down

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 69: Going Down

The electronic doors, that would normally have opened automatically, refused to open at all.

Lolli grumbled, jamming her dagger into the crack between the two plates of metal, trying to pry them open. As soon as there was enough space between them, she jammed her fingers in and used her Ranger strength to shove them apart.

When the doors were finally opened, the Green Ranger almost wished she'd left them closed. The Bridge had been, quite literally, torn apart. The crystal clear sphere that normally would have been full of crackling electricity had been shattered, and was now completely dead. The consoles that stood around the room had been ripped open, circuit panels laid bare and sparking wires protruding from beneath bent plates of metal. Many of the paintings of the Rangers that had hung at equidistant points on the walls had been knocked down, their frames broken and the canvas torn out. Those few overhead lights that had not been ripped free from the ceiling entirely flickered unsteadily, randomly raining sparks down on the decimated room.

"I am not cleaning this up," Kalen stated calmly, walking into the room behind her, Diskette and Murphy following not long after.

"Well, if we can get Zord-1 up and running again, then he can fix himself," Diskette said helpfully. "And if not, then the ship crashes into the planet, killing everyone for miles around and completely annihilating itself in the process."

"So, either way, you won't have to clean," Lolli said, walking over to a broken terminal and tearing off the top plate, tossing it carelessly aside. She began to fiddle with the inner workings of the computer. "Diskette. Tri-wedge."

The small, hovering droid floated over, opened a panel, and extruded a small, triangular tool, which Lolli took.

"Gah," she complained after a moment's tinkering. "Armored gloves. I have to demorph for this, I need normal fingers. Make sure nothing kills me, okay?"

"No promises," Kalen said, turning to watch the door, as a blinding green flash lit the room, taking Lolli's armor with it as it faded.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was a brief explosion of red fire as the last of the energy spheres shattered, releasing Mara.

"About time," she said, rising to her feet and dusting herself off.

"Yeah, well, you complained so much, we decided we liked you better _inside_ the soundproof sphere," Terina stated. "So we saved you till last."

Mara glared at the Yellow Ranger, then turned to Tommy, who was just sheathing his sword.

"So now what?"

"Now we get to the Megaship, haul our asses back to Terra, and warn the others. If it's not too late," Troy said.

"And if it is?" Electra inquired.

'We'll worry about that when we get there," Tommy replied. "Come on."

The Rangers turned to leave, only to stop in their tracks as two humanoid figures appeared before them.

One was orange, the other purple, both having silver highlights to their armored bodies. The orange one was covered with small spikes and blades, two longer, sharper sword-blades emerging from his gauntlets. His eye-parts were curving spikes that grew from his face, sticking out to the sides and curving back and upwards. The purple one was reminiscent of a snowplow, covered in angular, flanged metal plates.

"Sword," the orange one said in a hissing voice.

"Shield," the purple one added in an identical tone.

"Looks like Kite left us some playmates," Tommy said, unsheathing his hook-claws.

Mara squinted. "Are those their names?" she asked. "Sword and Shield?"

"Sword!"

"Shield!"

"Terrific," Electra said. "We're up against Pokemon."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

With a feral roar, a large gray leopard raced down the halls of the Oasis, pouncing on a mechanical soldier and tearing at it with its razor-sharp, hooked claws. The COGS unit fell to its back, great slashes appearing in its neo-titanium plating.

Racing along behind it, Fox skidded to a halt, Blade Blaster in hand. She quickly unloaded several shots of red-hot energy into the soldier's metal skull.

Angel shifted back into his Ranger form.

"Thank you," he said, examining his fingers. "Claws really aren't that effective against metal."

"Yeah, I'd guessed," the Camo Ranger replied.

More sounds of battle echoed down the narrow hall, and a few dismembered mechanical bodies were thrown into sight.

"Aww," Deacon said, appearing from around the corner. "No more?"

"Plenty more," Jareth replied, strolling along behind him, his eyes on the small screen of his Turbo Navigator. "They're headed down that hall, and to the left…or is it right?" He shook his head, then pointed to the left. "They're headed thataway, and then…"

Walking up behind him, Stephen squinted over the Gold Ranger's shoulder at the screen. "Hey…isn't that the way to your room?"

Jareth blinked.

"Yes," he said after a moment. "Yes it is."

"What do _you_ have that they would want?" Fox inquired.

"Your spellbooks, perhaps?" Angel suggested.

"What would robots want with spellbooks?" Jareth asked dubiously.

"Whatever it is, let's go stop them instead of standing here talking about it," Deacon said.

Jareth snapped the Turbonav shut.

"I get the feeling I'm going to have to redecorate after this."

There was a sudden crackling in their ears, and Lolli's broken voice sounded unsteadily through their comchips.

"Angel?" she asked through the static. "Could you come to the Bridge, please? I could use a hand."

"On my way," Angel replied.

"Catch ya later," Fox said, waving to the Gray Ranger.

Angel waved back, then polymorphed into the form of a gray cheetah, tearing down the halls at breakneck speeds as he raced towards the Oasis' damaged control center.

"And you two," Fox said suddenly, turning to Stephen and Myk. "Get your asses down to the Zord Bay and see if there's anything that can still fly. Preferably something big enough to carry us all, in case we have to bail."

"I just _came_ from the Zord Bay," Myk complained.

"Then you'll remember which way to go, won't you?" Fox asked sweetly. "Now move it!"

The Camo Ranger gave them a shove in the appropriate direction.

Stephen and Myk grudgingly started off towards the compression-elevator, occasionally shooting what were probably dirty looks back over their shoulders and grumbling.

"Well?" Fox asked, turning to Jareth and Deacon. "Let's go?"

Jareth shook his head as Fox trotted off ahead of them.

"That's one pushy ex-girlfriend you've got, Dea."

"Yeah," Deacon replied. "Hence the 'ex'."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

With a violent yell, Tommy flew through the air, foot-first, striking Shield with a flying kick to the chest…only to fall to his ass on the cobblestones, the purple, armor-plated monster not budging an inch.

"Shield!" Shield said, as Tommy flipped back to his feet and then backflipped until he was standing beside the other Rangers again.

"Maybe you should have tried hitting Sword," Terina suggested.

"Yeah, I got that," Tommy grumbled.

"Shield!" Shield cried again, crossing his arms over his chest. A fiery purple aura enveloped him, spreading to cover Sword as well.

"Sword!" Sword leapt forward, forearm-blades outstretched.

The Rangers scattered as Sword landed before them, spinning, his blades striking out in every direction, sharp enough to actually carve slashes into the stone surface of the street.

Two streaks of yellow shot through the air as Terina hurled her daggers, but Sword spun again, slicing the enchanted weapons into no less than six pieces. The shards of yellow metal ricocheted in every direction, embedding themselves in the cobblestones.

At the same time, Troy leapt forward, lance swinging downward at Sword's head. The orange, metallic warrior raised a bladed arm as though to block the strike. The powerful weapon struck the blade, but instead of bouncing off with the usual shower of blue sparks, the upraised blade passed right through the metal of the lance, as though Troy had tried to attack a hot knife with a long stick of butter. The triple-flanged end of his lance clattered to the ground.

"Woah," Terina said, awestruck.

"Yeah, woah," Troy agreed, staring at the cleanly sliced-off end of his weapon.

"Sword!" Sword slashed horizontally at the Blue Ranger, carving a slice across his stomach. Troy cried out, clutching at the gash in his armor. As he bent over, Sword raised his blade, as though preparing the take off Troy's head.

There was a split second's hesitation, barely noticeable, then Sword shifted, ducking down and slashing horizontally again, this time slicing both of Troy's legs off at the knees. The Blue Ranger fell to the ground on his back, prone.

A barrage of black-and-silver shurikens surrounded Sword, but all bounced harmlessly off of the sheath of purple fire that surrounded him. Sword hissed, turning to face Electra, who took a few steps back warily, more ninja stars between her fingers, ready to be thrown.

"Umm…" she said.

Tommy glanced off to the side, where Shield still stood, arms folded, generating the force field that protected Sword.

"We've got to take out Shield first," he said.

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than a barrage of long pink energy arrows lanced out at Shield…but all shattered into harmless beads of light as they struck him, falling to the ground like rain.

"Works in theory," Mara said, bow in hand. "Any ideas on how we _do_ that, fearless leader?"

"Just one," Tommy replied.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The COGS units sifted through Jareth's belongings, removing the books, knickknacks, and artifacts from the shelves built into the curving walls of the circular room and throwing them aside. One of them attacked his video game collection, tossing aside CDs and cartridges as it sifted and searched. Another attacked his bed, tossing aside all the pillows and blankets and tearing into his mattress.

A third began sifting through the discarded bedclothes, checking to make sure nothing had been missed. It ripped apart one pillow, then another, tearing out the stuffing. Tossing aside the ruined pillows, it picked up a medium-sized, brown, well-worn teddy bear, so old that its fur was beginning to fall out. The mechanical soldier grabbed its head and prepared to twist.

"Hey!"

The COGS unit looked up towards the door…and caught a blast of energy right between the optical sensors. Smoke pouring from a hole in its melted plastic brain, it fell over lifelessly.

Jareth stowed his Blade Blaster, glaring at the metal corpse.

"_No one_ touches the bear."

The others appeared behind him, following him into the spacious room as the COGS turned their attention towards them.

"I've been meaning to ask," Deacon said. "How'd you get such a big room?"

"I asked for it," the Gold Ranger replied.

"Huh."

There were brief flashes as more COGS units appeared in the room, evidently having identified this as the location of the target they sought. The new arrivals continued shifting through the room's contents, as the older occupants drew closer, preparing for combat.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

"I'm not cleaning this up," Angel said calmly as he strode into the Bridge, looking around thoughtfully.

"We've been through that," Lolli said coldly. "Help me with this."

Angel strode over and assisted her in removing one of the fallen ceiling beams from atop a nearby control panel…meaning, of course, that he lifted it and placed it aside whilst she watched impatiently.

"Are the teleporters functioning?" Kalen asked, watching with mild interest as Lolli tinkered. "I'd rather not be aboard when this thing hits the planet. In fact, being on the exact opposite side of the planet sounds rather appealing."

"Actually, considering how hard we'll hit, it might be more prudent to be on another planet altogether," Angel stated.

"I'll let you know as soon as I get a diagnostic readout to function," Lolli said. "As of now, I couldn't tell you what time it is."

oooooooooooooooooooooo

"Where do you keep the spellbooks?" Fox asked, twirling her sword.

"Footlocker, by the bed."

Fox flipped, landing atop the large black trunk that stood at the foot of Jareth's bed. Her two-bladed sword left luminous green trails as it twirled around her, driving the COGS back from the books.

Jareth winced as Deacon's diamond-saws whirled to life, carving a long, deep slice in one of his walls as the COGS unit the Silver Ranger was battling ducked.

"Please TRY not to completely trash my room?"

"You mean like you _tried_ not to trash Terina's?" Fox retorted, spearing one of the COGS through the chest. She yanked her blade up, slicing the robot's upper body in half. It fell to the floor in sparking pieces.

"Eh…good point. Umm….yeah, if she asks? It was the COGS that did that."

As Jareth spoke, he extruded the finger-claws from his thumbs and jammed them into the optical sensors of the nearest robot, causing it to emit a high-pitched, electronic screech of protest. As it staggered back, blinded, the Gold Ranger screamed out a quick burst of high-intensity sound, scrambling what circuits it had remaining.

One of the mechanical minions, in a rare display of intelligence, managed to duck Fox's whirling blades and deliver a horizontal swipe to the back of her knees, knocking her legs out from under her. A cry escaped her as she plummeted off of the trunk to the floor.

The footsoldier lunged for the bed, but not for the footlocker…instead, it burrowed into the tangle of blankets and came up once again with Jareth's teddy bear in its metal hand.

"No!" Jareth yelled.

With an electronic shriek of triumph, the COGS unit holding the bear teleported away, immediately followed by all the other COGS who were still in working order. Only those that had been rendered into small piles of scrap metal remained scattered around the room, many of them still sparking.

Fox and Deacon blinked, exchanged a glance, then turned to Jareth, staring at him incredulously.

"What?" he asked.

"They were after your _bear_?" Deacon asked incredulously.

"Well," Jareth said uneasily, scratching at the back of his neck. "Probably not the bear itself…"

There was a rumble from deep within the bowels of the ship, as the lights flickered unsteadily and the floor began to vibrate under their feet.

"Let's discuss it later," Fox declared. "I think we should get to the Bridge and see if Lolli needs any more help."

The three headed for the door, attempting to keep their footing as the floor began to shake more and more violently.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Tommy….if you've got a plan, now would be a really good time," Electra said nervously, backing away slowly as Sword advanced on her, his bladed forearms raised threateningly. She still held a set of throwing stars between her fingers, but the Black Ranger knew perfectly well that they would do no good.

"Sword!" Sword hissed, leaping at her…but before he could close the distance between them, something long, thin, and pink shot out across the air, wrapping around his feet and arresting his flight. Sword found himself crashing facefirst to the cobblestoned street.

Mara pulled back on her whip, dragging the bladed monster away from Electra. When it sank its blades into the stones in an effort to stop, the Pink Ranger flew, lifting the monster into the air by his ankles.

"Sword," Sword cried. Retracting his forearm-blades, he placed his hands together, and with an orange spark, drew forth from nowhere a long, two-handed orange longsword.

Using this to slice through Mara's whip, he flipped, neatly landing on his feet.

Something crunched.

"Sword?" he inquired, glancing down. He appeared to have landed on a small heap of long, thin eggs, one of them becoming crushed by his armored feet.

"Oh, those are mine," Terina explained. "You'll see what they're for in a second."

Sword glared at her, but before he could move, the seeds at his feet sprang to life, ensnaring his entire lower body in a thick tangle of yellow-green vines.

"Sword!" Sword complained. He began to cut himself free, but he did so slowly and meticulously.

Tommy grinned. "I was right…," he said softly.

"Right?" Terina asked. "Right about what?"

"He's worried about cutting himself," Tommy explained, pointing.

"But nothing can cut through the forcefie- oh," Electra said, catching on.

"What?" Mara asked cluelessly.

"Just stand back."

Tommy strode forward, placing himself between Sword and Shield.

"**Pyrosphere!"** he invoked, sending a small orb of flame flying at the orange monster.

There was a surge of light and heat as the sphere erupted into an explosion of flames. The smell of burning vegetation filled the air as Terina's weedseeds were burned away, leaving only a very irate Sword.

"**Tyrant Sword**," Tommy summoned, the magical weapon appearing in his grip. He held the blade threateningly before him.

Sword, realizing that he was being challenged at his own specialty, took a few slow, calculating steps towards Tommy, his own sword at the ready.

Tommy raised his weapon as though to strike. At the same time, Sword rushed forward, attempting to spear the Red Ranger on the point of his blade.

At the last possible moment, Tommy leapt up into the air, flipping over Sword's head. Sword's blade struck, shredding its way through armor….but not Tommy's.

Shield shuddered, staring in surprise into what served as Sword's eyes. Sword appeared just as stunned. Both of their gazes dropped to Sword's sword, which had torn right through Shield's force field and gone through his armor like it had been tin foil.

"Sword?" Sword asked.

"Sh…shield…" Shield replied, the purple aura flickering and fading from around both him and Sword. The purple monster's legs buckled, and it fell to the ground, Sword's blade slicing up through its flesh and armor as Shield's weight dragged his body down against the edge of the blade.

Sword stared, aghast, at the remains of Shield as they crackled, dissolving into purple flames.

"Sword," he whispered. "Swoooooord!"

Sword turned angrily on Tommy, raising his blade.

TSEEW!

A blast of light from off to the side lanced through the air, neatly piercing Sword's head, entering where one ear should have been and exiting the other. Sword twitched, seeming more surprised than injured, then collapsed to the ground, erupting into mild orange flames that soon reduced him to nothing but dust.

Troy, lying against the fountain, several paces from where his severed legs lay, twirled his Blade Blaster before replacing it at his side.

"And that one's for my kneecaps," he said, demorphing, his armored blue stumps being replaced by a pair of perfectly intact human legs.

Tommy helped him to his feet as the others approached.

"Oh," Mara said. "I get it now."

"Come on," Terina said. "Let's head home."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Yes!" Lolli cried triumphantly, as one of the panels with which she had been tinkering finally flickered to life. "No!" she cried, in the exact same tone, as she examined the readout on that panel.

"What?" Kalen asked, in her best 'just say it and get it over with' tone.

"We're going to crash," Angel said. "No maybes about it this time. If the ship were restored to pristine condition this very instant…or, in fact, several instants ago, it would still be too late to prevent impact."

"And the teleporters are down. Zord Bay doors, too. We're going down with the ship," Diskette said in a resigned voice.

The Purple Ranger sighed, fiddling with her bracelet. "How much time do we have?"

Lolli pressed a single key on the lone functioning panel, and the screen at the front of the room lit up. Despite the jagged cracks that ran along its surface, there was no mistaking the planet Terra….or the fact that it was far, far too close.

"Three minutes, fourteen seconds," Lolli stated quietly.


	70. Happy Landings

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 70: Happy Landings

_One minute and thirty-five seconds later…_

Shafts of bright sunlight flickered down though the numerous holes in the Oasis' hull, particles of dust dancing through them. Sparks still flashed intermittently from shattered consoles and overhead lights, and numerous small fires blazed, adding columns of hazy smoke to the clouds of dust and sand that had been stirred by the ship's impact with the ground.

On what remained of the habitat level, a heavy metal support, once a part of the ceiling, was pushed aside by a green-gloved hand, and a small female form wrapped in battered camouflage armor emerged.

There was a bright green flash as her armor vanished, revealing a teenage girl in combat fatigues, her burgundy hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. She coughed, expelling polluted air from her lungs as she climbed free of the wreckage.

"Deacon?" She called, looking around for any signs of life amongst the twisted alien metal and ruined personal possessions. "Jareth?"

"Kim?"

Fox turned to see the Silver Ranger, pulling himself free from a jagged hole in one of the separating walls that divided one of the Rangers' rooms from the next. His chrome armor was badly scratched and dented, and about half of his left hand was missing, but he seemed otherwise unharmed.

Fox breathed a sigh of relief as he demorphed, his damaged Ranger form being replaced by his flesh-and-blood human body.

"You okay?" he asked.

Fox nodded. "Where's Jareth?"

The next few moments were spent frantically calling the Gold Ranger's name, but there was no answer.

Deacon crossed his arms.

"Dammit," he said. "He better not have finally gotten himself killed."

Fox turned her head towards the gaping hole in the side of the ship, through which lush, green vegetation could be seen. She could have sworn she could hear birds singing outside.

Deacon followed her gaze. "Out there, maybe?"

"Let's go check," Fox suggested.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The air was already rippling in the Bridge, what with all the smoke, dust, and noxious fumes, but for a moment it rippled more strongly. When the distortion faded, two girls were standing where no one had been moments before: an Asian girl in designer purple clothing, and a tall, blue-eyed girl with absurdly long blonde hair. Both immediately began coughing, their eyes tearing up.

"What dimension was _that_?" Lolli inquired.

"Are you sure this place is safe?" Kalen asked, ignoring the question, unhooking the necklace she was wearing and winding it back around her wrist. "The reactor's not going to explode or anything, is it?"

Lolli shook her head. "This ship is…was…powered by the Zeo Crystal. There's no reactor to explode. The worst that can happen here is a beam falling on our heads." The Green Ranger eyes Kalen's bracelet curiously. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me where you got that thing?"

"Nope," Kalen said simply. She raised her wrist, eying the bauble for a moment. "Always wondered if it would let me bring anyone with me."

"Was I just a convenient test subject, or did you actually want to keep me alive?"

"Yes," Kalen replied.

"Fine," the Green Ranger said. "By the way, that blue guy's a putz. Oh, no…"

Lolli bent down and picked something up off of the ground, holding it up. It was, unmistakably, a mechanical dog's paw.

"Murphy."

"You can fix him," the Purple Ranger said. "If we can find the rest of him," she added dubiously, nudging some of the scrap on the floor with the toe of her boot.

"Kalen?" A familiar voice called. A small, hovering black disc floated into the room from the hall, ducking under the ruined doorframe. "Lolli!"

The soccer ball-sized droid shot across the room, practically leaping into the Green Ranger's arms.

" Diskette! You survived?"

"Pumped up my shields as high as they would go, and was lucky and got tossed into a pile of nice soft insulation. I think my gyro needs to be recalibrated, though…"

"I'm fine, too. Thanks for asking," another voice called.

"Angel?"

"Angel," The Gray Ranger confirmed, having to bend over nearly double to get in through the crumbled doorway. "Where did you two go? You just vanished…"

"Did anyone else survive?" Kalen asked. "Or are we the only ones?"

"I've been trying to find that out," Angel replied. "Most of the halls are impassable, though."

"A better question might be, what did we hit?" Lolli asked.

Kalen raised an eyebrow.

"Most of the ship is intact," Lolli explained. "Striking the planet from orbit should have vaporized it. And us. Assuming the hull didn't melt first."

"We also hit a good minute and a half sooner than we should have," Angel agreed. "Implying that we struck something a good distance from the ground."

"A mountain, perhaps?" Kalen offered.

"A mountain's peak would have shredded us, at the speed we were traveling," Lolli debated.

"The air also isn't thin enough to be a mountain's peak," Diskette added. "Past the fumes and emissions from the crash, I can detect an oxygen content of nearly 85 percent. Humidity is similar. But the altitude readings I'm getting are consistent with those of a mountain peak….I don't get it." Diskette shook her head…which was essentially her entire body. "Maybe I'm more damaged than I thought."

"Perhaps," Angel considered. "Or perhaps not."

"You have a theory?" Lolli asked.

"As to where we are…yes. But lets go see if any of the others made it first. Explore a bit while we're at it. I want to have a look around before I say my theory aloud."

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You've pressed that button a hundred times. Face it. The elevator's not working," Stephen said.

Myk growled. "So now what?" he asked.

"We break the doors open and climb the shaft," Stephen stated plainly. "Easy."

The Bronze Ranger blinked.

"Okay," he agreed, holding out his hand. Dorn appeared, illuminating the dark Zord Bay with its brilliance. Using the shining sword, Myk effortlessly sliced a large hole in the elevator doors, then, climbing in, cut a second one in the ceiling, jumping aside as the sliced-out section of Eltarian metal fell to the elevator floor with a clang.

"After you," he said, stowing the blade back into the nothingness from whence he had drawn it.

Stephen nodded, stepped forward, and, with the sort of power only a Ranger could have, leapt straight up through the hole, landing loudly atop the elevator.

Myk followed, jumping up and landing atop the small, rectangular compartment, his eagle-talon boots clanging loudly against the elevator's roof.

The two looked up at the towering, empty shaft above them.

"So now we climb," Myk said, grabbing hold of the cable.

Stephen gave him what was undoubtedly a 'Duh' look beneath his White Tiger faceplate.

"Dude. You can fly. Just carry me and we'll get to the top in no time."

Myk slapped the front of his helmet. "Right, right. Sorry. I'm out of it today. Hands up."

Stephen raised his armored hands above his head.

Myk lifted into the air and grabbed Stephen's wrists. The White Ranger, in turn, grabbed Myk's wrists, ensuring that he would not be dropped.

"Going up," Myk said.

And with that, the two Rangers shot straight up the shaft.

"Just be careful not to fly headfirst into the top of the shaft when we get there," Stephen reminded his ride.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The blurred lines outside the Astro Megaship's portholes shrank back into stars as the ship dropped out of Hyper-rush and back down to sublight speeds.

"Home sweet home," Mara said, gazing down at Terra.

"Speak for yourself," Terina muttered. She blinked. "Hey….you guys notice anything missing?"

"The Oasis," Troy pointed out.

The Yellow Ranger reached forward and flipped a switch on the controls.

"Astro Megaship to Oasis. Come in? Guys?"

Nothing greeted them but static.

"Well, that can't be good," Electra muttered.

Something rippled on the monitor…a ship decloaking. An oblong, egg-shaped ship, about the size of an aircraft carrier.

"There it is," Mara said. "Wait….what happened to it?"

Terina's breath caught in her throat. The ship on the monitor was an Eltarian ship, the same make and model as the Oasis….but sections of its smooth, silver-blue, almost-organic hull had been sheared away, replaced by rough metal framework and exposed, angular tubing.

"That's not the Oasis," she whispered, actually taking a step back, her blood running cold.

"What?" Tommy asked.

"That's not the Oasis," Terina repeated, more loudly. "It's the Haven."

"What's the Haven?" Troy asked.

The Yellow Ranger jumped back to the controls, jerking the Megaship out of its course. The Rangers stumbled as the floor jerked beneath their feet, complaining loudly…until a burst of destructive light flashed out from the Haven, tearing through the space they had just vacated.

"Terina, get us out of here!" Tommy commanded.

"Where?" Terina asked desperately.

"Station," Elecra suggested. "Get us back to Station."

"Do it," Tommy confirmed. "We should be safe there." _I hope, _he added to himself.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Jareth? Hello?" Fox asked, her finger pressed against her scalp, just behind her right ear. "Lolli? Tommy? Anyone?"

"No good," Deacon said, shaking his head. "The comchips are dead."

Fox sighed, picking her way through the wilderness. "Well….what if we morph?"

"What do you mean?"

"When we morph, our bodies go away, right? So maybe our comchips do, too, and it's part of our powers that we can communicate."

Deacon raised an eyebrow. "You think?"

Fox shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

Unnatural flashes of green, brown, and silver light illuminated the foliage as the two assumed their Ranger forms.

"Jareth?" Deacon called, his finger pressed against the side of his helmet. "Can you hear me?"

There was no response.

"So much for that theory," the Silver Ranger muttered.

"Damn," Fox grumbled. "Well, I'm stayin' morphed. I don't trust this place."

"Probably a good idea," Deacon agreed. "You never know what might jump out at us next."

As if on cue, a massive, semi-mechanical avian screech echoed through the air, causing both Rangers to jump in surprise.

Winds were kicked up around them, stirring up clouds of dust, as an enormous red falcon soared past overhead, clearly visible through the trees.

The two slowly looked at each other, a moment after it had passed.

"Did you just see…?"

"One of the Psycho Zords?" Fox asked. "Yup. You?"

"Me, too," the Silver Ranger confirmed.

"What does that mean, you think?"

Deacon sighed. "Nothing good."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So spill, Terina," Mara said. "What's up with the Oasis' evil twin?"

"Triplet, actually," Terina corrected. She sighed, turning to the other four Rangers who occupied Station's Central Ops room, a circular chamber with a round table in the center. Color-coded jump-chutes were spaced around the walls, that would transport the Rangers who jumped into them down into their zords. Between these chutes were various screens, maps, and consoles.

"500 years ago, the Oasis was part of a fleet. They were the Rangers' flagships. The Oasis, the Sanctuary, and the Haven."

"What happened to the Sanctuary, if that ship is the Haven?"

"Went down in flames, along with the rest of Eltar. Only the Oasis survived intact. The Haven crashed, and I'd thought that everyone aboard had been killed….until I found out about Loren." Terina fiddled with the rings that hung from the chain around her neck as she spoke.

"So they salvaged more than him," Troy surmised. "They salvaged the ship as well."

"I knew they'd salvaged the ship," Terina admitted. "The Machine Empire uses it as their flagship now. It's Prince Gasket's personal vessel. It was the Loren thing that caught me off guard."

"You _knew_ that the Machine Empire has Eltarian technology?" Tommy asked.

"Well, they don't…not really. Otherwise they could have made Loren into… Anyway, it's all been adapted. They couldn't gain access to everything, so they stripped out half the old systems and replaced them with their own tech. And everything organic's gone, of course. The Machine Empire hates synthorganics. They take it as an insult that organic material makes for better machines."

"So, did those other ships have Zord-1s, too?" Electra asked.

"Sort of," Terina replied. "They had a Zord-2 and a Zord-3. Zord-2 went down with the Sanctuary, and I don't even want to think about what they've gone and done with Zord-3."

"Can they get in here?" Tommy asked. "Into Station?"

"If either Station or the Haven were still pure Eltarian tech, I'd say yes. But the Machine Empire and Lolli have both done their own things…so probably not."

"So we're safe then, here," Troy surmised. "For now."

Tommy turned to one of the scanning consoles and began to type at it.

"For long enough to find out what happened to the others, anyway," he said. There was a pause. "Umm...Terina? How do you work this thing?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A shining bar of flawless white metal abruptly thrust its way through the solid metal of the Elevator doors, neatly removing a section. A powerful fist then punched that section free, allowing Myk and Stephen to climb out of the dark, empty elevator shaft.

"I TOLD you to slow down when we reached the top," Stephen grumbled.

"I don't want to talk about it," Myk replied coldly.

Stephen let out a low whistle, a gaping hole in the wall catching his eye. "Look at the size of this hole. Where did we crash, anyway? The Amazon?"

"Umm…Stephen?"

"I'm serious, look out here? The trees are huge!"

"Stephen…"

"What?"

Myk gestured at the area around them.

Stephen blinked, finally registering what it was that had seemed off ever since he'd stepped free of the shaft.

The hall was obscenely large, the width of several football fields and at least three times as high. The gaping hole in the side was actually no larger than a mouse hole.

Stephen blinked, turning around to examine the elevator doors. They towered over him, the height of a skyscraper, the hole Myk had cut for them to exit roughly the size of a quarter.

"We're…we're still compressed, aren't we?" Stephen asked weakly.

"You think?" Myk replied.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You know," Lolli said, as she and the others picked their way through the wreckage surrounding the husk of the ship. "I actually think the Oasis can be fixed. In a year or two, of course. But it's possible."

"Put it on your To Do list," Kalen advised. "Right after, 'Survive'."

"We'll probably have to get the transporters functioning, just to get home, anyway," Angel said. "With a little work, the ship could still make a functional base. Though I agree, it won't be flying any time soon."

"We'll have to get Zord-1 back online soon, though. Before his synthorganics start to degrade," Lolli added.

Kalen rolled her eyes as the two began a running commentary on what needed to be fixed, how soon, and how best to go about it, with occasional interjections from Diskette.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"This is just what I felt like doing with my Sunsday afternoon," Stephen complained. "Traipsing through a rainforest while bite-sized."

"It could be worse," Myk said.

"Oh? How?"

As if on cue, an enormous shadow eclipsed them. The two Rangers froze, then turned as one, to find a titanic beast towering above them, its reptilian scales glistening in the bright sunlight, huge wings fanning out behind it. It exhaled, twin jets of hot air rushing from its nostrils.

"There could be a large, hungry-looking dragon behind us," Stephen answered weakly.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Deacon, look at this!"

The Silver ranger trotted over to Fox's side as se bent down and picked up a battered piece of black felt, brushing the dirt from it.

"Jareth's hat," Deacon recognized, taking the fedora from her. "He was here."

There was an enormous splash from the huge lake to their left as a massive blue Shark Zord performed a great leap, then fell back into the water.

"Now _that_ is a big shark," Deacon said, his eyes on the rippling surface of the water.

"All Zords are big."

"Yeah, but they always seem bigger from the ground."

There was a stirring of wind and a loud, metallic "Caw!" Fox and Deacon turned, just as a large golden Raven Zord landed on the ground behind them. It turned its head to the side, eying them in a manner not unlike a normal-sized bird eyeing a pair of bugs that it was about to eat.

"Hey," Deacon said warily. "Go away." He slowly drew one of his diamond-saws, expanding it to its full size.

The raven, seeing this, let out a deafening screech. Both Rangers fell to their knees, hands pressed against the sides of their helmets, the radial saw-blade falling to the ground.

The raven, seizing the opportunity, spread its wings and lifted off, reaching out with its talons to capture first Deacon, then Fox, then flapped its way higher into the sky and flew off, the Rangers in tow.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After a few moments' deliberation, Angel and Lolli decided that the best way to find the others would be to get the sensors working. Kalen sat off to the side, occasionally fetching tools or components, as Lolli and Angel worked at reconstructing a sensor module

"Don't you come with directional sensors?" the Purple Ranger asked of Diskette after a while.

"Yes, but I don't think they're working properly. I mean, we're clearly in some sort of rainforest, but my readings indicate that our altitude is about 35 thousand feet above the surface."

"Run a diagnostic?" Kalen suggested.

"I have, and everything says I'm working fine. When Lolli's done with that terminal, I'm going to ask her to check my diagnostic systems."

"Hmm." Kalen tilted her head thoughtfully, then blinked as something caught her eye. She leaned forward and picked it up. It was, unmistakably, the head of a metal dog.

"Hello there, Murphy," she said to it. "You've looked better."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Zoey?" Myk asked cautiously. "Is that you?"

_Of course it's me. What in Hel's name happened to you two?_

"Long story," Stephen said. "Man, you have no idea how scary you look from down here."

_I thought you were used to fighting giant creatures?_

"Never one quite like you," Stephen said.

Myk nodded in agreement.

Zoey seemed to preen. _I'll take that as a compliment._

"Did any of the others make it?" Myk asked. "Can you take us to them?"

_Umm….yes, I can hear them….three of them, anyway. Kalen, Lolli, and Angel. I just came to, myself. That was some crash._

"So do you mind giving us a lift?"

_Er…I suppose I could._

Zoey paused for a moment, as if a bit surprised by this outcome, then reached her serpentine neck forward and seized Myk by his cape. Lifting him with her jaws, she gently placed him on her back, then proceeded to collect Stephen in the same manner.

"You know some of your scales are missing?" Stephen asked.

_I know, _Zoey replied, sounding annoyed. _Lost them in the crash. I'm bruised all over. But dragons are hard to kill. Lucky me._

"Okay. Let's fly," Myk said, attempting to cling to Zoey's scaly hide.

_Nope, no flying. Sprained a wing. We're hoofin' it. Taloning it. Whatever._

"As long as we get there," Stephen allowed, as the wyrmling began hopping off through the debris.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The ruins of some sort of temple came into view as the Raven Zord descended, depositing Fox and Deacon gently onto the ground.

Fox blinked, her head still swimming from the raven's scream and their unexpected flight.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Well, we're no more lost than we were," Deacon complained.

"Being lost isn't a matter of not knowing where you are," a voice said from nearby. "It's a matter of not knowing where you aren't. I don't care where I'm not, so I'm never lost. Can I have my hat back?"

"Jareth?"

"Hi guys," the Gold Ranger said, waving. "Isn't this place great?" Jareth shifted his gaze up towards the raven, who was circling overhead. "Thanks, pal!" he called. "That one likes me," he explained. "So where have you two been?"

"Out looking for you!" Fox replied, a bit annoyed. "We searched the wreckage…"

"Oh, I was thrown free when we crashed. And then the big bird found me and dragged me here. Hat?"

Deacon threw Jareth's hat at him. The Gold Ranger caught it and placed it firmly back on his head where it belonged.

"Should have known. We break our backs trying to find him, and he's been playing archaeologist."

"Ooh, that reminds me. Come look at this!"

Jareth seized his friends by the arms and dragged them through the temple ruins until they reached what appeared to be some sort of pond, or fountain.

"It can show you things. In the water. Anything you ask. Well, almost. I tried spying on Zedd, but I think his palace is warded. But it gets Cartoon Network."

"Did you ask it where we are?" Deacon asked.

"Yeah. It doesn't talk or anything but it showed me this sequence, with an island rising up into the air!"

Jareth said this with the air of someone making a huge revelation, but Deacon and Fox simply exchanged dumbfounded looks.

"And this means….what?" Fox asked.

"An island? In the air? Floating island?" Jareth asked, apparently taken aback that his friends didn't appear to have a clue what he was talking about.

Still nothing.

"Don't you guys get it?" Jareth asked impatiently. "We just crashed on Animaria."


	71. Yet Another Meanwhile

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 71: Yet Another Meanwhile…

"You _lost_ them?" Ornyk demanded.

"Their ship vanished, halfway to Terra," Gasket replied. "We are operating under the assumption that they combusted due to atmospheric friction. Our sensors are unable to detect any trace elements of the Oasis, but this is most likely due to system error. Zord-3 is running diagnostics now."

"And what of our inside contact?" Lord Zedd asked, tightening his taloned grasp on his staff as he glared imperiously down at the mechanical monarch from his throne.

"No word, not since before the assault," Ornyk replied.

The was a flash of red, and a cheerful voice echoed off the dingy walls. "Which went off without a hitch, thanks to yours truly," said the small child who now lounged off to the side of the throne room. He was reclining a few feet off the ground, arms behind his neck and swinging gently to and fro, as though he were lying in an invisible hammock.

"Thanks to _you_?" Ornyk inquired, his attitude one of amused tolerance.

"Of course," Kite replied. "Who snuck aboard the Gatherer and swiped the Bronze Ranger's comchip while _you_ were off failing to find the E'not Sel Caro, hmm? And you, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Skinless, would have just let it be destroyed along with the rest of that insipid hulk you called a monster."

"You would be wise not to criticize me," Zedd growled. "I will forgive your arrogance, however, due to your considerable contribution."

"It was about time you did something useful," Gasket droned.

Kite stuck his tongue out at the construct, then vanished in a flash of crimson fire.

"I never did like that creature," Gasket grumbled.

"I forgot to ask how things went on Phaedos," Ornyk said ruefully. "And who knows when she'll deign to show up again?"

"He," Gasket corrected.

"It's whatever gender it wants to be," Ornyk countered. "It may be male at the moment, but it started as a female. Trust me." The wolflike Zornian turned to face the head of the Machine Empire. "So. If your little raid was so successful, where is it?"

Gasket snapped his fingers, and a mechanical humanoid strode in, carrying a worn-out teddy bear.

Ornyk raised an eyebrow. "New model?" he asked, examining the structure of the soldier Gasket had summoned.

"Krybots," Gasket confirmed. "Adapted from Trubian technology. Fresh off the assembly line."

"Enough!" Zedd commanded. "Bring it to me."

Gasket mounted the steps up the dias to Zedd's throne and handed him the bear, then strode down again to stand next to Ornyk.

Zedd smiled inwardly, unable to do so with his actual metal grid of a mouth. Sinking his claws into the fabric, he tore the bear's skin apart, ripping out the foam stuffing until his talons encountered metal. With a cry of victory, he withdrew a glittering golden compass on a long chain.

"So _that's_ where that went," Ornyk said, recognizing the artifact.

"Yes," Zedd replied. "And if _you_ hadn't lost it in the first place, none of this would have been necessary." Zedd's eyes glowed a displeased red, but Ornyk had always been the one creature who failed to cower at his fury. The Zornian waved the argument aside.

"We'd have wanted to get the Rangers out of the way first, anyway," he retorted. "So, I presume we're picking up where I left off last time?"

"That's right," Zedd replied. "And this time, you won't return empty handed."


	72. Animarian Reunion

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 72: Animarian Reunion

Fox and Deacon exchanged a glance, then stared blankly at their friend.

"Animaria…?" They prompted, as one.

"Don't you guys _read_?" Jareth demanded.

"No," Fox replied.

"Only Anita Blake," Deacon admitted.

Jareth rolled his eyes. "Animaria was an ancient civilization that fell thousands of years ago. Legend has it that just as it fell, its most powerful sorcerers managed to lift an entire island up into the air, that a part of Animaria would survive forever."

"So why are the Psycho Zords here?" Fox asked. "The Psycho Rangers aren't…"

"Not that I know of, no," Jareth assured her. "We could ask the magic fountain, if you like."

"Where are the Psycho Rangers?" Fox asked of the fountain.

The surface of the water rippled. An image appeared in the pond; that of Jareth, Deacon, and Fox, standing exactly as they were.

"No," Fox corrected. "Not the normal Power Rangers. The Psychos. Where are they?"

The image didn't change.

"You don't think this pond is that Caro thing, do you?" Deacon asked. 'It answers questions…"

"Doesn't look anything like the one Kite showed us," Jareth dismissed. "Besides, the E'not Sel Caro is supposed to talk in actual words, not pictures."

"Where is the E'not Sel Caro?" Deacon asked the pond.

The surface rippled again, this time showing an empty patch of space, an indigo void with a slight scattering of stars.

"I don't think this thing works right," Fox grumbled, crossing her arms.

"The pond works perfectly," a voice called from behind them. "You simply aren't asking the right questions."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"It's no use," Terina said, sighing. She turned from the console and faced the other Rangers, all of whom were looking expectantly at her from their seats around the table. "I can't find the Oasis anywhere."

"Maybe it crashed?" Troy offered.

"If it crashed," Terina said. "The atmosphere would be full of vaporized Eltarian metal, and there'd be a large hole in the planet."

"What if it crashed into the ocean?" Tommy asked.

"Do you know hot Eltarian metal can get? It soaks up heat like a sponge. On reentry, the Oasis would have heated to roughly half the temperature of Terra's sun. If that struck the ocean, it would vaporize enough water to blanket half of North Atlantis in fog for a week." Terina stepped forward and plopped dejectedly into her seat.

"Okay…so maybe they ran," Mara suggested. "When the Haven showed up. Made a break for it."

"Maybe," a familiar voice suggested. "They were moved somewhere safe, and hidden."

Five heads spun in Kite's direction. The small boy was standing in front of the console Terina had just been using, looking solemnly at them, arms crossed.

"Kite," Troy spat. "You've got some nerve showing up back here after that stunt you pulled on Phaedos."

Kite raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You know perfectly well what he's talking about, you little snake," Mara accused.

"I assure you that I do not. I simply came to find out whether you managed to find the E'not Sel Caro….which you obviously didn't…and to tell you what became of your ship."

"And that whole thing about your betraying us? Getting us out of the way while Zedd attacked the Oasis? All those stunts you've been pulling?" Mara ranted.

As the Pink Ranger spoke, an expression of comprehension appeared on Kite's face.

"I believe I can clear all this up….if, of course, you are willing to trust me."

"And why would we do that?" Tommy asked.

Kite's piercing eyes fixed themselves on Tommy's.

"Because I know what became of the Oasis."

Tommy considered for a moment.

"Fine," he said.

"What?!" Mara demanded.

Tommy held up a hand to silence her. "Take us to our friends," he said. "And we'll hear you out. But you're going to have to come clean with us. The whole story."

Kite glared at him for a moment.

Fine," he said. He raised a hand and snapped his fingers, a puff of greenish-copper smoke appearing.

"Bippity," he said, as Terina and Electra vanished in a similar cloud of smoke.

"Boppity," he snapped, shimmering, pale gray smoke appearing this time as Troy and Mara vanished.

A smirk appeared on his face as he gazed levelly at Tommy, who looked a bit surprised, fingers poised to snap again.

"Boo."

There was a snap, a burst of dark yellow-gold smoke, and the room was empty.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The voices carried over the slightly scorched land that surrounded the husk of the Oasis. As she drew closer, Kalen managed to make out the word of the Green and Gray Ranger's conversation.

"What color is this wire?" Angel asked.

"Blue," Lolli replied.

"And this one?"

"Green."

"Thank you," the Gray Ranger replied, returning to whatever task he sought to accomplish beneath to casing of the large module he and Lolli were constructing.

"How'd it go?" Lolli asked, spotting Kalen.

"Found his tail," Kalen replied, dropping the parts she'd collected into a pile with all the others. "And another leg."

"I think there's enough there now for me to rebuild him," Lolli commented, glancing over and the medium-sized pile of mechanical dog parts.

"Just finish what you're doing, first," Kalen said. "I want to know where we are."

"I have a theory on that," Angel said.

"So you've mentioned," Kalen replied. "And I think it's time you shared. Where do you think we are?"

"Animaria."

"Animaria?" Lolli asked. "That floating island from your storybook?"

"A floating island _would_ account for the discrepancies between my atmospheric and altitudinal readings," Diskette agreed dubiously. "Provided they could find a way to maintain the atmospheric pressure regardless of elevation."

"They lifted an island into the air," Lolli said, in a tone of voice that made it plain that she didn't quite buy it. "Who's to say what else they could do?"

"As good an explanation as any, I suppose," Kalen muttered.

"I've been thinking of the best way to get to work on the Oasis," Lolli said, after a moment.

"Drone method?" Angel asked.

Lolli nodded, though the Gray Ranger couldn't have possibly seen the gesture from beneath the module.

"Drone method?" Kalen inquired.

"Build a drone. Have it build another drone. Have those keep building more drones exponentially until there are enough to do the job, then have them disassemble themselves when they're done."

"Oh," Kalen said. "That."

"It's more or less what the Oasis used to have…Drone was programmed to do all that….but he must have been fried in the crash, or there'd be little copies of him running around everywhere."

"I'll find him," Diskette offered. "Get him running again, at least enough to fix himself and start building his little clones. You guys just keep working."

And with that, the small hovering automaton whizzed off through the air, soaring through the gaping hole in the Oasis' hull and speeding off in search of her mechanical 'sibling'.

"Try to find Pilot while you're at it!" Lolli yelled, before returning to work.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Princess Shayla, last of the Animarians, I presume?"

The elegant, white-clad young woman before them nodded, smiling.

"And you are the Power Rangers. I was told you would be arriving. But I did not expect such a…thunderous…entrance."

"Eh…you mean the crash?" Fox asked. "That wasn't planned. Sorry if we damaged your island."

"Animaria will live on," Shayla said, waving Fox's concerns aside. "For now, allow me to welcome you to the Animarium."

"Thanks," Jareth said brightly. "I think your Raven Zord likes me."

"You are…the Black Ranger?" Shayla inquired, looking puzzled.

"Gold," Jareth corrected.

"Ah. Then it is no surprise that the Raven favors you." She tilted her head to the side. "I thought Rangers always wore their colors?"

"Do you know how hard it is to find gold clothes?" Jareth demanded.

"As hard as it is to find silver," Deacon muttered. "Who told you we'd be coming?" he asked, turning to Shayla.

"Kite, of course."

"You know Kite?" Fox asked uncertainly. She glanced around, expecting a trap.

"Of course. He was the one who awakened me and brought the Wild Zords to Animaria."

"Wild Zords?" Deacon asked. "You mean the Psychos?"

"Psychos?" Shayla asked. "I'm sorry, but I've been asleep for thousands of years…some of your words are strange to me…"

"The Psycho Zords," Jareth clarified. "Like the Raven."

Shayla shook her head. "The Raven is one of the Wild Zords that Kite brought. I know nothing of any Psycho Zords."

"The Shark? The Falcon?" Fox prompted.

"Wild Zords," Shayla replied adamantly.

"They were once owned by creatures called the Psycho Rangers," Deacon explained. "When we defeated them, we thought their zords were destroyed as well."

"They were," Kite said, appearing suddenly. Five other people appeared in the temple ruins, all of them suddenly falling onto their butts, as though their chairs had just been yanked out from under them (though, of course, the exact opposite was the case). "Their physical forms, anyway. But they survived in spirit. Because they were originally born of the Morphin Grid, they remained bound to this plane, through you. I was able to restore their bodies and free them of the taint of the Psycho Rangers."

"Hi guys," Jareth said, waving to the others, who were climbing to their feet and dusting themselves off, looking around curiously.

"Hello," Electra replied, just as nonchalantly, as though being spontaneously "poofed" from one place to another happened to them every day…which, essentially, it did.

"So you brought the Psycho Zords to Animaria?" Deacon asked. "Why?"

"Something told me it would be a bad idea to turn them loose down on Terra," Kite said wryly. "Besides, I wanted them where I can keep an eye on them. They're my children, after a fashion."

"And I am grateful for the company," Shayla added. "It has been a lonely few millennia."

"Hey!" Tommy cried, drawing everyone's attention. "Remember the deal, Kite. We want answers. Now."

Kite's smile vanished, replaced by a calm, businesslike demeanor. "Of course," he said. "But first thing's first. Unless I'm very much mistaken, we're still five Rangers short."

The five newly arrived Rangers all flinched, earning them strange looks from the others, as Kite raised his hand and deliberately snapped his fingers.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey guys!" Diskette cried, shooting out through one of the large cracks in the Oasis' hull and zooming towards the spot where the others were working. "Good news! I managed to find Drone and get him-"

There was a sudden CRACK, a flash of metallic light, and Angel, Kalen, and Lolli vanished in three distinct swirls of colored smoke.

"-working," Diskette finished lamely, rotating around through 360 degrees to see where everyone had gone. "Guys?" she called.

There was no answer. Diskette quickly ran a few diagnostics on both her sensory mechanisms and her memory module, to make sure she had seen what she'd thought she'd seen. There was no doubt about it, they'd been standing right here, exactly 5.67 seconds ago. Her thermal imagery still showed their sneaker prints in the scorched sand.

Something clattered through the rubble behind her. She spun to see a large pink-and-purple lizard running towards her.

"Zoey?" Diskette hovered forward, meeting the wyrmling halfway. "Did you see it? Did you see where they went?"

Zoey stared at her for a moment.

Diskette sighed. "You know I can't hear you. There's nothing organic about _me_. Telepathic speech doesn't register."

Zoey rolled her faceted eyes, then jerked her head down at her back.

"Oh, goody," Diskette muttered. "Charades. Fine. Something about your tail? No? Was there something following you? Something on your back?"

Zoey touched her talon to her snout.

"On your back. Okay. Your wings? Scales? No. So it must have been something you were carrying, right? Yes! Good. Okay. Getting somewhere. So what were you carrying? Was it bigger than a breadbox?"

Zoey tilted her head to the side.

"Don't ask me, I have no idea what a breadbox is either. So…what was it?!" the droid asked desperately. "I am not programmed for this!"

Zoey snorted in agitation, minute flames jetting from her nostrils, then reached forward and began scratching in the blackened earth. Letters began to appear in clumsy, but plain, High Terran.

SHRUNKEN RANGERS, the words said.

"You were carrying shrunken Rangers on your back."

The dragon nodded.

"How did they get _shrunken_?"

Shrug.

"Well, where are they now?"

Another shrug, and a jerk of the head back towards the direction from which the dragon had come.

"You dropped them. Or think you might have."

Zoey touched her snout again.

Diskette sighed. "Okay. Let's go look for them, then."

Zoey gestured for her to lead on, which she did, hovering forward morosely.

"I just hope _they_ can shed a little light on this. I'm certainly not getting very far talking to _you_."

Zoey rolled her eyes again, as the two of them began to search the area, hunting for any sign of life amidst the wreckage.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You know, when you said we were _short_ a few Rangers…," Jareth began, but then he stopped, shaking his head. "Never mind. I can't. it's too easy."

Stephen glared up at him. From his current height of roughly an inch tall, everyone else loomed over him and Myk like mountains. Myk, at least, was capable of flight, and could hover at eye-level. He himself was stuck sitting on the edge of the strangely not-out-of-place wooden picnic table that stood in the center of the temple ruins.

"I like him better this way," Kalen said, leaning down to look closely at the diminutive White Ranger. "Anyone have a piece of cardboard? And a pin?"

"Enough fun, Rangers," Kite said. He snapped one more time, and suddenly Myk and Stephen were their original sizes once again, and demorphed into their human forms. Myk fell to the ground, stumbling as he landed on his feet, while the table tipped under Stephen's restored weight. The White Ranger quickly stood.

"Story time, Kite," Troy demanded.

"Indeed," the child replied. "It's time I filled you all in on a few things."


	73. Questions and Answers

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 73: Questions and Answers

"All right, now that everyone's here," Tommy said impatiently. "You promised us straight answers, Kite."

"That's right, I did," the godlike child replied testily. "But I never said which ones or how many. You get three questions, and I shall choose whether to answer them."

"Why only three?" Mara asked.

Kalen closed her eyes, slapping her forehead.

"Because there are some things that you're better off not knowing just yet," Kite replied. "And because we don't have much time, now that Zedd has the compass."

"And you just used up one," the Purple Ranger pointed out.

Mara clamped her hand over her mouth, wincing.

"It wasn't completely wasted," Lolli broke in. "What's the compass, and what's it for?"

Kite opened his mouth to reply, but Jareth spoke up before he could

"I can answer that one. The compass is a relic that I picked up when we fought Ornyk on that desert planet. The one where we got the sword."

"What planet?" Princess Shayla asked curiously.

"What sword?" Tommy asked, at the exact same time.

Kite shook his head. "So many questions. Tell you what…when you decide which ones I am to answer, say my name, before and after. That way I won't answer any by mistake." With that, the boy walked over and sat on the picnic table, idly tracing the wooden grooves in its surface with his finger.

Tommy sighed, then turned to Jareth.

"What sword? And what planet?"

"The planet Zord-1 sent Deacon, Myk, and me off to, just after you arrived. We took it off Ornyk when he retreated, and it led us to this tomb where we found some sword of ultimate good or whatever. Ask Myk," the Gold Ranger finished, gesturing towards the Bronze Ranger. "He's still got it."

Tommy turned to Myk, who sighed, conjuring Dorn. He held the shining white blade up for everyone to see.

Tommy squinted against the brightness of the blade. "You've had that the whole time?"

"It's why I wanted to learn to swordfight. So I could do more good with it."

"Why didn't you ever tell anyone?"

Myk looked at him strangely. "You already knew. Or I thought you did."

Tommy shook his head. "No one ever mentioned it to me."

"Uh, yes they did," Deacon argued.

"You were the one who insisted on giving him the swordfighting lessons," Jareth agreed. "After he accidentally stabbed Fox?"

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "Jareth…what are you taking about?"

"I never got stabbed by Myk," Fox concurred. "Pretty sure I'd have remembered that."

Jareth walked over to Fox and grabbed the hem of her shirt, lifting it to reveal the scar on her stomach.

"Then explain that."

Fox's eyes went wide. "I…when…I don't know where that came from."

"It was during the fight with the Beetleborgs," Deacon reminded her. "When we stormed Zedd's castle to try and save Michelle and Zoey?"

"Yeah, I remember the fight, but…"

"But not how it ended?" Myk asked.

The Camo Ranger shook her head.

"Myk's been swinging that thing around for, like, four months now," Deacon said. "We've all seen him use it. How come none of you remembers?"

"A better question might be, 'How come the three of you _do?_'" Kite suggested, smiling. "But far be it from me to tell you what to do with your questions."

"We'll come back to this," Tommy said. "Let's go back to asking and answering what we can."

There was a pause.

"So…you hid the compass in your bear?" Deacon asked, turning to Jareth. "When? Why?"

"Last week," Jareth replied dejectedly.

"Right after we watched The Rescuers?" Electra guessed, smirking.

Jareth nodded. "I've had that bear since I was three. I'm really going to miss him. Zedd probably tore him open, took the compass and tossed his carcass out onto the lunar surface."

Terina reached over and patted his shoulder.

"And the compass….led to the sword?" Troy asked.

"Swords," Deacon corrected. "There were two. We left the bad one."

"Could Zedd be after that one?" Angel suggested.

"One way to find out." Terina turned to Kite. With a glance around to see that no one objected, she addressed him. "Kite. What does Zedd hope to find with the compass? Kite."

"As I have told you before, I believe that Zedd hopes to find the E'not Sel Caro."

"And the compass leads to it?" Stephen asked. "Oops….that's not another question, is it?"

"That's an expansion on the answer to your last question, not a new one. Yes, I believe that it does."

"But you're not sure?" Kalen asked.

"No. I am not. What I know of Zedd's designs I know from eavesdropping. And I now believe that he is aware of this."

"So you sent us to Phaedos because you actually thought it was there?" Mara asked. "But then why the whole claiming to be working with Zedd, and the containment spheres? Just whose side are you on?"

Kite said nothing, he merely smirked.

"That's not an expansion on a previous answer," Angel explained. "It'd count as our third question."

"Let's see if we come up with a better one before we use it," Troy suggested.

"If Zedd wants the Caro," Lolli began. "And the compass leads to it….then it stands to reason that the E'not Sel Caro is what Ornyk was after there in the first place."

"So the E'not Sel Caro is on Yllustri," Jareth said. "I wonder if it's in the same tomb with that other sword."

"Probably," Deacon said. "There wasn't much else there but sand."

"So we've got to get there, before Zedd, and beat him to the E'not Sel Caro," Tommy surmised.

"That's assuming that anything Kite says is true," Myk argued.

"Even if everything so far has been a lie, we know that Zedd has the compass and that the compass leads to Yllustri," Deacon says. "At the very least, we have to go there to make sure he doesn't get that evil sword."

"And how do we get there?" Myk asked. "Flap our arms?"

"Hero Boy's got a point," Jareth said. "We are shipless."

"The Astro Megaship is safely stowed down inside Station," Troy stated. "It should be refueled and ready to go in…" the Blue Ranger glanced at his watch.

"Three hours, forty-two minutes, seventeen seconds," Terina recited immediately.

She blinked as everyone turned to stare at her. "What?" she asked defensively.

"One of these days, you'll have to tell us how you do that," Troy said.

"She's an alien," Mara said, waving the Yellow Ranger's odd counting abilities aside. "She probably also has antennae hiding somewhere that she just hasn't shown us."

"She doesn't," Jareth said with certainty. "Trust me. So, how do we get down to Station from up here?"

"I can help with that," Shayla offered, raising her hand. "I'll go prepare the portal." With that, she turned and left.

"Portal?" Stephen asked warily, turning to Mara, who shrugged.

"I'll stay here," Lolli said. "On the off chance that Kite IS lying, someone should stay behind with the Oasis. I can work on assessing the damage while I'm at it."

"The infrastructure's made of…what did you call it? Adamantium?" Terina said. "I'm sure that was what you named it. Anyway, it would take a much bigger impact to destroy that."

"Yeah, and while we're on the subject," Fox interrupted. "What are the odds of a ship falling out of orbit and just _happening_ to land on a floating island the size of Animaria?"

"By pure chance?" Lolli asked. "About 967 million to one. I've been guessing that the island moved to catch us. Or that someone made it move," she added, with a meaningful glance at Kite, who looked elsewhere, whistling innocently.

"We _do_ still have one more question," Deacon reminded the others. "What's it to be?"

"I think I have one," Electra stated calmly. "Kite. If the compass leads to the E'not Sel Caro, then why did it lead Jareth, Deacon, and Myk to these swords? Kite."

Kite smiled, as though immensely pleased that someone had finally asked an intelligent question.

"Because," he answered. "Someone of great power wanted it to."

With that, Kite exploded into a thousand shafts of light, like sun reflecting off of different metals, and was gone.

"I'll say this for the kid," Jareth said, rubbing his eyes. "He makes a great exit."

"And none of that helps us in the least," Tommy growled disgustedly, plopping down at the table.

"Oh…has Kite left?"

That was Shayla, reappearing from the depths of the ruins with some sort of shiny material draped over her arm.

"Yep," Mara answered.

"Oh….I'd hoped he'd stay. But he never does, not for long. The portal is ready. Oh, and these are for you," the last of the Animarians said, handing a garment each to Jareth and Deacon.

Jareth held his up curiously. It was shirt of miniscule metal links, woven together so smoothly and seamlessly that it seemed just like fabric. Deacon's was similar, but his was silver while Jareth's was gold.

"Animarian chain mail," Jareth said, turning it appraisingly and admiring the way it caught the light. "Very cool."

"I remembered your comment earlier about how hard it is to find gold or silver clothing, and these have just been gathering dust in the armory."

"Thanks," Deacon said, taking off his jacket and sliding the garment over his head. He pulled his jacket back on over the metal. Jareth did likewise, putting his chain mail on between his inner, long-sleeved shirt and his outer, short-sleeved one. In both cases, the metal was so smooth that it didn't even bulge beneath the fabric.

"Snug," Deacon said, stretching.

"Very nice," Jareth agreed.

"What portal?" Stephen asked.

"Hmm?" Shayla asked. "Oh, it's a gateway that our mages created when they raised the Animarium. It can be attuned to any place on the planet's surface."

"Can it get me home?" Mara asked. "I hate to bail on you guys, but finals are coming up, and I've missed enough classes."

Fox winced, timidly raising her hand. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but…me too."

Tommy closed his eyes, running a hand back from his forehead to his ponytail. "Okay," he said. "Everyone who has pressing work, school, or family matters to deal with, raise your hands."

Mara and Fox's hands went up, as did Troy's and Stephen's. To everyone's surprise, so did Electra's.

"What pressing business do _you_ have?" Fox asked.

"Well, I've been away from home for about a week. Normally my parents don't care much where I go, but it's about time I checked in. Make sure they haven't rented out my room."

"Okay, you guys get home. We'll call if we need you, but only if we _really _need you," Tommy said. "The rest of us split off into two groups. One stays here with the Oasis, the others go after the Caro."

"Follow me, please," Shayla said gently.

"Who stays and who goes?" Terina asked, as Shayla led off those who were homeward bound.

"The fighters should stay," Deacon said. "If Kite's lying….which I don't think he is, just for the record…but _if_ he is, then the Psycho Zords being here means…"

"The Psycho Rangers might be here, too," Kalen surmised. "Good point."

"But we killed them," Myk argued.

Terina shook her head. "Never assume that just because you killed something, it stays dead. Trust me on this."

"She's right," Tommy said. "Sometimes things come back. Okay, so that's Deacon, Myk…Lolli's staying…"

"One more'll make it even," Jareth offered.

"Fine, you stay."

Jareth raised an eyebrow. "Myk and Deacon are already staying….don't you want _someone_ along who's been there before?"

Tommy snapped his fingers. "Fine. Umm…Angel?"

"I'll stay. Lolli may need a hand with the repairs anyway," the Gray Ranger offered.

So…Kalen, Jareth, Terina, you're with me," the Red Ranger summarized.

"Pack your sunscreen, ladies," Jareth quipped happily. "We're off to the desert."


	74. Challenges and Tea Parties

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 74: Challenges and Tea Parties

Prince Gasket of the Machine Empire strode forward, making a note to take a long, hot lubricant bath after this. He'd need it, to clear the sand from his joints. He also found the sensation of being immersed in lubricant quite pleasant, although of course, he told himself he didn't. Such sentiments were unbecoming of a machine.

Technically, he was the acting king of the Machine Empire, but as the last official king, King Mondo, had never actually been disabled or destroyed, instead downloading his entire consciousness into the Machine Empire's computer network, none of his successors could take the title. Gasket was Prince, and he'd have to be content with that. Not that he could be content, really, not having emotions.

Approaching the massive stone hemisphere that stuck out of the sand, Gasket consulted the golden compass in his metal hand.

Magic. Gasket hated magic. It made no sense. He'd run several scans on the compass, for example. Every one of them simply registered it as a chunk of sculpted and forged gold, engraved with runes on the inside, adorned with a spinning silver needle and covered with a piece of glass. It didn't even have the small magnetic field that would have enabled it to function as a normal compass. It should have been completely useless.

Should have been. But it wasn't. Not by a long shot. For starters, it had opened the null-space envelope that had been surrounding this planet. The barren ball of sand hadn't even shown up on any stellar maps prior to that, but get close enough with the compass, and there it was.

And then there was the fact that it had led him unerringly to this precise spot. Gasket's eyes scanned the structure ahead of him. It was actually a complete sphere, halfway embedded in the sand. A thin column of stone, apparently hollow, emerged from the very bottom. It appeared to be the only entrance.

Normally, he'd have simply blasted a hole in the wall, but Zedd had cautioned him against this, arguing that the E'not Sel Caro itself might be damaged. It was this concern that also prevented him from sending any COGS or Krybots to do this job for him. In fact, he'd been specifically forbidden from bringing any with him.

His circuits bristled as he considered that. Just who in Mondo's name did Zedd think he was, ordering the Prince of the Machine Empire about like some common drone? He behaved like that towards everyone, now that Gasket processed it. Perhaps the first thing he, Gasket, would ask of the Caro was how best to be rid of Zedd. The idea had merit. He carefully saved it for later use.

For now, though, there was the matter of getting inside. It looked as though he'd have to dig. Personally. This would be murder on his joints. And he had little hope of convincing his escort to aid him. They had proven to be all but useless.

He needn't have worried…as soon as he stepped within thirty feet of the massive structure, the sand began to shift, and the stone sphere to rotate back, away from him.

With a tiny, mechanical whirr, small flanges flipped down from the sides of his feet, giving them a wider surface area on the bottom, helping to stabilize him as the sand flowed beneath him. The guardians who stood behind him found themselves buried to the armpits in the sand. They complained loudly, of course. They were always complaining. Gasket ignored them.

Something began to emerge….the hollow stone column, still attached to the sphere, was being turned forward from underneath. As soon as it was halfway raised from the sand, the motion of the giant sphere halted. The column had become a tunnel, one sealed by a thick stone door. Sand tricked out from an engraved symbol on the door.

Gears ground in Gasket's torso as he attempted to identify the symbol. It didn't seem to match anything in his databanks. Linking to the Machine Empire's central core, he accessed its much greater memory and tried again, but still found nothing.

With an electronic sigh, he took a step into the tunnel to more closely examine the symbol. Perhaps if he cleared some more of the sand away…

The compass in his hand began to vibrate. Curiously, he held it up….and a thick beam of golden light shot forth, striking the circular rune on the door. Just as suddenly, the beam stopped and the door split in half, grinding open.

Gasket growled. The door was ordinary granite, the compass a lump of metal. Scientifically, there was no way that should have worked, no way that could have happened. But, having witnessed it himself, there was no way he could deny that it had. Paradoxes like that always gave him a headache.

Magic. He hated magic. Not that he could actually hate anything, of course.

"Stay here," he commanded the four warriors who accompanied him. "If the Rangers attempt to enter, kill them."

With that, he gave a sigh, retracting the stabilizers from his feet and plodding into the sphere.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Ready?" Lolli asked.

"Ready," Angel replied.

"Ready for what?" Deacon asked.

"Pick your favorite god and start praying," Lolli replied. Reaching inside the large, blocky mechanism she and Angel had been tinkering with, she manipulated something that couldn't be seen inside its casing.

As soon as she did, sparks shot from within, and a glass sphere that had been embedded in the top began to flicker with inner lightning. A familiar electronic voice began to emanate from within, though little of what it said made sense.

"100010001Data inaccessible, reconfiguring01010110non-standard peripherals detected, adjusting parameters1010101running diagnostics, system error system error system error…Hello?"

"Zord-1?" Deacon asked.

"Deacon? Is that you? I apologize, but many of my sensory mechanisms appear to be missing."

"The Oasis crashed. Most of you went with it," Lolli explained. "I managed to haul your central core out of the wreckage-"

"Ahem."

Lolli rolled her ice-blue eyes. "Fine. _Angel _hauled you out of the wreckage, and we got you working again."

"Then you have my gratitude, such as it is. Had you waited much longer, my synthorganic components would have begun to degrade. How is the Oasis? Is it salvageable?"

"We think so," Angel replied. "It won't be flying anytime soon, but the infrastructure is intact."

"We figure we'll have the inside of the ship livable again in a few weeks," Myk said. "Lots of rubble to sift through, though."

"I would appreciate having a few cameras wired to my sensory matrix while you are effecting repairs," Zord-1 said. "Are the four of you the only ones here? And where IS here?"

"This feels kinda weird," Deacon said. "Normally, it's Zord-1 who has all the answers.

"We crashed on Animaria. The floating island?" Myk said.

"I am familiar with the legend of Animaria," Zord-1 said. "It is also highly improbable that-"

"That we just happened to land on an island the size of the Animarium? Yeah, we figured that," Deacon confirmed. "Anyway, the four of us are here to assess the damage and guard the ship, because we suspect the Psychos may be here."

"We saw their Zords," Angel said, before Zord-1 could ask. "Long story."

"Jareth, Tommy, Kalen, and Terina went to Yllustri to find the E'not Sel Caro before Gasket does," Myk said.

"Fox, Stephen, Mara, Troy, and Electra went home," Lolli added. "School, work, that sort of thing."

"Electra is neither employed nor a student," Zord-1 noted.

"She said she went to check in with her family," Myk explained helpfully.

There was a brief pause, during which a number of whirring, grinding noises could be heard from within Zord-1's hastily assembled housing.

"Rangers," the computer asked slowly. "What is today's date?"

Lolli told him. "Why?" she asked.

"Because I happen to know for a fact that Electra's parents are vacationing in the Alps, and will be there for the next three weeks," Zord-1 said. "They cannot possibly be expecting her to 'check in', as she put it."

The others exchanged glances.

"If Electra didn't go home…," Deacon began.

"Then where is she?" Lolli finished.

Angel sighed, sitting down. "If this plot grows much thicker, we will all need machetes."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Would you care for some more tea, Mr. Bear?" Panika asked, holding up a china teapot full of a bubbling, steaming blue liquid that was most definitely not tea.

Across from her at the small, round table sat a teddy bear that had been torn open, its innards leaking out.

"Yes, please," the bear replied in a squeaking voice not unlike Panika's.

With a smile, the red-and-black clad girl raised her arm, and the bear leaned forward over the table, picked up its teacup, and held it out to be refilled. Panika happily filled the china teacup.

Me, too, please," requested a strange doll with insectoid legs and large screws for eyes. Panika refilled her cup as well.

"And how about you, Widdershins?"

"No more for me, thanks," said the small, cymbal-wielding monkey with the disturbing grin, in a voice not unlike the one the bear had used. "I'm trying to watch my figure."

"It's quite rude of you to refuse our charming hostess' hospitality," said a bizarre toy that had been constructed by attaching the head of a one-eyed baby doll to a spider-like body built of erector-set.

"Oh, poo," said the bear. "You just want to see him balloon up so you'll be Panicka's favorite again. You've always been jealous."

"Hey!" the monstrosity replied. "You just got here!"

"Marie filled me in," the bear said smugly.

The baby-doll-headed toy turned its head to glare at the headless doll that occupied the seat next to it.

"Been spreading stories, have we, Antionette? What else have you told him about me?"

"It's only a story if it's not true, dear," Marie Antionette replied, calmly pouring the contents of her teacup onto the stump of her neck.

The screw-eyed doll across the table giggled, as did the bear and the monkey.

The spider-legged construct glared at them, then turned to her headless antagonist. "Are you implying-"

"Not at all. I am flat out telling you. You are, quite simply, a small-minded, self-centered little-"

"Please, friends," Panika interrupted, a massive grin on her face. "Can't we be civil?"

"No, we most certainly can _not_!" the spider cried, outraged. "This conniving bitch has committed libel! She's been spreading viscous rumors about me, damaging my good reputation-"

"Your reputation was hardly that good to begin with, you sad little trollop," Marie replied coldly. "And incidentally, I think you mean slander. Libel is written."

This was too much for the spider-thing. It let out an outraged shriek, then rose into the air and flung itself at the headless doll. Thus began a full-scale make-believe catfight as the two figures began rolling over one another on the small table, knocking over teacups and saucers as they punched, kicked, and went through the motions of pulling hair (though neither actually had any).

Panika giggled as she telekinetically manipulated the dolls, making them fight, still calling out insults in their voices.

"Panika!"

The red-and-black clad girl jumped, the dolls falling lifeless as she turned to find her older brother standing behind her.

"Oh, it's you," she said, resting her elbow on the tabletop and placing her head in her hand. "What do you want now? Can't you see we're in the middle of brunch?"

"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your tea party," Ornyk said tartly. "But I thought you should know that one of the Rangers has infiltrated the base. Just waltzed right in."

"The warding spells?" Panika asked.

"Only work on the good aligned Rangers. This must be one of the evil or neutral ones."

"Well, what about the security systems, then? Wasn't Gasket installing those throughout the castle?"

"Yes, and I meant to have a talk with you about that."

"Oh, goody," Panika said flatly. "More talking."

"It seems that the central processing unit for the security systems has been filled to the gills with marmalade. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Ornyk asked, glowering.

"It had gills?" Panika asked curiously. Seeing the expression on Ornyk's face, she sighed. "Well, I had to put the marmalade _somewhere_."

"Was there something wrong with the fridge?"

"Yes."

"What was wrong with the fridge?"

"It stopped working."

"Why?"

"Because I set it on fire, and then pushed it off that cliff by the castle's rear entrance."

Ornyk blinked. "_Why_?"

"So I could fill the security system with marmalade," Panika replied, as though the answer were obvious.

Ornyk rolled his eyes, sighing. "Wait….that cliff is outside the atmospheric shield. How did you manage to set it on fire?"

"I never said it was _easy_."

The wolflike alien placed his face in his paws. "Look. Just keep an eye out for our visitor, and if you find it, come tell me. Okay?"

"Okay!" Panika agreed. She held out the teapot. "Would you care to stay for some tea?"

Ornyk eyed the bubbling contents of the pot warily. "Erm…no, thank you. I rather value my intestinal tract. You folks have fun, though." With that, the blue-armored Zornian turned and left the room.

Panika shrugged, turning back to her 'guests'. "More for us, then. Hey…" she said, her eyes falling on the empty seat that had recently been occupied by the ruined teddy bear. Looking around the room, she spotted the toy floating slowly towards the other exit.

"Oy! Where are you going? The party's not over!"

The bear froze in its tracks, turning back to her. "Um…" it said, in a completely different voice than it had before when Panika had been providing vocals. "The little bear's room?"

"Oh," Panika said. She pointed. "Down the hall, second left. Can't miss it. Don't be long, the fun's just beginning."

"Thanks," the bear replied, sounding relieved. It rapidly floated out of the room.

As soon as it was in the hall and out of earshot, the air rippled, and an arm appeared holding it. The rest of the Black Ranger's body quickly followed. She slumped against the wall in relief, removing her helmet.

"Whew," she said. "Too close. Lucky for me she's crazy as a loon, huh, Mr. Bear?"

"Sure is," the bear replied, this time in Electra's voice. "Of course, you're not much better off. I mean, here you are, talking to me, and hearing me talk back, just like her."

"Yeah, but at least I _know_ that that's crazy," Electra replied.

"True. I suppose that's something," the bear agreed. "So. Can we get out of here now? This place is just too creepy."

"I dunno. I kinda like it," The Black Ranger said, replacing her helmet. "But yes. Now would be a good time to leave. Follow me, Mr. Bear."

Tucking the bear under her arm, she proceeded to race down the halls of Zed's palace, towards the door where she'd first entered.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Vast clouds of Yllustrian desert sand were kicked up into the air as the Astro Megaship came to a landing, its jets gently lowering it to the forbidding, barren planet's surface. The silver grating on the front of one of its pontoons slid open, a ramp extending down from within. Four armored figures emerged, their boots leaving deep prints in the reddish-gold sand as the exited the ship.

"You sure this is the place?" Tommy asked.

"Not really," Jareth replied, shaking his head to dislodge some of the sand from the lion's mane that covered his helmet. "But apart from the tomb, this is the only landmark we ever found on this planet."

"Well, you spoke the truth," Terina said, crossing her arms and staring up at the towering edifice. "It's a big stone igloo."

"Gasket and his COGS are probably already in there," Kalen said. "In fact, if Kite's really working both sides, it's probably a trap."

"If Gasket's smart, he left a few traps for us anyway," Terina said. She shrugged. "But…whatever."

The four of them strode forward across the sands, approaching the entrance.

Jareth frowned beneath his helmet as Terina approached the short, arched tunnel that jutted forth from the massive dome, just like the entrance to an actual igloo, but much, much larger.

"You know, I don't remember there being an actual entrance to this thing last time," he said. "They must have…I dunno….unsealed it or somethi-"

Crunch.

Jareth froze as something solid crushed against his lion-shaped boot, his weight forcing it down into the sand. He knelt down to pick it up as the others continued walking. Dusting it off, he recognized it as a data disk, identical to the ones the Oasis' systems produced.

"Hmmm…" he muttered, dusting it off.

Terina, meanwhile, entered the stony arch. She had only gone a few feet forward when Tommy and Kalen reached the forward edge of the tunnel.

Zrapp!

Terina paused, turning. Where she had passed effortlessly, Tommy and Kalen both rebounded as they walked facefirst into an invisible barrier, as though they'd struck a solid wall of the clearest, most perfect glass imaginable. The wall lit up momentarily as they touched it, shocking them with magical energy.

"Ow!" Tommy cried, grateful for his helmet. 'What the…" he reached forward, laying his gloved palm flat against the force field, receiving another, smaller shock as he did so. "Some sort of force field?" He shook his tingling hand.

Kalen shook her head. "My teeth are buzzing…"

Terina walked back towards them. She extended her arm, feeling for the barrier, but felt nothing. The solid wall that balked the others apparently wasn't there for her.

"No creature of good or evil may enter," she said softly.

"Which is why Gasket could enter," Tommy said. "He's not alive. But….why did it let _you_ though?"

"I…umm…maybe it lets Neutrals through?" she suggested weakly.

"Then Jareth should be able to get through," Kalen observed, turning to face the Gold Ranger.

Jareth looked from her, to the place where the barrier stood, to the Yellow Ranger on the other side.

"No way. I've done way too many nice things lately, and that thing looks painful."

Terina shot him a grateful look that she hoped he would be able to interpret despite her helmet.

The glance went unnoticed by Tommy, who shrugged. He figured that the Gold Ranger knew more about magic than he did….even if he _had_ managed to accidentally sprout a tail.

"I guess it's up to you, then," the Red Ranger said.

Terina nodded. "I'll do my best. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Jareth called after her, as the Yellow Ranger vanished into the darkness within the stone structure.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hard to believe this place used to be so clean," Deacon muttered, fishing through a pile of rubble. "I don't even know where to begin with this stuff."

"I know what you mean," Diskette agreed. "Oh, hey. I think I found another piece of that stupid dog."

"What do you have against Murphy, anyway?" the Silver Ranger asked.

Diskette approximated a shrug. "Just sibling rivalry, I suppose."

"Never had any siblings, myself," Deacon said. "Unless you count Jareth."

"I didn't think you two were related? Your genetic structures are nothing alike."

"We're not, we've just known each other way too long."

"Oh. That makes you brothers?"

Deacon shrugged. "Yeah, sort of."

Diskette paused. "I think my database needs updated. So, by that definition, would Fox be your sister?"

The Silver Ranger paused, twitching slightly. "Umm…no. You know what? Forget I mentioned it."

Deciding that she would never understand humans, Diskette gave up and returned to work. Deacon did likewise, sifting through the junk that had once been vital components of the ship. Something sparkled.

Deacon squinted at the small, crystal shard that lay wedged beneath a large metal engine component.

"Hey, what's this?"

Diskette hovered over. "Oooh. A Prismatic Morphing Gem."

"A what?"

"This might be kind of hard to believe, but the Zeo Crystals? They're actually alive. Sort of. Always growing. Every now and then one of these splinters off. This one probably broke free in the crash. Hmm…now that I think of it, the Zeo Chamber WAS right around here somewhere. We should probably find it. It's kind of important."

"I'll say," Deacon agreed. He bent down to retrieve them gem, but it was firmly wedged. Trying to lift the metal block atop it, he was quickly forced to give up.

"This thing weighs a ton," he complained.

"Just under, actually," Diskete corrected, scanning it. "I can probably help with a tractor beam, but I estimate that we'd still be just short of enough force to lift it."

"What if Myk helped?"

"Yeah, that'd do it," the hovering droid agreed.

" Okay. Great," the Silver Ranger said. "Now, the only problem is…where did he go?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Myk blinked.

He wasn't where he had been. A moment ago, he'd been standing in the ruined Oasis, helping Deacon and Diskette to sort through the debris. Now, he was standing in the Animarian temple ruins.

There were two things he immediately realized. The first was that his left hand was red, inflamed, and itching, as though he'd just been splashed with boiling water. The second was that Princess Shayla looked furious with him.

"Princess?" he asked. "How did I get here?"

The princess' anger seemed to vanish. "You…," she began, but before she could go any further, a burning sensation lit up Myk's eyes. He blinked furiously, rubbing them.

"Erm…I brought you here," Shayla finished.

The burning sensation passed, and Myk looked up at her, his vision unblurring.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because…I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" the Bronze Ranger asked suspiciously.

"I sense a great darkness within you, Bronze Ranger," Shayla said. "Sometimes, those who believe most strongly in doing good are the easiest to use for evil."

"What are you talking about?"

Shayla sighed. She turned to the gently bubbling pond beside her. Myk noticed for the first time that she was wet, as though she'd recently fallen in.

"The pond has shown me...a great storm is coming, Bronze Ranger. Your friends will be placed in great danger. And you…you stand at the heart of it all."

"At the heart of…?"

"Perhaps it can still be stopped," Shayla said doubtfully, staring into the water. She hugged herself, as if cold. "There is still time. But only if you realize what's happening."

"Well…what IS happening?" Myk asked.

Shayla shook her head. "I can't tell you. Which is the worst part. I want to tell you, but I can't. He would kill me. And your friends. And destroy all of Animaria, if I did."

"Who?" Myk demanded. "Kite?"

Shayla just looked at him.

"Well, whoever it is, he'd have to get through me, first," Myk declared resolutely. "I won't let anyone hurt you. That's a promise."

Shayla smiled sadly. She took a few steps forward and gently cupped his face.

"That's very sweet of you. It means a lot to me. Really, it does. But…you can't protect me. Not from _him_."

"I…"

"You should go." Shayla turned away from him and began to walk off into the ruins of the temple. As she neared the exit, she turned back to him. "Take care of yourself. Like I said. You're at the heart of it all."

And with that, she left, leaving behind a very, very confused Bronze Ranger.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What sort of race do you think the Yllustrians were?" Kalen asked.

The three of them were killing time, waiting for Terina to return. Kalen was leaning idly against the stone arch that framed the barrier. Tommy was absently swordfighting an imaginary opponent, and Jareth was sitting in the sand, trying to get the disk he'd found to play on his TurboNav.

"Judging from the engraved figures on those sarcophagi we ran into last time?" Jareth replied. "I'd say humanoid. Two arm, two legs, one head apiece."

"Not what I meant," Kalen said. "I mean, culturally."

"Well, we know they believed in Good and Evil," Tommy ventured. "And evidently Neutral."

Jareth chuckled. "Wait till I tell Mara that we found solid proof that people come in Neural."

"Not necessarily," Tommy argued. "We just found proof that the people who built this barrier _thought_ that they did."

"He's right," Kalen confirmed.

"I know he's right," Jareth agreed. "But he's a lot smarter than Mara. Not that that's difficult. Your common kitchen sponge is smarter than Mara."

"I still say we should be trying to find a way in, instead of sitting around out here playing video games," Tommy interjected.

"This isn't a video game. It's a disk I found. Looks like one of the Oasis', only sorta not. I'm trying to read it, but I think it's encrypted. Or maybe just sand-scoured, but 'encrypted' was such a cool word that I just had to use it."

Kalen moved to stand beside him. "Hmm."

"We should be doing _something_," Tommy said. "I don't like just standing here. Jareth, would you _please_ test the barrier? If it lets you through then at least she'll have some help."

"This could be important," Jareth argued.

"If it was important, would it have been buried in the sand on some forgotten dustball in the middle of nowhere?" Tommy demanded.

"Lots of important things get lost, Tommy," Kalen said reasonably. "Why don't you look around and see if there are any other entrances to this sphere?"

Tommy sighed. "Fine. But if there aren't, I'm throwing you into the tunnel when I get back, Jareth. Whether the barrier lets you through or not."

With that the Red Ranger stalked off around the igloo's edge.

As soon as he was out of sight, Jareth muttered, "I get the impression he's getting more and more annoyed with me. Wonder why that is…Maybe he's just-"

"Terina's a robot, isn't she?" Kalen interrupted.

Jareth shot her a strange look. "What makes you sa-"

"I _have_ known the girl for nearly four years now. Things are starting to add up."

"Such as…?"

"Such as the fact that she can calculate absurdly high numbers instantly in her head-"

"Lolli can do that."

"She never sleeps. She's ridiculously strong. She can analyze the chemical composition of anything she touches. She never lets anyone tend her injuries. She gets sick and nearly dies on a planet that nullifies technology. She passes through a barrier that supposedly filters out all living things…"

Jareth sighed. "Well…"

"Excuse me?" Kalen asked sweetly.

"If she _were_ a robot, she'd have made me promise to keep it a secret a long time ago. Now do me a favor and keep your mouth shut about it."

"And why should I keep such a juicy little secret all to myself, hmm?"

"Same reason I shouldn't tell anyone who _really_ owned Serpentware Industries?" Jareth suggested.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kalen muttered. "Fine. Deal." She sighed, crossing her arms. "So I'm guessing the reason you won't try the barrier…"

"Because if it doesn't let me through, then being Neutral has nothing to do with it. Which means it only let her through because of what she is."

"A robot."

"I didn't say that."

Kalen sighed, then held out her hand. "Let me see this thing."

The Gold Ranger climbed to his feet, but before he could take so much as a step towards the Purple Ranger, laser fire erupted from all around them, kicking up bursts of desert sand.

"We appear to be under attack," Jareth said, lying flat on his back. One of the blasts had caused a sand-geyser directly beneath him. Right after he'd gone through all the trouble of standing up, too.

"So good of you to notice," a familiar voice said.

"Oh, no," Kalen muttered, face in her hands. "_Them_ again."

"Who again?" Jareth asked loopily, once again rising to his feet, albeit this time a bit less steadily.

"Us again," said the Green Hunter Beetleborg, approaching them through the fine mist of still-falling sand, holstering his Sonic Laser. The Blue and Red Beetleborgs were at his side, the White a few paces behind.

"The Beetleborgs are back, baby," Blue Stinger said, conjuring his Stinger Blade.

"How many times do we have to kill you?" the Purple Ranger demanded.

"At least one more," Red Striker said.

Jareth whipped out his scythe and began twirling it, grinning like a madman beneath is helmet.

"One more, coming right up."


	75. Trials

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 75: Trials

Deacon blinked, staring up at the writhing surface of the Oasis.

"Reminds me of a Mallowmar dropped into an anthill."

"Yeah, it does," Lolli agreed. "But the drones are fixing it, not eating it."

"They should be finished in a day or two," Angel added, tinkering with something that resembled a mechanical arm.

"Rebuilding the ship?" Deacon asked.

"No. Painting flames on the sides," Lolli replied. "Yes, rebuilding the ship. Where have you been?"

"But you said it wouldn't be done for months."

"It won't be _flyable _for months," Lolli corrected. "The engines have to be recalibrated, which is something that was never meant to be done in the atmosphere. That'll take a while. But the ship itself will be whole again in a day or two."

There was a spark and a powering-up noise as Angel finished attaching his newest creation to the side of Zord-1's central core, which still stood on the ground next to them. The arm whirred to life, rising up in the air, the large metal spherical shell on the end opening to reveal an optical sensor.

"Ah. Much better. You have my gratitude, Gray Ranger."

"Anytime," Angel replied, closing his toolbox.

The multi-jointed arm tested its mobility, turning the 'eye' to look in every direction.

"You know, I kinda like you better this way," Deacon said, glancing over at Zord-1.

Zord-1 looked back, blinking in surprise. "As a disembodied shell?" he asked.

"You're not dis-embodied. You're…I dunno…regular-embodied. I actually know where to look when I talk to you," the Silver Ranger replied.

"It does beat talking to the ceiling," Lolli admitted.

"Hmm." Zord-1's 'eye' tilted to the side, making him look contemplative. "It DOES grant me a good deal more expression. Perhaps, when I am reinstalled, I shall keep this eye as an aesthetic user-interface…"

There was a rustling from the woods behind them, and a small fuchsia dragon emerged from the undergrowth.

_Found him. He's back at the temple ruins, _Zoey said.

"What's he doing there?" Lolli demanded.

"From the look of things? Making time with the princess," Diskette replied, hovering after the wyrmling. "Hey, mom? Can you give me an upgrade that'll let me hear it when this dragon talks? I'm sick of having to play twenty questions."

"I'll think about it. And don't call me that."

Deacon sighed. "I'm stuck here guarding a giant anthill, and Myk's off hitting on a princess."

Lolli shrugged, sitting down on Zord-1's housing and pulling a compupad out o her pocket.

"Them's the breaks."

A sudden, cold wind blew past, making them all shiver.

"What was that?" Deacon asked, rubbing his arms.

"Wind," Diskette answered.

"No," Angel said, looking off into the distance from which the wind had blown. "That felt…different. Unnatural."

Lolli nodded. "Yeah. Even I felt that."

_Something's coming,_ Zoey said with certainty. _Something…bad._

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"**Ray of Hope!" **

Kalen gestured towards the Beetleborgs, adding streams of purple lightning to the spray of gold sparks, the two attacks combining into a single pulse of energy that would have devastated the comic book warriors…had Red Striker not stepped forward, the cover of her Beetle Battler open and held before her like a shield. The spinning, silver disc inside soaked up the energy, absorbing it all and concentrating it into the tips of her blaster.

"Well," Jareth said nervously. "That didn't work."

Striker leveled her Blaster at the Rangers and let fly with a concentrated blast of stolen energy.

Kalen quickly took a step back, grabbing Jareth and pulling him in front of her. The Gold Ranger barely managed to grab the edge of his coat in time, pulling it up to shield them from the blast. Even with its scorching intensity blocked, the attack still carried enough force to drive the two Rangers back, burying them in a nearby sand dune.

The Beetleborgs, with the exception of the White Blaster, cackled with glee as the two attempted to extricate themselves from the dune.

"Do I look like a shield to you?" The Gold Ranger demanded as he shook the sand from his mane, staggering to his feet.

"At that moment, yes, you did," Kalen retorted.

The Gold Ranger was about to retort when a large pair of pincers clamped themselves around his torso.

"Going up?" Green Hunter asked, lifting Jareth above his head.

"Hold him still for me, Danny," Red Striker said, raising her arm towards him.

"My pleasure," Hunter replied.

Kalen's staff appeared in her hand, but before she could use it, Blue Stinger was behind her, his blade pressed against her throat. She froze.

"You're outnumbered and outgunned, girl. Drop the toy. Now."

She glared at him, but dropped the staff, letting it fall to the sand.

"Would now be a good time for me to say that you guys were great in issue #396?" Jareth asked weakly. "Great dialogue. And such exquisite brushwork."

"Would you _please_ just shoot that one and shut him up already?" White Blaster said, speaking for the first time.

"Gladly," Striker said. There was a whine as her blaster began to power up, its prongs spinning.

A burst of solid red light struck her in the arm, blasting her gauntlet into numerous fragments that flew in every direction. Red Striker let out a cry of pain, clutching her arm, parts of her armor having been cracked and melted by the blast. She…and the other Beetleborgs…turned to face this new threat.

Tommy blew on the handle of his Blade Blaster, holstering it nonchalantly.

"Hey guys," he said. "Miss me?"

"Evidently," White Blaster said, red lightning materializing around his hands. "But our aim is improving." He thrust his hands forward, launching the spheres of crimson electricity, but Tommy brought up his shield-arm, blocking the blasts without much effort.

"Try aiming, Jonah," Stinger called. Kalen, taking advantage of his distraction, calmly placed her hands on the arm that Stinger was using to keep his blade against her neck and sent several thousand volts of purple electricity coursing through his body.

While the Beetleborgs wee no longer cripplingly weak against electricity, that sort of voltage still wasn't something one just shook off. Stinger fell to the ground, Convulsing.

Hunter's head jerked in the direction of the Blue Stinger's painful gurgles.

"Alex!" He turned to face Kalen, throwing Jareth aside like a rag doll.

The Gold Ranger went rolling across the sand….right through the arched entrance of the massive stone igloo.

"Whoo," he said loopily, rising unsteadily to his feet. "Oh, hey," he said, passing his hand through the entrance, where the barrier should have been. "I guess it _does_ let neutrals through."

"Go find Terina! Stick with her!" Tommy ordered, his sword striking sparks from the White Blaster's spinning drill as the two dueled. "We'll handle this!"

"Roger that!" Jareth cried, saluting playfully. He turned and began making his way down into the igloo's interior.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"It's getting dark," Shayla said. "Won't the others be missing you?"

"They can do without me for a while," Myk said, following the Princess as she made her way through the ruins.

Shayla sat down at the picnic table that stood in the middle of the ruins, gesturing for Myk to sit across from her. He did.

"How much longer will you be up?" Myk asked.

"I was asleep for over 3000 years," Shayla said. "I don't plan on sleeping again any time soon. I have far too much catching up to do."

"Tell you what," Myk said. "I'll bring you up to speed on the last thousand years, if you'll tell me a little bit about ancient Animaria."

Shayla smiled. "Sounds good."

She snapped her fingers. With a soft white glow, two bowls of ice cream blurred into existence on the table, one in front of each of them. With a devilish grin, she seized her spoon and began eating.

"So?" she asked. 'Who goes first?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Terina's high-heeled black boots made sharp knocking sounds against the sandstone floor that cast loud echoes off of the engraved walls.

"Spooky," she said to herself. She took a few steps forward.

As soon as she reached the end of the long, narrow hall that connected the bottom of the stairway to the first room, there was a bright yellow flash as her enchanted armor disappeared.

"What the…," the Eltarian wondered, examining her gloveless hands. She flicked her wrist in an attempt to summoning her morpher, but could produce nothing more than a few yellow sparks.

She sighed. "No powers. Great." She sniffed. At least there seemed to be oxygen down here. Breathing methane and carbon dioxide always gave her a headache.

Shaking her head, she looked around, her eyes drawn to the runic inscription engraved above the arched door that led to the first chamber. If only she could read ancient Yllustrian.

A sudden noise from behind drew her attention, and she turned back to see the Gold Ranger tumble comically down the stairs, landing in a heap.

"Jareth?"

"Hi," Jareth replied weakly. "That last step is a doozy…"

"What happened?"

Jareth glared back up at the stairs. "One of the steps crumbled when I stepped on it. This place is falling apart. Even without the Beetleborgs' help."

"The Beetleborgs are here?" Terina glanced sharply at the entrance. "Do Tommy and Kalen need help?"

Jareth shrugged. "Tommy said to come down here and help you."

Terina opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, a gold flash illuminated the room as Jareth de-morphed.

"Umm…no?" he asked, examining himself.

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. No powers allowed."

"Well, that's a stupid rule."

"I agree. Hey, can you read that?"

Terina pointed up to the inscription above the door.

Jareth squinted, his high-tech contact lenses whirring. In his sight, letters in High Terran superimposed themselves over the alien words.

"'The Trial of Determination'," he read aloud. He blinked. "We're going to be tested?"

"Looks that way. Come on, let's go be determined."

The two made their way into the next room, but it was completely empty. At the other end of the large chamber was a massive set of oak doors, standing open.

"Some challenge," Jareth said.

"Gasket," Terina growled. "He's already solved this one."

"One less for us," Jareth said, pointing out the bright side.

Terina considered. "Yeah, that's a good point."

"Can I make another one?"

"Sure."

"If we keep going, sooner or later we're going to run into Gasket. And we have no powers."

"Well….maybe he doesn't have any powers either?"

Jareth didn't look convinced.

"Let's just keep going," Terina said. "It's either Gasket, or the Beetleborgs. At least there's only one of Gasket."

"Yeah, and up there, we'd have Tommy and Kalen with us, not to mention our powers…"

"Stop making sense and come adventure with me," Terina demanded, moving resolutely forward.

"As you wish," Jareth said flatly, following in her footsteps.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Electra's boots made no sound whatsoever as she crept down the halls of Zedd's palace, walking right past the platoons of Putties and Tengas that were desperately scouring the palace for her. Her ninja-like power of stealth made her invisible and untouchable…escaping from the edifice should have been easy.

And it would have been, if she hadn't managed to get herself hopelessly lost.

The Black Ranger instinctively pressed herself against the wall as a shadow loomed around the corner, boots echoing against the floor as Ornyk strode into sight. He smirked, looking right at her.

"You can drop the cloak, Black Ranger."

"How…?"

Ornyk pointed at the torn teddy bear that the Ranger still carried. It was completely visible, unaffected by her cloak.

Electra sighed, dropping her invisibility. "So how did all your goons fail to notice that?"

"If you haven't noticed, our goons aren't too bright," the Zornian replied, drawing his sword. "They were instructed to search for a Ranger. The floating teddy bear failed to interest them."

"Stay," Electra commanded the bear, setting it gently aside and conjuring her axe, holding it before her. The two combatants circled each other warily.

"Before we begin," Ornyk said. "Indulge my curiosity. Did you really cross the barren reaches of space, infiltrate our security, and risk life and limb, all for a child's toy?"

"What can I say?" Electra said resignedly. "I'm in love."

"Ah, yes. Love makes fools of us all."

With a thought, Ornyk ignited the blade of his broadsword, blue-black flames lighting up the corridor. He lifted the sword…but before he could actually use it, a horrific sound echoed down the halls, the shrill screams of murdered damsels, nails against chalkboards, and cats being shoved into blenders, all rolled into one unbearable noise.

Ornyk dropped the sound, his hands instantly covering his sensitive ears.

Seizing her opportunity, Electra reached out with her left hand, launching the grappling-tether from its mechanism and ensnaring Ornyk's armored feet. With a sharp yank, she brought the wolflike alien crashing to the stone floor.

Grabbing the injured bear, The Black Ranger raced off down the hall, around the corner and out of sight.

As the sound finally died, Ornyk pulled himself to his feet, his head still ringing.

"Damn you, Zedd. A simple 'Intruder Alert' set to loop would have made a perfectly serviceable alarm, but you just _had _to play up the horror…"

"Ah, but you realize what this means, don't you?"

Ornyk turned to see a small child walk through the wall, the stone rippling like water as he passed.

"That you were there all along and could have easily stopped her from escaping?" Ornyk offered, annoyed but not in the least surprised.

"It _means_," Kite explained, as though Ornyk were the child here, "That a good-aligned creature has entered the palace."

Ornyk blinked. "That's very true. I wonder which of the Rangers is here to rescue their little friend."

Kite grinned. "Oh, you'd not believe me if I told you."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kalen grinned, spinning her staff. With one abrupt motion, she plunged the flanged end into the ground, the orb on the other end pulsing wildly.

Green Hunter took a step forward, but before he could attack, sparkles of purple light from the corners of his eye drew his attention.

Two curved shark fins had appeared from beneath the ground, composed of glowing purple light-energy. As he watched, they circled him, always remaining the same distance from both him and each other, cutting a deep furrow into the sand, a furrow that seemed to send up a thin, borealis-like veil of purple light into the air.

Once the circle was complete, the spectral fins changed course, weaving their way inward, meeting right where he was standing and melting together directly between his feet, leaving him standing in the center of a glowing purple yin-yang.

A feeling of power began to grow around him, light concentrating itself into the etched lines to make them glow still brighter.

He tried to move, only to find that the glowing walls of purple light from beneath had transfixed him, as solidly as if they'd been made of steel.

"This is gonna be bad," he muttered."

"Not for me," Kalen retorted happily, leaning against her staff to watch.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sand flew from Tommy's feet as he spun, his claws and saber forming a lethal vortex around him as his powers propelled him towards the White Blaster Beetleborg.

White Blaster leveled his arms at the Red Ranger, crimson lightning flying from his gauntlets, but the powerful blasts were strong enough only to slow the red tornado, most of their force torn away by the spinning blades.

At the last possible moment, Blaster broke off his attack and dove aside, letting the spinning-top rush past him, tearing a furrow in the sandy ground.

Tommy spun to a halt, sheathing the short sword in its scabbard on his back. He aimed his shield-gauntlet at the Beetleborg, claws extended.

The White Blaster scowled beneath his helmet, thinking that the Red Ranger was merely making a threatening gesture…until the curved blades that were the Red Ranger's claws launched themselves at him, a pair of deadly missiles.

With an astonished yelp, the Beetleborg heaved aside yet again, but this time his leap wasn't as well executed…his boots slipped on the unstable desert sand and left him lying facedown in the dust.

Climbing to his feet, Blaster grew out the horn-blades on his forearms…just in time to block the downward swing of Tommy's Tyrant Sword.

"Isn't this the part where you try to convince me that we don't have to be enemies?" Blaster sneered.

"Yeah," Tommy admitted. "But that never works."

Abruptly, a surge of power lit the sky as a thick column of purple light pulsed into the air, seeming to come from the ground beyond the sand dunes, back where the stone igloo was located. It lasted for only a moment, then faded.

There was a pause, both combatants having completely forgotten what they were doing.

"What the Hel was that?" Blaster finally asked.

"Got me," Tommy replied.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kalen gently prodded the steaming, charred body of the Green Hunter with the end of her staff.

"Are you still alive?" she asked inquisitively.

A small groan answered her.

"Oh, good. I wasn't finished yet."

A small sound, as of sand grinding in servomotors, caught the Purple Ranger's attention, and she turned to see the Red Striker standing behind her, evidently caught in the act of trying to sneak off. Her Beetle Bonder was in her hand, an open portal stood not far off.

"Hey!" Kalen leapt into the air, doing that flipping thing that all Power Rangers do, and landed between the Beetleborg and her portal. "Leaving? So soon?" she asked, pretending to clean her fingernails with the flanges of her staff. "How rude."

Striker backed off a few steps, looking from the Purple Ranger, to the smoking husks of Blue Stinger and Green Hunter…and, finally, to the one avenue left open to her: the entrance to the igloo.

She ran.

Kalen hefted her staff and chased her with a bolt of purple light, but the Beetleborg escaped, diving into the tunnel. Kalen's blast splashed harmlessly off the invisible barrier that sealed the entrance.

"Huh," the Purple Ranger mused. "She must have been neutral."

"Kalen!"

Her shark-helmeted head turned to see the Red Ranger standing atop a nearby dune, the White Blaster Beetleborg hanging limply in his grip. He tossed the armored warrior down to land in the sand next to the other two, then slid down the dune himself and jogged over to stand next to Kalen.

"Hey," Tommy asked, sounding puzzled as he examined the incapacitated forms on the ground. "Weren't there supposed to be four of them?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So you can use this…," Shayla paused, unable to recall the word Myk had used.

"Telephone," he supplied.

"This telephone, to talk to people on the other side of the world….as if they were standing right next to you?"

"That's right," Myk said.

"I don't believe it," Shayla challenged. "Not even magic could accomplish that."

"It's true," Myk said. "I'll show you sometime."

"How does it work?" the princess asked inquisitively.

There, Myk was stumped. "I don't actually know," he admitted. "But I'll find out for you."

"Do that."

Myk downed another spoonful of ice cream. "So. Your turn. What happened to Animaria?"

Shayla's smile faded slightly. "That's kind of a long story."

"Short version?"

The Princess sighed, downing a mouthful of ice cream contemplatively. "A long time ago, the Kingdom of Animaria was protected by a group of powerful warriors. Not unlike you Power Rangers. The strongest of these were Pardolis…and Merrick."

She paused, fingering the ornate pendant she wore. Myk waited for a moment, then opened his mouth to prompt her to go on, but she barreled ahead before he could speak.

"They were brothers. And they were the best defenders Animaria had ever seen. But one day, an entity named Master Org arose and threatened Animaria. We never knew what he really was, or where he came from…but he threatened to bring the entire civilization to its knees. He…he killed Pardolis. And to rub it in, he sent him back to the palace…in pieces."

Myk winced.

"Merrick was furious. He was determined to find a way to destroy Master Org. To avenge Pardolis. Against all of Animaria's laws and traditions, he began to explore dark paths. Blood rituals. Demon summoning. Eventually, he found an entity who promised him the power he needed…for a price. He was given an enchanted mask that gave him incredible power. Using that power, he slew Master Org."

"What was the price?" Myk asked.

"The mask was cursed," Shayla replied darkly. "Once he put it on, he could never remove it. Its power corrupted his soul, tearing apart his mind, obliterating his memories. It twisted him into a mockery of what he once was. He became obsessed with destroying Animaria himself. He seized command of Master Org's armies and nearly managed it. So we raised the Animarium into the air, where he could never hope to reach it." She scraped at her empty bowl with her spoon. "The ironic thing is, he was given exactly what he was promised. Demons have their own idea of humor, don't they?"

"So what happened to him?"

Shayla's smile returned, if only slightly. "Two of his own generals turned on him. With their help, the last remaining warriors of Animaria were able to seal him away. His tomb is here on the island, still. I could show you sometime."

"I think I'll pass," Myk said.

"I was hoping you'd say that," the princess admitted. "I don't like to go over to that side of the Animarium if I can help it."

Myk nodded, frowning. He wished now that he'd never asked….this seemed to be the one topic capable of deflating Shayla's pleasant demeanor.

"Hey," he said, trying to lighten her up a little. He tapped his own empty bowl with his spoon. "I'll bet you can't conjure a banana split."

Her grin returned in full force. She mimed rolling up her sleeves, though the gauzy white dress she wore had none.

"You're on."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Electra slumped against the door as soon as she entered the deserted storeroom, sliding down the wooden surface and pulling off her helmet. She buried her face in her hands.

"Great. Just great. What do I do now? I try to leave, they'll kill me. I stay, they'll kill me." She picked up the bear and glared into its lifeless glass eyes. "This is all your fault," she accused.

"Don't be too hard on him," a familiar voice said. "It looks like he's been through enough."

Electra's head jerked up, and she found herself staring into a pair of very familiar eyes…the same pair she saw in the mirror every morning, one blue, one green. If they had been reversed, she could have almost believed that it WAS a mirror….but they weren't.

The girl held a hand out to her. Bemused, Electra took it, and allowed herself to pull her to her feet.

"Hello Electra," Electra said.

"Hello yourself," Electra replied.


	76. Tribulations

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 76: Tribulations

"Full moon tonight," Angel said softly, his eyes up on the silver disk that hung low over the forests of Animaria.

"Yeah," Deacon agreed. "You know, I always thought it was pretty, until I learned that a demonic warlord lived there."

"It's a chunk of rock," Lolli said. "And not even a very big one, really. I don't know why people romanticize it so much."

With a long stick, Deacon prodded the campfire they had started, and were now currently clustered around. The night wasn't terribly cold, but the fire was still a comfort.

"It's the whole gravity thing," he said. "Like, how the moon affects the tides? People are mostly water, so the full moon…pulls at them."

Lolli raised an eyebrow. "You know, that's the least stupid thing I've ever heard you say."

Suddenly, a piercing tone echoed through the air, a series of haunting notes forming a bizarre melody. The Rangers' heads jerked up in surprise.

"What's that?" Diskette asked, turning in midair.

"A flute?" Lolli asked.

"I can't get a fix on its location," Diskette said. "Too many echoes. Maybe If Zord-1 hadn't been dragged off by the drones, he could do better…"

"They have to reinstall him," Lolli explained, glancing back at the writhing surface of the ship, still alive with small, mobile mechanical figures.

The haunting melody played again, louder this time.

"I'm gonna go check it out," Deacon said resolutely, starting towards the forest.

Before he'd gotten more than six steps, something flew…no, jumped…out of the forest, flipping through the air, landing between Deacon and the spot where the others stood by the ship.

Rising to his feet, he turned to face Deacon, resting a great crescent-shaped blade of a sword on his shoulder as he did so.

"Who are you?"

The new arrival focused his penetrating glare at the Ranger. He was at least six and a half feet tall, clothed head to toe in black leather armor. His face, indeed, his entire head was encased in some sort of helmet or mask that resembled the face of a wolf, but with a foot-long horn growing from his forehead. His golden eyes shone out of his face like candles, and shaggy, gray-white, fur-like hair grew from the back of his head

"Where is the princess?" he asked in a gruff, wolflike voice.

"Should have known," Angel said calmly, warming his hands over the campfire. "It's always about a princess…"

"Why should we tell you?" Deacon demanded.

Lolli slapped her forehead. "No, Mr. Tall Dark Stranger, we don't know where the princess is," she muttered, mostly to herself. "Sorry, can't help you, best of luck though…"

"You will tell me where she is," the wolf-thing stated, as he and the Silver Ranger began to circle each other. There was a gray-white flash as Deacon's armor materialized in place of his human body, his swords appearing in his hands.

The warrior didn't flinch. He calmly hefted his sword, holding it before him with both gloved hands.

"You dare to stand against me?" he asked, sounding half-incredulous, half-amused. "Do you even know whom you face?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm shaking in my little chrome boots," Deacon quipped. "Bring it on."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Red Striker staggered down the halls, barely managing not to trip over her own feet in her haste to escape from the Purple Ranger. She was at the foot of the stairs before she realized that no one seemed to be following her.

She bent over, hands on her knees, instinctively trying to catch her breath, even though she didn't need to breathe in her Beetleborg form.

That had been scary. Whenever she transformed, it was such a rush of power, such a feeling of invulnerability, that it had never actually seemed like she could possibly get hurt. But when that thick beam of purple light split the sky…when Danny had screamed…that illusion had been ripped away.

She had some serious thinking to do.

Red light began to shine from the joints of her armor. She held her hands up, looking at them in confusion, watching as they melted and shrunk, the bizarre plastic-metal alloy of her armor replaced by flesh and blood.

She blinked. Striker wasn't sure why or how that had happened, but this was _not_ a good place to be mortal. She held out her hand.

"Beetle Bonder!" she invoked. Streams of red lightning arced down her arm, just like they always did, but this time, the small black-and-silver box failed to appear in her open palm. "Beetle Bonder! Beetle Bonder!"

No matter how many times she tried, nothing happened.

"Not good," she whispered to herself. "This is not good."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

For a moment, The Black Ranger wasn't sure how to proceed…or even how she should be feeling at this point. For lack of a better idea, she decided to settle on confused.

"Why…who…how?" she asked helplessly.

"Well, that just leaves where and when, doesn't it?" a figure in blue armor asked, stepping forward from the shadows.

"Troy?" Electra asked.

"Who else?" the Blue Ranger asked.

"What are _you_ doing here? I thought you were still down on Terra."

"I am," Troy replied. "I mean, I was. I mean…"

"He doesn't know what he means," the other Electra said, taking the bear from Electra. She began browsing the cluttered shelves.

Electra sighed, crossing her arms. "You're not going to explain this to me, are you?"

"That's the thing," Troy tried to explain. "We're not sure just how much is safe to tell you."

"So we're sticking to the bare essentials," the other Electra replied. She finally stopped hunting, having located a needle and thread. She sat down and set to work repairing the damaged bear.

"Since when do we know how to sew?" Electra asked.

"Since now. Pay attention, I'll teach you. Troy, what time is it?"

Troy brought up a readout on one of his bracers.

"22:47," he replied.

"What's that in real time?" she asked irritably.

"9:47 pm," the Blue Ranger translated.

"At exactly 10:17, we need to leave. Keep an eye on the time for us."

Troy saluted.

"But..how…?"

"Bare essentials," The other Electra said. "No questions. And you stay morphed. I don't want you getting info from us the other way."

"Other way?" Troy asked curiously.

"Umm," Electra said, knowing full well that her other self was referring to her telepathy. "It's…a girl thing."

Troy didn't look like he bought this, but he didn't press for more information. He simply turned his attention to his chronometer.

"Hey. Now pay attention. This is how you thread a needle. It's actually harder than it looks…"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So what do we do with them?" Tommy asked, gesturing towards the heap of armor figures that lay nearby.

Leaning idly on her staff, Kalen scrutinized the fallen Beetleborgs. "The obvious answer would be, 'Kill them'."

"No," Tommy said firmly.

"That's what I thought you'd say. The alternative, of course, is to take apart their armor and dissect them. The head of my science department would be thrilled to have some new toys to vivisect…"

"Science department?" Tommy asked. "Oh, you own a company on Terra, right?"

"Several of them, actually," the Purple Ranger replied.

"And your head scientists know about your job as a Ranger?"

"One of them does. I do try to keep personal information on a need-to-know basis."

"And this head scientist wouldn't have any objections to cutting up people?"

"Define 'people'. No, on second thought, don't bother, the answer's the same no matter what your definition is. She'd consider it an interesting study. Unless it happened to be someone she liked."

Tommy made a face behind his helmet. "I sincerely hope I never meet this person."

Kalen shrugged. "You already have. Oh, look," she added, as the Beetleborgs vanished, arcs of multicolored electricity coursing over them. "Solves our problem."

"They do that every time," the Red Ranger complained.

"Teleported home?" Kalen asked. "We really _should_ have taken one apart. Our teleporters can't retrieve at that range."

Tommy shook his head, turning towards the large stone structure that stood nearby. "Well, now what do we do?"

"Go back to the Megaship and wait?"

"We have to help them," Tommy insisted.

"Of course we do," Kalen said in a resigned voice, rolling her eyes. "Fine then, how do you suggest we go after them with that barrier in the way?"

Tommy walked over to the threshold, gently resting his hand against the barrier. The invisible field of force tingled against his palm…evidently it only reacted violently when struck with considerable force.

"How thick do you think it is?" he asked.

"It isn't," Kalen replied.

"What?"

"A magical barrier is usually a plane of force. It's two-dimensional. It has no thickness."

Tommy nodded in understanding. "Perfect," he said. He walked over to the side of the elongated stone arc that formed the entrance to the igloo and conjured his Tyrant Sword.

Kalen raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

Instead of answering, Tommy took a few swipes at the side of the tunnel with his blade, causing large, oblong chunks of rock to slide free of the wall, some falling to the sand at his feet, others falling inside the igloo's entrance hall. Once he'd hewn a human-sized hole, he experimentally stuck a hand through into the igloo. It passed without resistance, evidently the barrier only covered the perimeter of the normal entrance.

He shot a satisfied glance back at Kalen, who chuckled.

"Proof, ladies and gentlemen, that good is not always the same as stupid," she said. She stood upright, stowing her staff. "Okay," she said. "Lead on."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Deacon never saw it coming. Not even in Razor Rush had he ever moved as fast as the wolf-masked warrior. Holding his crescent-shaped blade before him, the mysterious character had melted into a streak of purplish-silver light and begun richocheting around the clearing like a pinball on speed, each time delivering a devastating slash to the Ranger.

The warrior's final blow was a flying kick to Deacon's chest that sent him flying directly into the side of the Oasis. Lolli and Angel ducked as he flew over their heads, mini-drones went scrambling away from the area as the Silver Ranger collided painfully with the side of the ship, sliding to the ground in a heap, his swords falling to the dirt beside him. The drones closed in over the area once again, returning to their task of repairing the ship, blissfully ignorant of anything else.

"Our turn?" Angel asked.

"Looks that way," Lolli agreed ruefully as the two rose to their feet, summoning their morphers.

"**Dragonzord!"**

"**Wolf!"**

Angel morphed into the form of a massive wolf, leaping around the campfire to corner the stranger on his right while Lolli drew her dagger, flanking him on the left. The warrior took a few carefully measured steps forward, waiting for his opponents to make the first move.

Lolli didn't disappoint. The Green Ranger brought her dagger to the lips of her faceplate, blowing a piercing note that echoed out across the entire forest. Almost instantly, the drones amassed on the ship ceased their work and began to spark as the sound disrupted their circuitry. Likewise, a painful roar echoed across the entire floating island as the Wild Zords screeched in protest, covering their ears.

The shadowy wolf-warrior staggered, dropping his sword and clapping his hands to his ears in a futile attempt to keep out the piercing noise.

Seeing that he was off-balance, Lolli ceased her sonic attack and aimed the blade of the Dragon Dagger directly at the horned warrior, delivering a few bolts of solid green light to his torso.

Angel shook his shaggy head, having to recover from the devastating note as well. Regaining his senses, he glared at the intruder and leapt forward, foam flying from his muzzle as he clamped his jaws on the creature's neck.

"Enough!" the warrior cried. Seizing Angel by the scruff of his neck, he tore the Ranger free and threw him at Lolli, the two Rangers colliding and rolling to the ground in a painful heap.

"**Crescent blade! Crescent wave**!" the wolf-warrior invoked, sending a huge crescent of energy from his sword flying at the two Rangers.

Lolli leapt to her feet and stood in front of Angel, arms at her sides. The wide arc of light was devastating to the landscape on either side of the Green Ranger, but she herself was unharmed, her golden shield glowing as the attack struck her. Almost instantly, an identical crescent-shaped wave flashed out from the golden diamond in the center of her vest, striking the astonished warrior and sending him flying through the trees.

The silvery surface of the lake just beyond the clearing exploded in a titanic SPLASH as the warrior fell headfirst into the water. His head emerged a moment later, just in time to see a massive gray wolf come loping out of the trees, leaping into the lake, shifting in midair into the form of a large gray hammerhead shark that slipped into the water with barely a ripple.

The wolf-warrior glared, his golden eyes flashing dangerously. He crossed his arms over his chest and began to glow with a silvery aura, much like the light of the full moon that shone brightly down onto the lake. His armored body began to rise, dripping, out of the water, hovering unsupported in the air, completely dry.

The shark's fin broke the water's surface, circling the spot where he'd risen. It quickly dropped out of sight beneath the water.

There was a moment of calm…which was abruptly broken as Angel leapt up out of the lake, this time in the form of an enormous gray alligator, his colossal jaws wide open and ready to snap down on the shadowy fighter.

The wolf-warrior allowed himself a feral grin. He darted backwards, avoiding the deadly crash of those massive jaws, then delivered a powerful kick to Angel's reptilian throat, sending his enormous scaly body flying over the surface of the lake.

As he flew, he shrank, returning to him humanoid Ranger form, which collided with one of the large trees that grew on the shore of the lake.

Lolli emerged from the forest just in time to see Angel's semi-concussed body slide to the ground and demorph. She ran over to him, checked that he was still breathing, and, confirming that he was, looked out over the lake.

It was an eerie scene. Despite all the turbulence, the surface of the water was perfectly still, reflecting the star-studded night sky. The silver moon hung huge in the air above, a perfect duplicate of the one reflected in the mirror of the lake. And floating serenely above that lake was the shadowy wolf-warrior, sword in hand, his burning gold eyes fixed determinedly on her.

Her hand went to her hip, but before she could so much as draw her dagger, the stranger shot forward, melting into a streak of energy just as he had for Deacon. The next ting Lolli knew, she was collapsing to the ground, green light blinding her vision as her morph deserted her.

She found herself being lifted up by the front of her green jumpsuit, a razor-sharp, crescent shaped blade pressed against her throat.

"Wait!" a voice yelled.

The wolf-warrior dropped the Ranger in surprise as a small, hovering black disk appeared from the trees, as well as a small, fuchsia-scaled wyrmling, which perched protectively on Lolli's stomach and glared up at him.

"The princess is in the temple ruins," Diskette said. "Across the lake, though the woods, follow the river."

_You can't miss her, _Zoey added. _Now get lost._

The stranger let out a satisfied growl…and then vanished.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Great, _Striker thought, pacing back and forth across the dungeon's antechamber at the foot of the massive, crumbling, steep staircase. _Just great. If I go down, the Rangers who went in here first will kill me. If I go back up, the Rangers out there will kill me. Plus I'll suffocate._

She gasped, her head jerking towards the entrance as echoes began to enter the chamber, the sounds of footsteps descending the ancient stone stairs.

"Oh, shit," she whispered. "Umm…"

Glancing around desperately, her gaze fell one of the life-sized warrior statues that lined the walls of the chamber. Each one sat within an alcove that was set into the wall. It would be a tight fit…

A dislodged pebble falling down the stairs reminded her just how urgent the situation was. Racing across the chamber to the nearest statue, she tried to squeeze behind it.

Wishing fervently that she had a smaller bustline, she exhaled, slipping behind the statue just as the Red and Purple Rangers entered the room.

Striker held her breath and tried to stay as still as possible as the two Rangers surveyed the room, their armored boots echoing off the carved walls with each step they took.

Blinding red and purple light suddenly filled the room, and the two Rangers were replaced by an Asian girl in expensive-looking clothes and a guy with long hair and a red t-shirt.

"Was that supposed to happen?" the girl asked dubiously.

"I don't think so," the man said. He twisted his wrist, and a stream of red smoke spiraled down his arm from his shoulder, but when it got to his hand, it just vanished.

"No powers," the girl said. "Wonderful."

The Red Ranger shrugged. "At least there's air down here."

"I can barely contain my glee," the Purple Ranger replied flatly.

"Come on. We need to catch up with Terina and Jareth."

"After you," the girl agreed.

"Why, so that any booby-traps get me first?" the guy asked.

"See? What'd I tell you? Not stupid."

The Red Ranger shook his head and proceeded to the next room, the girl close behind.

Striker squeezed out from her hiding place, sucking down a welcome lungful of air. She gazed wistfully at the staircase.

_No one waiting outside now….but there is that pesky oxygen issue. _

She glared back at the statue, which had so recently reminded her how much she enjoyed breathing. Could she survive up on the barren surface long enough to borg again? Would she even be ABLE to borg again, once free from this dungeon? Or…

Or would she be better off begging the Rangers for mercy? The red one, at least, seemed decent.

She stood there for a moment, weighing her options, then, with a sigh, she set off after the Rangers.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"There we go," Electra said, holding the teddy bear up to the light. "Good as new.

Elecra squinted at the bear her other self was holding. 'Good as new' was an exaggeration at best…it was hard to imagine that the plushie in question ad ever been new. It was threadbare and missing patches of fur from long years of use, and now it bore the distinctive marks of having been torn open and sewn back together at least twice.

"Don't be so picky," Electra's other self said. "It'll be good enough for Jareth. Trust me."

"Anachronism," Electra blurted.

"What?" Troy asked, glancing up from his chronometer.

"You're from the future, aren't you?"

"Of course," Electra's future self admitted. "Which is why we can't tell you much. Paradox and all."

"You know, there's always the chance that changing your own history would just-"

"Create a parallel universe, instead of warping ourselves and the rest of reality out of existence altogether? Yeah, I know. But I'd rather not chance it."

"So…can you tell me….does he…," Electra began uncertainly, glancing at the bear.

"Not yet," Electra said sadly.

"How far ahead are you?"

The future Electra opened her mouth to answer, but…

"Time," Troy said.

"We've got to move," Electra's future self said, standing. She conjured her helmet and clasped it on over her head. Electra followed suit, and Troy of course had never removed his.

"Just stay close," Troy said, leading the Electras out of the storage room and into the hall. "We've got this timed out perfectly."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"The Trial of Courage," Jareth read, his lenses translating the runes inscribed above the arch. "So whatever's in here will scare the shit out of us?"

"Probably," Terina agreed. She gestured for him to enter first. "After you."

"And they call me the coward. Fine." The Gold Ranger stepped forward.

As he passed through the arch, the air seemed to ripple with power.

"Um," Terina said, observing the effect.

Jareth paused, turning. "What?"

The Yellow Ranger tentatively passed her hand through the arch, with no effect. "Uhh…nothing," she said, following him into the room.

The room was large, but almost completely empty. A few torches were set into the walls, providing illumination.

The passage to the next room was clearly visible, but the chamber was divided by a wide, roaring river, traversed by a narrow, unstable-looking wooden bridge.

"Ah," Jareth said, freezing mid-step. "Yeah. That's what I thought would be there. Have fun, Ter. I'm out."

Terina reached out as Jareth turned around and started for the door, arresting his flight by grabbing him by the tail.

"Wait. Let's think about this. How many people do you know who'd be scared of water?"

"Just one, and that's me. Which is why I'm leaving. Ciao."

"I think the test deliberately became the thing that YOU would fear most, since you were the first one to enter the room."

"And a damn fine job it did. Did I mention I'm leaving?"

"You can't leave. It's your challenge. That door probably won't open unless YOU open it."

"Which means it stays safely sealed, keeping the E'not Sel Caro protected for all eternity. Works for me," the Gold Ranger replied, trying to jerk his tail free of Terina's inhumanly strong rip.

"It's just water! I don't get it. Why does it freak you out so much?"

"Why don't you tell the others what you really are?"

Terina dropped his tail in surprise, her face falling. "I…"

"Exactly," Jareth said triumphantly. "Fear doesn't have to make sense. It just IS."

"Yeah, okay. Point made," Terina said, hugging herself as if cold. "Though next time if you could make it _without bringing that up…_" She shook off the irrational fear that had taken hold of her at the mere mention of the subject.

"Kalen knows, by the way," Jareth said softly.

"Kalen knows what?" Terina asked, unconcernedly. Then she caught the look on his face, and her relaxed manner abandoned her entirely. "She _knows_?" the Eltarian demanded. "You _told_ her?"

"Of course not," Jareth replied flatly. "She's a sharp one, that Kalen. She figured it out."

"How?"

"You've been a bit obvious lately. The counting and stuff. And the whole thing on Tyrari was a big giveaway. I'm kinda surprised everyone didn't figure it out."

"Jhenoa," Terina swore, her face in her hands. "Of all the Rangers to work it out, it had to be Kalen…"

"You called?" a voice echoed from behind them.

"Kalen?" Jareth called.

"Did you find Terina?" Tommy asked, entering the room behind the Purple Ranger. Both were in their street clothes, having demorphed.

Terina waved.

"What's with the river?" Kalen asked, having to raise her voice to be heard above the current.

"This is the Trial of Courage," Terina explained. "And it's set to Jareth."

"Trial of Courage?" Tommy asked. "It's a bridge."

"Aquaphobic?" Kalen guessed, glancing at the Gold Ranger.

"Can't swim," Jareth admitted.

"The bridge looks strong enough," Tommy said dubiously. He walked over and tentatively stepped onto the bridge. When it proved stable, he crossed to the other side.

"See?" Terina said. "Told you." She followed the Red Ranger across the bridge.

Jareth looked desperately at Kalen who just shrugged, and, seeing as the others had already proven it safe, nonchalantly crossed the bridge.

"I hate you all," Jareth declared coldly.

"Just get over here," Terina said.

Jareth sighed, took a deep breath, and edged over to the river's edge.

"Just close your eyes and walk across," Tommy suggested.

"Don't do that," Kalen argued. "If he tries to cross blind, he might fall in."

The Gold Ranger froze. "Okay, I'm trying not to be a spaz here, but don't say _that_ again."

Gritting his teeth, Jareth took a few steps out onto the bridge over the rushing river.

"Just don't look down," Terina advised.

"Don't say that!" Jareth yelled.

"Why not?"

"Because whenever someone says not to look down, the person who's not supposed to look down looks down!"

"Umm…fine then! Look down."

Jareth looked down. "Dammit!" he yelled screwing his eyes shut. "Why did you tell me to look down?!"

"I thought it would keep you from looking down!" Terina yelled back.

"Well, that's _stupid_!"

Terina threw up her hands, looking to the other two for ideas.

"We can't leave him there," Tommy said.

"I dunno," Kalen said. "I've never seen Jareth scared before. It's sort of a novelty."

"Glad you're enjoying yourself!" the Gold Ranger yelled.

"Just open your eyes and walk!" Tommy said. "It's like ten more feet."

"If you do, you won't be standing over the water anymore," Kalen suggested.

Jareth blinked. When she put it that way…

"There now," Tommy said, as Jareth finally stepped off the bridge onto solid ground. "Was that so hard?"

Jareth glared at him, trying to stop his knees from shaking. "That does it. _You_ get the next Trial."

Tommy shrugged, as Jareth walked over and touched the thick wooden doors that sealed the chamber's exit. They opened for him with barely any effort at all.

"Okay," the Red Ranger said. "How hard could it be?"


	77. Let the Games Begin

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 77: Let the Games Begin

"Something to drink, ma'am?" the bartender asked as an Asian woman, evidently in her mid-twenties, sat down at the bar.

"Just water, please," she replied.

The bartended glared at her disapprovingly as he set a glass of water down in front of her, but she didn't seem to notice. Her eyes were on the door.

"Expectin' someone?" the bartender asked gruffly.

The girl turned towards him, and he shuddered. Her eyes seemed cold and black….deadly. Like shark's eyes.

"An old friend," she replied after a moment.

Even her voice was cold and hard. The bartender excused himself and moved to serve some customers down at the other end of the bar, grateful for the excuse.

The woman sat undisturbed for a time, which was peculiar. She was an attractive girl, and normally a girl of any appearance would have been approached at least three times by the drunken, horny, unshaven men that frequented dingy bars like this one. Something about her seemed to repel them, like an aura that hinted at something poisonous, not to be approached….or maybe it was just that she looked fully capable of tearing a man's eyes out before he could blink if he was foolish enough to get within arm's reach.

Whatever it was, she sat in undisturbed silence, sipping her water, her eyes on the door, ignoring the rabble's drunken, raucous laughter and the clacking of billiard balls around her.

_Ah, _she thought, as a familiar figure walked in. _Finally. _

It was a man, also evidently in his mid-twenties, with eyes as cold as hers and a head of short, shaggy blonde hair. His outfit was garish as ever, a bizarre combination of silks and scarves in a screaming variety of colors that befitted a clown better than anything.

"Oh, this should be good," she muttered, allowing herself a slight grin as three of the scruffy idiots went over and accosted the new entry on the basis of his unusual attire.

There was a brief altercation, after which all three of the drunken morons scrambled for the exit, one of them sporting a broken arm, one three broken ribs, and the last a severe concussion. The bartender didn't blink, evidently such encounters were a common occurrence here.

Dusting off his hands, the man, gazed around the tavern, heading towards the bar when he caught sight of her waving.

"You never could pull of dressing like a normal human being."

"Hello to you, too," the man said, as the girl stood and stepped forward for a hug.

"It's good to see you again."

"You too. It's been…gosh, what, 200 years?"

"206," she corrected, sitting back down as he released her, pulling up a stool of his own.

"Time really flies. How was Hawaii?"

"Wet," the girl replied. "And Egypt?"

"Hot. And just for the record, it's these guys who lack style. Not me."

"Normally, I'd dispute that, but…" the girl wrinkled her nose at the unwashed rags that most of the tavern patrons seemed to be wearing. "Anyway. Let's stop dancing around the subject."

The man shrugged, seeming unconcerned. He pulled over the bowl of peanuts and began munching on them. "Suits me. What's on your mind? And why'd you ask me to meet you here, of all places? You know, there's a great junkyard just down the street, would have been just as-"

"He's back," the girl interrupted.

The man fell silent for a moment.

"Yeah," he finally said. "I know. I felt it too."

"Did you?" the girl asked, sounding surprised. "I'm impressed. You used to have no knack for that sort of thing."

"I always used to have you to do it for me. When we went our separate ways, I had to learn."

The girl nodded. "I know what you mean. I've gotten a lot better at the fighting since…"

There was a moment of silence.

"Do you even remember what we were fighting over?" the man asked.

The girl shook her head. "Not really. You?"

"Nope."

"Shall we just pretend it never happened?"

"Sounds good to me. Besides, I think those 206 years did us some good."

The girl grinned, extending her hand. "Together again!"

"The Dynamic Duo!", the guy agreed, shaking it.

"The Dynamic Duo was Batman and Robin," the girl pointed out.

"We used it first," the man said defensively. "And anyway, we're still the best team there ever was."

The girl's smile faltered. "Good enough to beat Zen'Aku?"

The guy frowned. "We stopped him once. We can do it again. Besides, if we don't, he'll just track us down for revenge."

The girl nodded. "We won't be alone. There are others fighting him, at this very moment."

"Then what are we waiting for?" the guy asked, standing up with such haste that he knocked over his stool. "Let's go join the fun!"

She laid a hand on his arm, stopping him. "We don't have to go anywhere," she said quietly. "He'll come to us."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Finally, a fear for Jareth," Kalen said, producing a PDA and scrolling through options on its screen. "Been looking for one for ages."

"You have all our fears recorded?" Terina asked, glancing back as the group of four made their way down the winding staircase that led to the next challenge.

"Of course. Let's see, Troy is afraid of spiders, Lolli's scared of bees, Myk's afraid of snakes, Angel's afraid of gingerbread men-"

"Gingerbread men?" Tommy asked incredulously.

"Gingerbread men," Kalen confirmed. "Don't ask me why. Mara is claustrophobic, Electra can't stand loud noises, Stephen is afraid of fire, Fox hates heights, Deacon's afraid of the Care Bears…"

"Hey, in all fairness, those guys are freaky," Jareth said. "They're walking, talking teddy bears who shoot lasers from their stomachs."

"Fair point," the Purple Ranger agreed. "Terina has a phobia of machinery, Tommy's afraid of turning evil again, and Jareth can't swim."

"And you?" Jareth asked.

"Aren't stupid enough to tell mine," Kalen replied, saving her list and putting away the organizer.

"How did you know I was evil?" Tommy asked, sounding disturbed.

Kalen smirked. "You just told me."

Tommy narrowed his eyes at her warily for a moment, then turned back to the stairs. As Jareth had warned them, the ancient stairs had to be descended carefully, or they were apt to crumble and send the unfortunate traveler tumbling.

"These stairs go on forever, you know."

The four Rangers jumped in surprise, looking around aimlessly for the speaker. Te eerie, echoing voice seemed to come from the very walls.

"Sure seems that way," Jareth replied agreeably.

"No, I mean literally. They go on forever. To infinity. This is the Trial of Patience."

"How do you win it?" Terina inquired.

"Walk long enough. Eventually, you'll reach the end."

"Um," Tommy said. "But doesn't 'infinity' mean…"

"Look, meatsack, don't talk to _me_ about infinity," the voice said flatly. "I've been loafing around this place for more millennia than I can count, setting up these stupid challenges. I think I know a little more about infinity than you do."

"Okay," Tommy said. "Fair enough. So…Who…"

"Who am I. Yeah. I knew you'd say that. Name's Cleora."

"Pleasure," Kalen said.

"You know, I've gotta give you six credit…."

"Six?" Tommy asked.

"…no one else has ever gotten quite so far. Most die on the first Trial. It's the hardest."

"Umm…my math's not the best, but I only count four," Jareth said.

"No," Kalen said. "There are six. The four of us, Gasket, and Red Striker."

"Give the girl a prize," Cleora's voice said.

"So, um, do you usually-"

"Talk to the trialees? Nope. First time. But you guys are exceptional, aren't you?"

"Which answer gets you to go easy on us?" the Gold Ranger asked.

"Depends what you mean by 'easy'. Takin' the whole group though, one trial at a time…I'm over it. Let's mix things up a bit, shall we?"

"What do you me-" Tommy began, but before he got any further, the torchlight flickered, the room blurred, and reality seemed to warp around them, leaving the four Rangers standing in a vast, black, empty room, spotlights shining down on them from above. Next to them stood Gasket and a girl none of them recognized.

"There now." A shimmering humanoid form of bright-blue light appeared before them. "The gang's all here."

"Where were those two hiding?" Jareth asked, jerking a thumb at Striker and Gasket.

"Gasket passed the Trial of Determination, but since he can't experience fear, he couldn't trigger the Trial of Courage. So, he cloaked himself. Followed you. Was going to let you pass all the Trials for him, then take your prize. Clever, but not too nice. As for the girl…well, she didn't quite know _what_ she was doing."

Striker looked a bit abashed, but said nothing.

"So…now what?" Terina asked, shrugging.

"So glad you asked," Cleora said. "Let the games begin." He snapped his fingers, and the room went black.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Lolli? Lolli!"

"Mmmm," the Green Ranger groaned, groggily opening her eyes. "What happened?"

_The guy in the wolf mask knocked you for a loop, _a voice said in her mind.

"Oh. That." Lolli lifted her head to see a purple-and-pink dragon watching over her. Diskette hovered nearby, and Angel was warming his hands over the embers of the fire.

"Deacon still hasn't come around," Angel said, gesturing towards a crumpled form that was lying next to the dying campfire.

_I can tell that there's no permanent damage done, _Zoey assured them. _He should wake up soon._

"What am I lying on?" Lolli asked, sitting up and looking down at the hard object that had been her pillow.

"One of the Oasis' old ion cannons," Angel replied. "The drones didn't bother re-assimilating it."

"Must have been lying too far away," Lolli surmised, lifting the weapon and turning it every which way, examining it from every angle. It was steel-gray, about as long as her forearm. The Oasis had been fitted with hundreds of these powerful weapons, mounted beneath retractable hull plates, enabling it to fire in any direction.

"Mm," the Gray Ranger intoned.

"What?" Lolli asked. Angel seemed more pensive than usual.

"One has to wonder why Wolf-mask didn't kill us."

"Oh, he was only after the princess," Diskette said.

_We told him where she was to get rid of him, _the wyrmling told them.

"You did _what_?" Lolli demanded, sitting bolt upright.

"Should we have just let him kill you?" Diskette asked.

Lolli rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Oy. The heroes really dropped the ball this time."

"A bit of an understatement," Angel said. "He's probably at the temple by now."

Lolli rose to her feet and began pacing, the cannon still in her hand. She resisted the urge to kick Deacon as he passed him. "And you. _You_ were supposed to be the fighter. And you were the first one knocked out. Sheesh."

"We could go after him," Diskette suggested.

"He'd just thrash us again," Lolli said dejectedly. "He's stronger than us. Can't overlook that."

"So we need more firepower," Angel observed.

"And where are we going to get more fi-" Lolli stopped, a wide smile breaking out across her face as she glanced at the cannon in hand, then looked over at the pile of broken mechanical dog parts that lay nearby.

"I have an idea," she said.

"And how long will this idea take?" Angel asked.

"Seventeen minutes," Lolli replied, diving into the pile of parts, the customary single-minded fire coming into her eyes that always did when she was faced with a task of the electro-mechanical nature. "Eleven, if Diskette and Angel help."

_And what do I do?_

"Try to wake up our brave warrior," the Green Ranger replied sardonically. "He might just come in handy."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jareth blinked as the spotlights above everyone else in the room went out abruptly, leaving him alone in the darkness with only the burning blue figure before him.

"Where'd you take the others?" the Gold Ranger asked.

"I didn't take them anywhere," Cleora replied. "It's you I took."

"Oh."

Cleora began pacing back and forth.

"Gold Ranger. The Wild Card. Embodiment of freedom. Carefree, fun-loving… unbound."

"Um…"

"Unbound by the constraints of law. Of morality." Cleora laughed, gesturing towards his tail. "Of species. Barely even operating within the laws of reason. You're out of your mind, Gold Ranger. Your mind is broken."

"That's between me and my mind, thank you very much."

"I can see through your little act, Gold Ranger. You're crazy, but not as crazy as you pretend to be. You act insane all the time to cover up those times you're not acting. You figure that if everyone's used to it, no one will give it a second thought. But there _is_ something wrong with you, and it scares you. You never know what you might do next. Will you forget your own name? Will you try to build a pyramid out of pudding? Or will you wake up one morning to find that you've painted your room with your friends' intestines?"

"Umm…could you do me a favor and keep all of that between us?"

"But I wonder…"

"Oh, no. Don't wonder."

"I wonder…were you born broken? Or did something happen…to break you?"

"Umm…"

"Let's see where that question takes us, shall we?"

Cleora snapped his fingers again, and he and the darkness dissolved, replaced by a dingy back alley. Faded posters were tacked on the sides of dull red-brick buildings, and cold rain was pouring in sheets out of a dismal, gray, late evening sky.

The only colorful thing about the drab alley was the outfits of those who occupied it. Seven of the Zeo Rangers, the first seven, were battling a monster that resembled a giant, bipedal frog.

"Yes," Jareth said softly, picking himself out of the flashback, the Zeo Ranger in the black-and-gold armor, firing golden fireballs from his staff at the frog. "This is when it happened."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Much as I hate to say it," Myk said, pushing away his bowl. "I can't eat any more ice cream."

Shayla smiled. "Your friends are probably missing you anyway. But we should do this again sometime."

Myk opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, a chilling wind blew through the temple.

"Brr." Myk said, glancing back at the forest in the direction from which the gust had blown. "You should look into building some walls."

He glanced back at Shayla to see her staring back at the forest with a horrified expression on her face.

"Princess? What's wro-"

"It can't be," she whispered. "He was sealed away. He can't have escaped. Someone would have had to…" Her eyes sought Myk's. "Where did your ship crash?"

Myk pointed. "Maybe half a mile that way. Why?"

"Oh no…why there? Of all the places on the Animarium, why _there_?"

"Why?" Myk demanded. "What's there?"

"Myk, the crashing of your ship has broken open the tomb of Zen'Aku. And he's on his way here."

"Zen'Aku?" Myk asked. "The guy with the wolf mask?"

"Yes."

"Well….what does he want?"

Shayla crossed her arms, glaring defiantly at the forest. "Me."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Terina blinked as Cleora snapped away the others, leaving the two of them alone together.

"Where…why?"

"Save your questions for later. You might need them," the glowing blue figure said. "Hmm. Now let's see. Yellow Ranger. Something of a free spirit. Relatively easygoing. You've got a good heart." Cleora tilted his head to the side. "Except you don't, do you? Not really."

Terina shook her head. "No…you can't…I…"

"You're lucky, you know. Most people don't get a second chance. Once they're dead, that's it. And yet you've cursed your father's name, ever since he saved you. I guess that's gratitude for you."

"How do you…?" the Yellow Ranger stammered.

"Know of all this?" Cleora finished. "I know everything. Or as close to everything as a finite being can know. I'm the Guardian of the Sacred Relics, and one of those happens to be a rock that knows everything, so…" Cleora shrugged. "Anyway. Back to you."

"What do you want from me?" Terina asked.

"Entertainment," Cleora said. "Like I said, I've been trapped in this miserable little tomb for about five million years. If I'm lucky, once every few centuries someone comes along to try to take something, and I get to kill them. Whee," he added sarcastically, pacing idly back and forth, fiery blue hands clasped behind his nebulous back.

"What happens once all the relics are gone?"

"Then, I finally get to die. Can't wait, to be honest. Which is why I'm helping you all out. One challenge per person, instead of making the lot of you run the gauntlet. Much faster that way. You'll only be able to take one relic, I'm afraid, but it's still a dent in my sentence."

Here, Cleora turned to face Terina. "Which brings us back to you. Let's see. Ah….I've got it."

The fiery blue entity snapped his fingers, blue sparks flying from his fingertips as the blackness dissolved, replaced by what appeared to bridge of the Oasis, but slightly different. There were no portraits hung around the walls, all of the chairs were wider and had lower backs, clearly designed for a different race altogether.

And, of course, one couldn't over look the short, squat, furry creatures that populated the room. There were seven of them, not one of them more than three feet tall. All had large eyes, pointed ears, and six fingers to a hand.

Terina's eyes fell upon the two who were talking quietly to each other in the corner…and almost immediately had to sit down.

"Loren…"

"Mmm-hmm," Cleora said. "And who's that he's talking to? Does she look familiar?"

Terina squinted. She _did_ look familiar. But why?"

Cleora chuckled. "Think hard, Terina."

The Yellow Ranger's mouth fell open as something clicked in her head, and she suddenly remembered where she'd last seen that little alien's face. It had been in the bathroom mirror.

"That's me," Terina whispered.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What does he want with you?" Myk asked.

"Revenge, probably," Shayla replied. "It was _my_ magic that sealed him away, after all. Listen, Myk, there isn't time. You have to leave this place. Use the portal, it'll take you-"

"I'm not leaving you!" Myk cried defensively. "Or my friends, for that matter."

"Your friends are most likely dead," Shayla told him matter-of-factly. "Few have ever crossed paths with Zen'Aku and lived. I will be safe…I'll hide in the Waters of Purity. They will not suffer the touch of evil; I will be safe there. But you must leave, before-"

A bone-chilling howl split the night air, and a streak of purple black light shot out of the trees, alighting atop one of the shattered pillars of the ruined temple, materializing as a shadowy figure wearing black leather armor and carrying a massive crescent-shaped blade.

The figure turned, his burning gold eyes gazing directly down at the Princess.

"Princess Shayla," he growled.

Myk moved to stand in front of her, glaring defiantly up at Zen'Aku.

"I see you've found a new man to hide behind," Zen'Aku growled. "And what did she offer _you_, noble warrior?" he asked sarcastically. "Love? Money? Power? You'll soon find that her promises are hollow."

There was a bright green-gold flash as Myk morphed, his human form replaced by bronze armor and a flowing red cape.

"Ah….another one of those," the wolflike warrior observed. He turned his gaze to the princess. "He will fare no better than the others who stood in my way."

"We'll see about that," Myk replied, his Eagle Nunchuku appearing in his hand with a flash.

"Crescent Blade…Crescent Wave!"

Zen'Aku launched a barrage of moon-shaped golden blasts from his sword down at the Bronze Ranger.

Myk grabbed the edge of his crimson cape and pulled it in front of him like a shield, protecting both himself and the Princess who stood behind him. The bolts of golden light glanced off the enchanted fabric, their ricochets blasting the stone columns of the temple to rubble, filling the air with dust.

Shayla coughed as Myk tried to find his target through the dusty air.

A dark streak shot towards him through the dust, stopping right in front of him. Zen'Aku's clawlike fingers clamped down around his throat, lifting him up off the ground.

"You lose."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Kalen. Purple Ranger. My, but you've done great things. Terrible, but great. Did you know that over four billion people across three hundred planets are dead or dying, almost solely because of you?"

"I was aware of that, yes."

"But it's paid off, hasn't it? You've amassed fortunes almost beyond compare. How many companies do you own? How many planets? I'll tell you. You've managed to acquire 1206 companies, and 24 planets, not including asteroids or moons. You also own 64 countries, 17 cities, 4 mansions, and a cat."

"When did I get a fourth mansion?"

"Your operatives on Regulus Prime won it in a hostile takeover 26 minutes ago."

"Ah, we won. Good, I was a bit concerned over that one."

"Born into wealth, born into power. Ambitious, ruthless, and always looking to score more. You killed your first fiancé. Lobotomized your second. Hardly hero material. And yet you were chosen to be the Purple Ranger. Immortality, and the strongest force in the cosmos, sought YOU."

"Do you think that was wrong?" Kalen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Depends on your definition," Cleora replied. "It is curious, you must admit. The question we must ask at this junction is as follows…what ordeal can I possibly put you through?"

"You tell me. You seem to have all the answers."

"I do, don't I? The trouble is, there isn't an answer to this question. You are very much at peace with yourself. You haven't a single horrific memory, a single event in your life that you really regret. And yet, I have to put you through some sort of challenge. It's in the rules."

Kalen smiled. "Then the question we must ask is, what shall the challenge actually be?"

"Ah…now that answer I know," Cleora replied, snapping his glowing blue fingers.

Instantly, the darkness of the floor between them rose up like a shadowy psuedopod, forming itself into a smooth-edged square table. A checkerboard pattern of stone-gray and sapphire-blue squares appeared atop it, followed by a number of tiny figurines…chess pieces.

The darkness behind Kalen formed into a chair that scooted forward, knocking her legs out from under her and causing her to fall into its seat as it carried her up to the table. A second chair appeared across from her, and thereupon sat Cleora.

"You'll want to play black, of course."

"Of course," Kalen agreed, watching intently as Cleora moved out a pawn.


	78. Answers

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 78: Answers

"It's your turn, Tommy."

Tommy looked around the darkened room warily.

"My turn?" he asked. "My turn for what?"

"Your turn to be tested," Cleora's voice replied. With a shimmer, his blue-fire form appeared before the Red Ranger. "To relive one of your most painful memories. Or perhaps," the seemingly omniscient being mused. "I could just tell you the truth."

"The truth?"

"About what you really are. About why you can never go home again. That's plenty traumatic, I should think."

"What?"

Cleora seemed to ponder this for a moment.

"Nah," he finally said. "Let's go with the painful memories. Much more entertaining for me."

A snap of his fingers, and the blackness dissolved, a dingy alleyway materializing around them.

"I know this place…," Tommy said.

"Well, of course you do," Cleora retorted flatly. "This is _your_ memory."

Tommy blinked as one of the doors he recognized as the side entrances to Angel Grove's Youth Center opened and a familiar figure strolled out, a green duffel bag tucked under his arm.

"He looks familiar," Cleora commented. "Now, where have I seen him before?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"And….finished!" Lolli said triumphantly, snapping the last part into place.

"He looks just like he did before," Deacon said grumpily, rubbing his head.

"Looks can be deceiving. I've built in a few new tricks."

Lolli flipped a hidden switch, and Murphy came back to life, wagging his tail as though nothing had happened.

"Feeling better, boy?" Angel asked.

Murphy let out an electronic bark.

_If you're done, you guys should get going, _Zoey said. _If you're lucky, you might get there in time to help Myk…you know…not die._

"Why would Zen'Aku kill Myk?" Deacon asked, climbing somewhat unsteadily to his feet. "He didn't kill us."

"He didn't kill us because we didn't stand between him and the Princess," Angel explained. "And Myk…"

Deacon sighed. "Right. Myk will."

"Have you thought of what you'll do when you get there?" a familiar voice inquired.

The Rangers, droid, dragon and dog turned to see Kite, warming his hands over the fire.

"Not really," Angel admitted.

"I was thinking, 'Go in there and fight real hard'," Deacon suggested.

"Might I offer a better idea?"

Kite snapped his fingers. There was a shimmer of white light in the clearing, bleaching out the orange glow of the fire.

Lolli twitched, feeling for a moment as though a swarm of fireflies were crawling all over her. The sensation quickly faded.

And everyone was staring at her.

"What?" she asked warily. "What did he do?"

Instead of waiting for an answer, she looked down at herself.

"Oh."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The picnic table splintered as Zen'Aku slammed Myk's armored body down onto it, shards of wood flying everywhere. Myk struggled to regain some advantage as Zen'Aku proceeded to spin him around and release him, sending him careening into one of the few stone walls of the temple that were still standing.

Trying to stay focused, to keep from demorphing from the pain, the Bronze Ranger managed to get his vision to focus on his opponent, just as Zen'Aku conjured his Crescent Blade and slashed at him, a wide, horizontal cut intended to slice him in half at the waste.

Myk leapt forward, twisting midair and conjuring his Eagle Nunchuku, managing to land behind the Org with the two sticks of his weapon in his hands, their chain around his enemy's throat.

Zen'Aku paused, waiting for Myk to make his move and snap is neck. It never came.

"Drop the sword," Myk commanded, instead.

Zen'Aku complied.

"Good. Now, we're going to head to the portal. And you're going to step through it. Once you're off this island, I don't want you to even _think _about the Princess again. Is that in any way uncl-Oof!"

The Myk doubled over as Zen'Aku slammed his elbow back into his ribs. The wolflike warrior quickly tore the weapon from Myk's hand while he was distracted, throwing the 'chucks aside, then turning and clasping the Ranger's Eagle-patterned helmet between his hands.

The Ranger groaned as the helmet began to buckle under the pressure of Zen'aku's grip, his visor cracking and the metal bending. He clasped his own hands onto the Org's wrists, trying to pull them apart to ease the pressure.

"You talk too much, fool. You could have, _should have _killed me when you had the chance. Instead, I will now tear your head from your shoulders. And then the Princess and I will exchange a few long-overdue-"

Zen'Aku broke off his monologue when the sounds of burbling water filled the air. He glanced over at the Divine Fountain, just in time to see princess Shayla wave a cheeky goodbye as she melted down into its magical waters.

"What was that…you were saying…about talking…too much?" Myk groaned, triumphant despite his predicament.

Zen'Aku let out a growl that quickly grew into a roar, throwing the Ranger aside like a rag doll and leaping towards the fountain. He reached into the water….and immediately screamed, withdrawing his hand. The black leather of his gauntlet was steaming, blistering, tiny arclets of lightning running across it.

"Blasted holy water!" Zen'Aku bellowed. He glared at his own reflection in the pool, clutching his paw in agony. "You can't stay in there forever, Shayla! Mark my words, I will have you!"

Myk watched the scene in astonishment, glancing down at his own hands. They were the gloved hands of a Power Ranger at the moment, but the hands of his human body were covered with mysterious burns and welts. Had that been what happened? Had the water burned him, during one of those long blackouts he couldn't remember? Why would holy water harm a Power Ranger?

A low growl brought a more pressing concern to his attention as Zen'Aku turned, reaching an open paw toward him.

From the floor, his massive, Crescent-shaped blade flew back into his hand.

"Now," he growled. 'We finish this."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I don't want to see this," Terina whispered, her wide eyes glued to the image of her erstwhile self.

Red lights flashed throughout the bridge, an earsplitting alarm sounding. The Eltarians jumped up from what they were doing and turned all eyes to the screen.

"What's going on, Ender?" Loren asked.

"Quadrafighters," the Eltarian Red Zeo Ranger replied, bringing up the image on the Oasis' front screen. "Lots of them."

"They're finally attacking," Vahn said, showing his teeth in glee. The Silver Ranger was always excited by the prospect of battle.

"And how," Lilani assessed. She tapped a few keys over Ender's shoulder. "127 squadrons. That's…"

"2540 fighters," Locke supplied.

"Get to your ships, Rangers," Ender ordered. "This is going to be a big one."

A myriad of multicolored lights flashed through the bridge as the Rangers teleported elsewhere, leaving only Ender and Terina's previous self on the bridge.

Ender turned to Terina. "You ready for this?"

"Of course," Terina replied.

"No!" present-Terina yelled. "You'll all be killed!"

"They can't hear you," Cleora said. "This is just a memory. A memory that you've been repressing for a long time. That's not healthy, you know."

"I don't want to see this," Terina repeated, her eyes closed and her hands over her ears as she backed into a corner of the memory of the Oasis' Bridge. "I can't handle this, make it go away…" She sank, crumbling into a heap on the floor. "Make it stop make it stop make it stop…

Cleora sighed, looking down at her, arms crossed. "You're not going to be much fun, are you?"

"_Make it stop!_!" she suddenly screeched.

Cleora winced, clapping his own hands to the sides of his head where his ears should have been.

"You can yell all you'd like," he said. "Though I'd take it as a kindness if you wouldn't….but that won't stop anything. This scene will just keep replaying. Over and over. Until you deal with it."

Cleora sighed, looking down at the figure that crouched in the corner, tears streaming down her face, eyes and ears shut.

"Which, I can already tell, is going to be a while."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Okay," Lolli said, as she, Murphy, Diskette, Deacon and Angel approached the edge of the forest bordering the temple ruins. "Everyone clear on the plan?"

"Crystal," Deacon replied, morpher already in hand.

"Remember, don't attack until I give the signal," Lolli reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Where is the portal?" Angel asked.

"It's inside the temple. Looks just like one of the walls, except it's still standing. Look for the big garnet set into the stone, that's what controls it."

"Check. **Wolf!**"

A flash of gray light replaced Angel's human form with his Ranger armor, which was, just as quickly, replaced by a small furry animal that scurried off towards the temple ruins.

"Okay," Deacon said, glancing at the Green Ranger. "Your turn."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So you seem to have absolute control in here," Kalen said, as she moved one of her pieces. "Space, time, scenery, allowable magic...is that something about you, or are these powers specifically attached to the job of guardianship here?"

"That's important to you, is it?" Cleora asked in a neutral tone.

"If it's the place, then it's at least partially scientific, and I might me able to replicate it for my own purposes. What I'd really like to know is whether all this in our heads, in which case you just need to control our thought patterns and reactions, or whether you're actually manipulating the environment. I'm guessing the former, since it would take far less trouble to affect, but if it's the latter, would you be willing to discuss it while we play?"

Cleora chuckled. "It's a bit of both, actually. Some environmental manipulation is involved. For example, I really did move your group from the stairs into one of the trial chambers. What we're doing now, though, is entirely mental." He moved his knight forward with a flourish, knocking one of Kalen's pieces off the board with it before setting it down.

"And is it you? Or this place?"

"Mostly me. Ooh. Sneaky move," Cleora said, as Kalen positioned one of her pieces.

"Thank you," the Purple Ranger replied, not taking her eyes off the table.

"Sneaky moves are something of a specialty for you, aren't they?"

"You might say that."

"So tell me, Kalen. Is there anyone you actually trust?"

"You have all the answers. You tell me."

Cleora glanced at her indulgently. "I can choose not to see. And I've done so, in this case. Who do you trust?" He moved a rook, taking one of her bishops.

"Under what circumstances? To do what?" the Purple Ranger asked.

"Always so cautious. Even with words," the entity of blue light remarked reproachfully.

"It's what's kept me alive this long," Kalen replied.

"That, and having nine lives."

"Four," Kalen grumbled, moving another piece.

"Yes, this HAS been a rough year for you, hasn't it?" Cleora examined the gameboard, weighing his options. "So much trouble. The Red Coin saw all this coming, you know. That's why Tommy's here."

"I'd gathered."

"In the light of how hectic things have gotten, it might be wise to know who you can trust. Not just to do certain things under certain circumstances. That's not trust, that's calculation. I mean really _trust_."

Kalen raised an eyebrow. "All right. I'll bite. Who, then, can I trust?"

Cleora smiled. "Perhaps you should ask something that _really _has all the answers," he suggested. He reached out and moved a piece. "Checkmate."

Kalen blinked in surprise. The only people who had ever been able to match her in chess had been Angel and Troy, and playing against either of them always yielded a stalemate. No one had ever _beaten_ her before.

"Good game," she said graciously. "Although, I suppose I can't really have been expected to win against someone who sees the future."

Cleora tutted at her. "I told you, I can choose not to see. I beat you, fair and square."

"Well, however you did it, I suppose this means I've failed your challenge? What happens now? Am I returned to the Megaship? Killed on the spot? Imprisoned for eternity?"

Cleora considered. "It occurs to me that I forgot to define the terms of this challenge before we began. I shall do so now. In order to pass my trial, you must lose the game we just played. Congratulations. You succeed."

The Purple Ranger raised an eyebrow. "You just made that up."

"Did I? Prove it," Cleora chuckled, snapping his fingers. Blue sparks flashed at his fingertips, and then the world dissolved again.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Myk's nunchuku whirled, deflecting blast after blast from Zen'Aku's sword. The deflected bolts tore through the temple, reducing many of its still-standing walls to rubble.

With a frustrated growl, Zen'Aku spun his blade, sticking it into the ground. Channeling his energy through the metal, he sent a shockwave of power through the ground, rushing forward to explode directly beneath the Bronze Ranger's eagle-taloned boots.

Myk went flying, only to come crashing to the ground, a network of cracks radiating out from the spot where he lay. The impact overwhelming his senses, his armor vanished in a flash of metallic light.

"This has been amusing," Zen'Aku declared, stepping forward and raising his blade. "But it ends now."

"Hey!" a familiar voice called.

Both Ranger and Org glanced over to see Princess Shayla standing at the edge of the temple, where the ruins gave way to wilderness. Something about the moonlight seemed to give her gauzy white gown an ethereal glow.

"It's me you want, right? Come get me."

"Shayla, what are you _doing_?!" Myk called. "Get back in the fountain!"

Shayla glanced at him, shot him a wink, then turned and vanished into the woods.

With a predatory growl, Zen'Aku gave chase, leaving the Bronze Ranger lying alone in the ruins.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You certainly do get thrown around a lot," Cleora commented, as he and Jareth watched Jareth's past self get flung up against one of the buildings that surrounded them. There was a gold flash as his body demorphed, sliding down the wall to the floor.

"I'm used to it," Jareth said flatly.

"I guess it's not as if any of the others are fairing any better," the blue fire-being dismissed. And he was right…the large, mutant frog monster that stormed through the dingy alley had already succeeded in out-fighting most of the others. Their brightly-colored forms lay scattered around the alley in disarray. Only the Silver Zeo Ranger was still on his feet, and his armor was already covered with smoking gashes. The large frog-monster approached him, reptilian spines growing from his forearms.

Deacon summoned the Silver Power Staff, aiming its sculpted head at the monster. He released a barrage of small silver fireballs, but the frog swung his spines, knocking them aside effortlessly.

Crossing his spines, the frog charged them with green lightning, then swung them forward, releasing an X-shaped, energized slash that crashed into Deacon, knocking his off his feet and sending him sliding down the alley on his back. He skidded for quite a distance before he stopped, demorphing with a silver flash, out cold.

Jareth's past self let out a groan, staggering to his feet.

The sound drew the attention of the monster, which turned to face him.

The Gold Ranger froze as the beast took a few steps towards him, opening its mouth to reveal several rows of long, sharp, dagger-like teeth…

...And slipped on a discarded bit of trash, falling onto its back almost comically.

"And that would be the infamous uberluck coming into play," Cleora commented.

Jareth said nothing, he just continued to watch grimly, all traces of his normally flippant demeanor gone.

The monster scrambled for a moment trying to right itself, then froze, catching an upside-down glimpse of the person who had been lying on the ground behind it.

Rolling over onto its front, the monster stood and began to approach Fox, already demorphed and unconscious from an earlier blow.

"Aww, dammit," past-Jareth muttered to himself. "I like her. I need to do some...." He looked down at his hands and realized that he'd just reached down and grabbed a dented soupcan that had been lying nearby and lobbed it at the monster. The can bounced off the back off the frog's head…it was the first time Jareth could remember ever having actually hit that for which he'd been aiming. The frog froze and then, in the sort of slow motion that he'd thought only happened in books and movies, turned to look directly at the Gold Ranger, who had just enough time to think, "I had to pick _now_ to be a hero," before time returned to normal.

"Got a little riddle for you, Jareth," Cleora said to the Ranger standing next to him. "What's the one thing luck CAN'T protect you from?"

"The conscious decision to do something stupid?" Jareth guessed dismally.

"Bingo," Cleora confirmed, as the monster opened its mouth, shooting out a long, ropy, red length of tongue that coiled around the Gold Zeo Ranger. There was a blinding golden flash, and suddenly Jareth was gone, and the monster was balancing a glowing golden ball on the tip of its tongue. In the blink of an eye, he had pulled the orb in and swallowed it.

Everything went black.

"Do you remember what happened next?" Cleora asked.

"No," Jareth replied. "The next thing I remembered was waking up in the medbay, almost a month later."

"That's because you repressed the memories. People do that, when they go through something that's too much for them to handle. I'll tell you what happened, shall I?" Cleora offered. "The monster returned to Zedd's castle on the moon. Randomon had him cough you up. Then he put a call in to an old friend of his…Vrykolakas. An expert in…interrogation. He was convinced that you Rangers knew where the Power Coins were hidden. And he was determined to find out."

The darkness around them began to fluctuate, spasming with intermittent flashes of red and white light. There was a shrill, earsplitting sound, somewhere between a human scream, the screech of a cat, and nails across a chalkboard. The very air gave off an indefinable sensation not unlike a file being raked across raw nerves.

"Well, this memory's not very clear, now is it?" Cleora asked nonchalantly. "The pain was so intense, it nearly overwhelmed your senses. Let's see if I can sharpen things, shall we?"

A snap of his fingers, and the room defined itself: a small, dimly lit room, empty but for a single occupant. What clothes he still wore were shredded and torn, nearly every inch of his body was covered with vicious slashes that looked like they'd been the result of an animal mauling. There was blood everywhere. He was alive, breathing shallowly. Every few moments, he would twitch at some real or imagined sound, flinching as though the world meant to bite him.

"What did he do to me?" Jareth asked, horrified, his tail thrashing behind him in agitation.

"That?" Cleora asked, laughing. "Oh, no. Vrykolakas didn't do that. Demons know how to torture, Jareth. They don't need to cause physical damage. You did that to _yourself_."

"What?"

Cleora nodded. "Your own fingernails. You even gouged out an eye. And if you'll check the insides of your wrists, you'll see that you tried to tear your veins out. Anything to end the pain. That was before you lost your nails trying to claw through the door, of course."

Cleora molded some of his blue fire into a stick and mimed poking the fallen figure, which, of course, did not react. "Everything you did to yourself, he repaired. He fixed your skin so that you could feel what he was doing. He repaired your eye so that you could see it coming. When you managed to kill yourself, he revived you. Both times. Just so you could suffer more." Cleora looked up at the stricken expression on the Gold Ranger's face and grinned. "It's all coming back to you now, isn't it?"

Jareth tried three times before he was able to feebly ask, "How long?"

"Three days. Not long in the grand scheme of things, but I daresay they seemed longer to you. After that, your friends finally managed to spring you. You were in the infirmary for almost a month. It was a week before you stopped twitching at the slightest movement. Another week before you could talk again. And two more before you would. Too much screaming, you know. Tears your vocal chords raw. Small wonder you're such a lousy singer."

So shaken was Jareth by the spectacle before him that he didn't even give a snide reply.

Cleora tossed his stick over his shoulder, where it poofed into nothingness. He circled the twitching form that was Jareth, and returned to stand beside where Jareth was now.

"And then one day, you were fine. Well, not quite fine, but you were walking and talking again. You'd managed to convince yourself that you'd forgotten it all. You were never quite the same afterward, of course. Everyone noticed, but they were all too relieved to have you back at all to complain that they'd gotten you back broken. You noticed, too…you'd find yourself doing bizarre things, like throwing peanut butter at the ceiling fan, and you'd have no idea why. That's always scared you. But water, water was the worst. You haven't voluntarily gone near water since. You know why, now, don't you?"

The Gold Ranger nodded mutely. Water torture had been one of Vrykolakas's favorite methods, and he hadn't spared it on Jareth.

"And so, my question to you is," and here Cleora paused and grinned. "If you were there again, knowing what you know now….would you do it again? Would you still throw that can?"

Jareth considered, his eyes down on his own bloody form.

And, after a moment's thought, he gave his reply.

Cleora's grin grew wider still.

"Right answer," he said.

The being of blue fire snapped his fingers, and the world went dark again.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Princess Shayla ran, ducking behind a convenient tree.

Zen'Aku chuckled to himself at the idea that the Princess thought that such a simple ruse would actually work…a chuckle that quickly died when he leapt around the tree to find nothing.

Someone whistled. He turned to see Shayla standing a good thirty yards off, waving to him. "Over here!"

Growing, he set off into pursuit again, this time losing her as she ducked behind a large rock.

Something was wrong here. Shayla had never had the ability to teleport before, but that certainly appeared to be what she was doing. Of course, she HAD had several thousand years to learn…unless she, like him, had spent it asleep.

No…something else was amiss. He paused, taking a deep breath…and suddenly realized what was missing.

Her scent. This Shayla had no scent. It was merely some sort of phantom or illusion, designed to draw him away from the Temple. Clever. Quite clever.

He sniffed again, curiously. What he DID smell was metal, lubricant, and a faint smell resembling the air after a lightning strike…the smell of energy. A machine?

He scanned the bushes, his sharp eyes catching a glimmer of glass or crystal…a lens.

"Uh-oh," an artificial voice said.

Zen'Aku slashed with his blade, delivering a powerful blast of energy to the offending bush. Just before the foliage burst into flames, a small black disk-shaped object flew out, circling him.

"What manner of construct are _you_?"

"Name's Diskette," the object replied. "Nice to meet you."

From somewhere on its body, the small hovering disk released a legion of small, hovering spheres, all of which spread out, surrounding him.

"Marbles?" Zen'Aku laughed. "You think to attack me with _marbles_?"

"Not exactly," the device replied.

_Tseewm!_

The Org jumped in surprise as a beam of light leapt from one of the spheres to another, linking the two. _Tseewm! Tseewm! Tseewm!_

Before the wolf-masked warrior could react, he was imprisoned within a woven cage-net of solid light.

"All aboard!" Diskette cried, extruding a metal hook from the back of her casing. Linking it to one of the light-strands, she began to tear through the jungle, dragging the furious, howling Org through the jungle, away from the temple ruins.

_Let's see that dog do THIS,_ she thought to herself, rocketing over hill and dale, ducking branches and keeping above jagged patches of rock….never really minding when they struck her cargo.

Just as she broke the edge of the forest, Zen'Aku managed to get his bearings and fire a blast through one of the holes in the tech-net, striking the bottom of her casing. With an electronic squawk, she flew free of the net, spinning to the rocky ground. Her metal shell clattered against the rough surface, sparks flying.

The net of light flickered and winked out. Zen'Aku rose to his feet…and froze.

He was at the very edge of the Animarium…the machine had doubtless been trying to drag him over the edge.

And there, standing among the rocks, was Princess Shayla.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tommy glared at his past self, watching from the outside as past-Tommy fired green sparks from his eyes, scaring Bulk and Skull out of their wits purely for his own enjoyment.

"Well well. Someone has an attitude," Cleora chimed in.

"Stop this," the Red Ranger demanded.

"Now why in the world would I do that, when we're just getting to the good part?"

The memory of Tommy's past self continued on his way, chuckling to himself. He turned and walked off down the alley.

"Seriously, I want you stop this, before-"

"Hey, mister…spare some change?"

Tommy froze, watching as his past self was approached by a grizzled-looking bum. There weren't many homeless in Angel Grove, but they turned up in every town…or perhaps this one was just passing through.

"Change," past-Tommy replied. "Change is good."

"Uh…right. Can ya spare me some?"

"Just went through a change, myself. A change for the better, I'd say."

"Run," Tommy whispered, unnoticed by the figures in is memory. "Run while you can."

The bum wouldn't have had time to run, anyway. He never even had time to scream. The only sounds to come out of him were the snapping of bones, the ripping of tendons as the evil Green Ranger reached out and grabbed his head, then turned it sharply, snapping the filthy old man's neck.

"Much better," past-Tommy said. "Wouldn't you agree?"

The bum stared back up at him lifelessly.

Whistling cheerfully, past-Tommy continued on his way.

Tommy and Cleora remained, looking down at the corpse.

"I hope you had a good reason for showing me this again," Tommy said grimly.

"I may see everything," Cleora replied. "But that doesn't mean I understand it all. Explain something to me, Tommy. The Evil Green Ranger killed 147 people. Innocents. Women and children. Good, upstanding members of society. So why this one? Why is this grubby old geezer the one that sticks in your mind?"

Tommy glared back down at the dead man, the evidence of his crime.

"Because most of those were killed by Dragonzord," he replied. "And the rest I killed while morphed. This….he was the only one I killed with my own hands."

"So this is it? This is why you work so hard at being a good guy?" Cleora asked, hopping up onto one of the trash cans that stood at the side of the alley, using it as a chair. "Why? Who are you trying to make it up to? Him? He's dead. He's in no position to forgive you."

"I don't need to be forgiven," Tommy argued. "I was under a spell. It made me evil. I wasn't responsible for my actions."

Cleora shook his head. "Tommy, Tommy, Tommy. We both know _that_'s not true. There's no such thing as a spell that makes people 'evil'. All Rita did was put a geis on you to make you follow her orders, and suppress your conscience so you wouldn't feel bad about it."

"You're lying," Tommy accused.

Cleora laughed. "Lying? Me? Never. The truth is much more fun. No one made you kill this man, Tommy. You did it because you wanted to. You wanted to know what it'd be like to have that much power, that much control. To hold someone's life in your hands, and snuff it out. And with no little voice in your head telling you how guilty to feel over it, you finally could."

Tommy didn't reply.

"So?" Cleora asked.

"So what?"

"Ever since the spell was lifted, and your little voice started screaming at you for this, you've done everything you possibly could to be the best person you could be. As though if you did enough, if you were good enough, it would undo it."

Cleora grinned and hopped down from the trash can, approaching the Red Ranger.

"So, here's my question to you, Tommy. If you could go back and stop yourself from killing this man, would you do it? Knowing full well that it would undo all the good you've done since then? _Would _you?"

Tommy glared daggers at the fiery being. "That's not fair."

"Life isn't fair, Tommy. Just ask him," Cleora said, nudging the corpse with his glowing blue foot.

Tommy sighed, considering, his eyes on the unseeing gaze of the dead homeless man whose name he'd never even known. He knelt down and closed the man's eyes for him.

"No," he finally said. "I wouldn't. I'm sorry," he added, addressing the man. He turned his gaze back up to Cleora, who was smiling down at him. "I wouldn't," he repeated.

"Right answer, Tommy," Cleora replied, snapping his fingers.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zen'Aku breathed deep before he approached. No doubt about it…this was the genuine princess. She had the right smell, and that sort of thing was almost impossible to fake.

Swinging his sword, he leapt at Shayla, his eyes burning an angry gold.

"**Silver Ranger-Battleize!"**

There was a burst of silvery mist, and suddenly there was something in the air between the Org and the princess…something with claws.

Deacon slashed as Zen'Aku slammed into him, carving deep gashes into his black leather armor, then teleporting away again before the Org hit the ground, several feet short of the princess.

Zen'Aku climbed to his feet. He squinted at his opponent as Deacon stepped into view.

"Must I be interrupted at every….did you turn into a woman?"

"It's the costume!" Deacon yelled. He pointed one of his claws at the Org. "All right. Now you're gonna get it. **Shadowshock**!"

The Silver/Platinum Ranger fired a pulse of shadowy fire at Zen'Aku, which he rolled to avoid. The Princess, too, had to leap out of the way, as the wave shot past the place she'd been standing.

"Hey! Try aiming!"

"Sorry," Deacon said.

"Almost knocked me right off the side. What's wrong with you?"

Deacon considered for a moment. "Okay. Mr. Wolf Monster, sir? You can have her."

He stepped aside, offering Zen'Aku a clear shot at the princess.

"What trickery is this?"

"No trick," Deacon assured him.

Zen'Aku considered for a moment, then held out his sword.

"**Crescent Blade…Crescent Wave!"**

The Org leveled his blade, firing an amber wave of power at the princess.

An instant before it struck, a flash of green filled the air, and the Princess' gauzy white gown had been replaced with emerald green armor, a golden shield, and a helmet shaped like a dragon.

The wave struck Lolli's shield and rebounded, blasting Zen'Aku square in the chest. He flew backwards, colliding with a thick, solid tree trunk and sliding to the ground.

"Oh, wait…there _was_ a trick," Deacon corrected. "Sorry. My mistake."

"I was sure he would smell the difference," Lolli commented.

"Kite's illusions are quality stuff, looks like," the Silver Ranger replied.

A streak of bronze and red flew past overhead, circling around and landing nearby.

"Did I miss it?" Myk asked.

"Most of it," Lolli replied, strolling over and picking up the damaged Diskette.

Deacon walked over to the fallen Org.

"Yeah, it looks like he'll be out for a whi-urk!"

Deacon's sentence was cut off as Zen'Aku's arm shot up, his hand clamping around the Battleized Silver Ranger's throat.

Rising to his feet, Zen'Aku lifted the surprised Ranger above his head, and, rearing back, threw him forward as hard as he could, sending him flying over the side of the Animarium.

"Deacon!"

Myk prepared to dive off after him, but the Org darted forward in a purple flash and seized him by the cape, swinging him around and slamming the Bronze Ranger into the tree.

Lolli took a few careful steps back.

Attracted by the motion, Zen'Aku turned towards her. He hefted his blade and leapt at her, but Lolli extended her wrist, releasing a plume of orange flame directly into his wolf-masked face.

The Org fell back, raising his arm to shield his eyes.

The Green Ranger took the opportunity to vanish into the trees, running as fast as her Ranger-enhanced legs could carry her.

"Run, run, run, little Ranger," Zen'Aku growled. "This island isn't big enough for you to hide from me."

He glanced down at Myk, who was just getting to his feet, his visor starting to uncrack from its impact with the tree trunk.

Storming over to him, Zen'Aku clamped one hand around his throat, picking him up and carrying him over to the rocky cliff that was the edge of the floating island.

"I'll be sure to give the princess your regards," he told the Ranger, letting go and watching as Myk's Bronze-armored form plummeted through the clouds.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tommy blinked as the world dissolved again, this time revealing a large, empty stone chamber.

Empty, that is, except for Kalen and Jareth, who were standing beside him.

Cleora burst into fiery blue existence before them.

"Congrats, guys," he said. "You've passed my little trials."

"Where's Terina?" Kalen inquired, the only one not too shaken to do a headcount.

"She failed," Cleora said flatly. "Just couldn't deal with her own memories."

"So where is she?" Tommy demanded, clearly at the end of his patience.

"Trapped in the memory. And she'll be there forever, unless she manages to deal with it."

"'Unless'?" Jareth asked. "Don't you mean 'until'?"

Cleora shrugged. "Whichever."

"Or unless you let her go," Tommy added, a hint of threat in his tone.

"Now why would I do that?" Cleora asked coyly.

"Because we have a heavily armed spaceship waiting outside that could very easily blow this entire vault to cinders?" Kalen suggested.

"Ah, but you're forgetting…I _want_ to be set free."

"You said that could only happen once all the relics were claimed," Kalen pointed out.

"If we blow up the vault, they can never be claimed," Jareth caught on, grinning. "And you'll be the guardian of a crater for the rest of eternity."

Cleora smiled. "Right answer," he said, snapping his fingers.

Terina appeared in a swirl of blue sparks, huddled on the floor, her hands over her ears and her eyes shut tight.

"Make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop…"

"Terina? Terina, it's over. Snap out of it," Jareth said, kneeling next to her.

"Told you she couldn't deal with it," Cleora said, as though commenting on the result of a coin toss.

"What did you make her see?" Tommy demanded.

"The annihilation of her homeworld, the deaths of all her friends and family…Oh, and her own."

"What?"

"Tommy, you're stronger than I am," Jareth broke in. "Come help me pry her hands from her ears."

"Oh, honestly," Kalen said. She walked over and knelt before Terina, delivering a sharp slap to the alien's face.

The Yellow Ranger's eyes flew open, she looked around, panicked.

"Where…what…it's over?" she asked hopefully, looking up into Jareth's face.

Jareth nodded, standing and pulling her to her feet.

"Are you going to be okay?" Tommy asked her.

Terina considered for a moment, rubbing her cheek. "No," she replied softly.

"Let's do the job and go home," Jareth suggested. "Now, where's the Caro?"

"Through there," Cleora said, gesturing towards a massive pair of heavy oaken doors that almost certainly hadn't been there before he pointed them out. They took up nearly the entirety of one wall of the room, so it was doubtful that they could have been missed, even in the dim torchlight. "But not so fast. There is one more small matter to be dealt with."

"What? I thought we'd finished your stupid challenges," Jareth complained.

"Oh, you did," Cleora said. "But so did they."

Another burst of blue sparks lit the room, revealing Gasket and Striker, still in her human form.

"Oh," the Gold Ranger said weakly.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

With a wisp of silvery smoke, Deacon appeared in the air about fifteen feet above Animaria's sacred fountain. Falling with far more velocity that one would have thought, he crashed into the water's surface with a colossal splash, sending the holy water flying everywhere.

Angel appeared from around the corner, looking around curiously. The water was already vanishing from the ground as though it had never touched it, and the fountain was as full as ever.

"Oog," Deacon said, climbing out of the fountain. "Note to self…teleport sooner next time. Ow."

"Where did you teleport from?" Angel asked.

"Oh, I'd say about a mile that way, and, more importantly, about 800 feet down. That wolf guy threw me over the edge."

"So you _do_ materialize with all your momentum still intact. I always wondered about that."

"Yeah, whatever. Did you get the portal set?"

"I believe so. I also filled Myk in on the plan, I don't know if he caught up with you…"

"I still don't see why we don't just throw _him_ off the edge."

"Myk?"

"No, the wolf-guy. Although…"

"Wouldn't work," Angel said, smirking. "Zen'Aku can levitate. But levitation only works over short distances. If we can portal him down to the surface, he'll never find his way back here."

"Zen'Aku?"

"Myk says that's his name. The princess told him."

"Ah. Well, bring him on. I'll take him down. Elephants eat wolves."

Angel shot him a strange look. "I assure you that they don't."

"Oh," the Silver Ranger muttered. "Well. They could if they wanted to."

Both Rangers spun at the sounds of movement from the forest, but relaxed when they saw the Green Ranger emerge from the trees.

"Best get into position," she said. "He's on his way."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zen'Aku dusted off his hands, satisfied. Turning away from the edge, he started towards the forest, intent on pursuing the other Rangers.

Several steps short of the forest, he froze, closing his eyes.

"You're joking," he growled.

"Nope," Myk said from behind him. "He flies."

The Org turned to see the Bronze Ranger floating several feet above the spot where he'd been dropped, hands on his hips in a ridiculous pose that he assumed was supposed to look heroic.

"Etiquette demands that I offer you the chance to surrender before defeating you," Myk said.

Zen'Aku snorted. "I respectfully decline," he replied, humor in his voice.

"As you wish."

Myk darted forward, a bronze arrow. Seizing Zen'Aku by the back of his armor, he carried him off into the air and shot off into the air, the Animarium passing beneath them in a flash.

Zen'Aku made as though to stab upwards with his blade.

"Now, what do you imagine will happen if you stab me?" Myk asked.

"I imagine you'll die."

"Of course. Let's see what would happen to you."

The Bronze Ranger released his hold on Zen'Aku, letting him drop the sixteen stories or so to the surface of the floating island.

The Org managed to land on his feet, the impact cracking the stone floor and jarring his legs.

Wait a moment…stone floor?

Zen'Aku looked around and found that he was back at the temple.

"Welcome back, Zenny," a familiar voice said.

Turning, the Org spotted the other Ranger he'd thrown over the edge, the silvery-purple one with the claws. He was sitting at the edge of the fountain, dipping those claws into the water.

"Did you miss me?"

Zen'Aku cursed under his breath.

"Don't you people _ever_ die?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"It seems to me as though a contest is in order," Cleora said. "How does trial by combat sound?"

"That depends," Tommy said. "Will you be giving us our powers back?"

"Your powers are gone?" Gasket asked, sounding amused.

"I'm afraid I can't," Cleora replied. "No magic but mine works here. The wards built into the walls prevent it."

"I need no magic," the mechanical monarch said. He raised his fist at the Rangers, a device extending from the back of his hand. Choosing a target at random from the four, he launched a small disk at Kalen…one that, moments after leaving his wrist, grew to three times its size and extended sixteen short, sharp blades as it spun through the air.

Kalen immediately grabbed the closest thing and pulled it in front of her to act as a shield…that closest thing happening to be Jareth.

The heavy shuriken-discus struck him in the ribs, where, instead of slicing him neatly in half, it instead rebounded with a horrible squelching-crunching noise and clattered to the floor.

Jareth immediately doubled over, clutching his ribs in agony and falling to his knees.

Cleora snapped his fingers, freezing Gasket in place. "I didn't say 'Go' yet!" he stated, annoyed.

"Kalen!" Terina cried, kneeling next to Jareth, who had lapsed into a terrible coughing fit. She glared accusingly up at the Purple Ranger.

"I can't believe you just _did_ that," Tommy said, aghast.

"I'm sorry," Kalen said sweetly. "Should I have used you or Terina?"

"You don't go around using people as shields!"

"Sure she does," Jareth wheezed. 'That's…the second time…today."

"He was the least likely to be injured," Kalen dismissed.

"How do you figure?" the Red Ranger demanded.

"He's wearing chainmail."

"She's right, Tommy," Terina said, lifting Jareth's shirt and examining the layer of woven metal underneath. "I think it saved his life. The impact probably still broke a few ribs, though."

"Feels like it," the Gold Ranger concurred weakly.

"Cleora," a child's voice called suddenly. "What are you doing to my friends?"

"Kite," Cleora said, looking over at the small figure that had miraculously appeared in the middle of the room. "Fancy meeting you here."

"You've met?" Tommy asked.

"No," both super-beings said at once.

"I know his name because you do," Kite said.

"And I his because I know everything," Cleora added.

"Hardly a fair match, Cleora," Kite continued. "Four unarmed teenagers against a droid designed for battle."

"Life isn't fair," Tommy muttered.

"But contests are," Kite argued. "At least, in theory. So let's even the odds a bit."

He snapped his own fingers, producing a shower of metallic sparks.

Several blinding flashes lit the room, and all four Rangers, as well as the Red Striker Beetleborg, were in their armor once again.

"How'd you do that?" Terina asked.

"He broke the wards," Jareth said, the pain in his ribs gone. He climbed to his feet.

"And took off again," Kalen added.

Sure enough, the seemingly omnipotent child was gone.

"Well. Let's get started then," Cleora said, rubbing his fiery blue hands together. "First team to incapacitate all their opponents and get the big doors open gets their pick of what's inside. Ready? Go!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zen'Aku backhanded Myk, sending him flying into the wall, which cracked under the impact, but remained standing. Myk slid to the floor in a bronze-and-scarlet heap.

Three lines of fiery pain streaked across Zen'Aku's chest as Deacon swiped at him, slicing through his armor with his Metaleopard Claws, the holy water they'd been dipped in eating into his flesh and burning through his blood.

The wolf-masked Org lunged at the Battleized Ranger with his sword, but Deacon vanished in a Ranger-shaped plume of silvery smoke, reappearing behind his opponent. Grabbing Zen'Aku by the arms, he yanked him as hard as he could to the left, maneuvering him into position.

A tiny gray lizard that had been clinging to one of the temple rocks, watching intently, suddenly scurried forward, growing as it ran. By the time it reached the wall next to the two grappling warriors, it had assumed the form of the Gray Ranger. Angel slapped his hand against a large crystal that was embedded into that wall, and abruptly, a number of the large flagstones began to glow, seeming to lose their solidity, becoming an archway of watery light.

"Now," he called.

Lolli stepped out from behind one of the ruined wall of the ancient temple, her mechanical canine at her side.

"Time for that trick I taught you, boy."

Murphy barked, then leaped up into her arms, his casing rearranging itself as he did. His legs folded themselves away, his tail becoming a trigger and a pair of laser ports extending from his front end.

Lolli leveled the Canine Cannon squarely at Zen'Aku.

"Hasta la vista, baby."

Deacon teleported out from behind Zen'Aku just as Lolli fired, a massive pulse of white light firing forth from her new weapon and catching the Org right in the chest, knocking him through the portal. Zen'Aku's bellow of rage was abruptly swallowed as his body flew through the vertical surface.

Lolli dropped the cannon, which returned to its normal configuration, landing neatly on its paws.

"Good boy," she said, scratching it behind its metal ears. Murphy wagged his tail contentedly.

She glanced up at the others, who were all staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"'Hasta la vista, baby?'" Deacon asked, speaking for all of them.

Lolli looked down at the flagstones. "It's late," she said, by way of excuse. "And it's been a long day. I'll do better next time."

"Uh-huh," the Silver/Platinum Ranger said. He jerked his thumb back at the portal. "Look, I'm gonna go make sure he didn't land in any heavily populated areas. Myk? Wanna come with?"

"It would be my pleasure," Myk replied.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

One moment, all was calm in the dingy bar, except for the usual sounds of drunken arguments and the occasional broken mug.

Then a hole in space opened in the middle of the tavern, and a figure in black leather armor was thrown through, his form still silhouetted by the blinding pulse of light that had thrown him. The figure came crashing down onto one of the pool tables with such force that the old wood gave, collapsing beneath him.

Two figures emerged after him…a bronze-armored figure with a flowing red cape, and a silvery-pinkish-purple one with spots and huge claws attached to his arms. The caped figure floated several feet above the ground, arms crossed, his bearing giving the impression that he considered the floor of the tavern too filthy for his boots to touch. The other sheathed his claws and brought both hands to his mouth.

"Everyone who enjoys breathing would be wise to vacate the premises," Deacon shouted. "Right about now."

"Another Ranger attack!" someone shouted. "Run!"

"They're _real_?" another voice asked in disbelief.

"Course they're real! And they'll kill you as soon as look at ya! They trample cities and conjure up demons! I seen it all on the news!"

"The news lies," Myk declared. "We're the good guys."

"That city thing was like four years ago!" Deacon cried defensively. "Get over it already, people!"

The Org began to stir.

"Get out," Myk commanded. "Now!"

_Ka-chunk._

The unmistakable sound of a rifle being loaded attracted the Rangers' attention. They turned to see the bartender glaring at them, his outstretched arm holding a gun pointed in their direction.

"Don't no one give orders in this tavern but me," he grunted. "Take your demon and leave."

"Remind me again why we're trying to _save_ these people?" Deacon muttered.

Myk lowered himself to the ground and took a step towards the bar.

"Listen to us. If you don't all leave this building, that thing is going to-"

BLAM!

A deafening explosion leapt from the end of the rifle, the blast ricocheting off the bronze plating of Myk's chest. The nearest customer let out a cry of pain and terror, falling off his barstool and clutching a face suddenly red with blood.

Deacon teleported forward, leaving a silvery mist-silhouette of himself behind and appearing right next to the bar. He reached forward and bent the barrel of the rifle nearly double.

"_Out_!" Deacon demanded, turning to face the rest of the tavern's patrons. "_Now_!"

The building was evacuated with surprising speed, especially considering that some of the occupants' motor functions had been more than a little impaired. The bartender stared at his ruined gun in shock for a moment, then staggered back, his wide eyes on the Rangers. He dropped the worthless weapon and bolted for the door, howling about "Freaks" and "Demons."

"Nothing like local color," Myk said, disgusted.

"And to think, I once wanted to be a bartender," Deacon added, shaking his head. "Uh-oh...," he added, gesturing at the signs of movement from the wrecked billiards table.

Zen'Aku pulled himself to his feet, climbing free from the wreckage of the billiards table. He looked around, expecting, hoping to see the Animarium. But all his senses, both supernatural and mundane, told him otherwise. Animaria was north of here…and about 500,000 feet up.

"No!" he shouted.

"Yes," Deacon countered, grinning beneath his helmet and 'snikting' his claws out again.

"You'll never make it back to the Animarium now," Myk declared. "The Princess is out of your reach."

Zen'Aku's massive sword reappeared in his hand. "And you would have been wise to stay there as well," he said. "Now her fate will be yours."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Prince Gasket was in trouble.

His internal diagnostics were going haywire trying to keep track of all the damage he was sustaining. One moment he was being hacked at by flying daggers, the next a longsword. Turning away from the weapons, he found himself walking right into a wave of purple lightning, then a burst of sonic force.

"Striker!" he commanded, staggering back, numerous holes in his casing, sparking wires and circuit boards exposed, hydraulic fluid leaking from a dozen places. "Attack!"

The Rangers paused, turning to glance at the Beetleborg expectantly.

Striker looked at the four Rangers, then over to the nearly destroyed monarch.

"Gasket?" she said. "I quit."

Conjuring her Beetle Bonder, she summoned a rectangular portal of light and stepped through, the gateway closing behind her.

"What an unusually intelligent decision," Kalen declared.

Zeroes and ones frantically flashed through Gasket's processor as he tried to find a course of action that led to his surviving this.

Zero options were found.

The logical thing to do would have been to self-destruct, in the hopes of taking his enemies here with him. Mondo would construct another ruler for the Empire. Gasket 2.0 might even be an improvement.

But, due to what he could only call a malfunction, he found himself unwilling to take that course.

Lurching forward, he seized one of the Rangers…the one he'd already wounded…and heaved him with all the strength his damaged servomotors could still manage.

With a wail, the Ranger went flying, crashing through the solid oak doors that sealed Cleora's vault.

The other three Rangers resumed their attacks. His gyroscope failed at one point, but he was almost sure he was now lying on his back…possibly due to the fact that his legs were no longer attached to his body.

His servos nearly dead, all he could do was watch his diagnostic systems tally the damage.

96 percent. 97 percent. 98 percent.

The last thing he saw before his optical sensors failed him completely was the Yellow Ranger standing over him, daggers in hand.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I thought you were supposed to be lucky," Tommy accused, looking down at the crumpled, gold-armored form on the floor.

"Did I," Jareth said weakly, not getting up. "Or did I not, get the door open?"

Tommy glanced back at the ruined stone doors, the ones that had been torn from their hinges when the Gold Ranger had been thrown through them.

"Yeah," he admitted, helping Jareth to his feet. "I guess you did."

There was an amber flash as Jareth demorphed, unable to maintain his focus any longer. His arm immediately went to his side.

"Ow," he said.

"Are you okay?" Tommy asked.

"No. I'm fairly certain that I'm not."

Kalen took a few steps forward, examining the room, while Tommy stayed near Jareth in case the Gold Ranger happened to collapse.

"Where's Ter?" Jareth asked.

"Still out there hacking up Gasket," Kalen replied. "I tried to tell her he was dead, but she seems to feel the need to make sure. Ah, here she is now," the Purple Ranger added as Terina walked in, covered in mech fluid but looking oddly satisfied.

"Were you guys talking about me?" she asked, sounding worried.

"Yes," Jareth said. "But not about…that."

"Oh," she said, looking relieved. "Wow. Look at this place."

The other Rangers looked around the large chamber, their eyes taking in the alcoves and gargoyles set into the stone walls. All around the walls were racks and shelves containing all manner of ancient-looking weapons and relics. In the center of the room was what appeared to be a large stone table, a round, flat sapphire encircled by a thick ring of gray granite.

Jareth let out a low whistle and began to peruse the shelves, almost forgetting the pain in his side.

"I've read about most of these…Dark Crystal, the Book of Omens, Golden Tiger Claws…this one I've never even seen before…"

"That's the Sword of Light," Tommy said, sounding just as astounded. "And that's the Sword of Power…Auric's Key…" He squinted at a twisted scepter that held a smoky crystal sphere at one end. "This belonged to the Wizard of Deception…"

"The Mirror of Erised…the Atma Weapon…Oh my gods, is that the Gem of Amara? It is! I've died and gone to the ultimate antique store!" the Gold Ranger cried.

"You two are starting to scare me," Terina muttered.

"How did all this _get_ here?" Tommy demanded.

"The Archmages of Yllustri gathered it all from the four corners of the universe, and sealed it away here, just before they sucked all the life energy from the planet and used it to seal away the Great Evil," Cleora replied, appearing in a swirl of bright blue fire atop the sapphire table. He hopped down and began to explore the shelves himself. "And, of course, I've been collecting them as well. Whenever I sense that something important is about to be destroyed, I whisk it away here, and replace it with a fake. No one's the wiser, and I get a new toy. Of course," he added sadly, "That was before I worked out that I'd have to get rid of everything here to be free. So, what'll it be? Remember, you can only take one. It's in the rules."

Jareth shot him a sly look. "Is that one, or one apiece?"

Cleora paused, then looked up at Jareth, grinning broadly. "The rules don't say. So one apiece it is. The more of these things I can get rid of, the better."

The fiery blue figure strode back over to the table and hopped atop it.

"Wait," Terina asked. "Where's the E'not Sel Caro?"

"Right here," Cleora replied, tapping his glowing blue feet against the glowing blue stone of the tabletop on which he stood. "Well, it's been a blast. Ta!" And with that, he melted back down into the flat surface of the gemstone.

"I like him," Kalen declared, smirking.

The other three shot her death glares.

"What?" the Purple Ranger asked defensively.

"Let's just figure out how to work this thing so we can go home," Jareth said, doubling over into another coughing fit.

"That sounds bad," Terina said. "We definitely need to get you back to the ship."

"I'll be okay," he replied. "It only hurts when I…you know…breathe."

"_That's_ the E'not Sel Caro?" Kalen asked as they approached it. "It's the size of a wagon wheel. How are we supposed to get it out of here?"

Blue light began to flicker against the walls as ripple of electric-blue light flickered beneath the E'not Sel Caro's sapphire surface, forming alien symbols. After a moment, they rearranged themselves into letters that the Rangers could read.

_I am capable of assuming a more convenient size, if the entity touching me wills it so. _

"Cool," Jareth said. "It works."

"It certainly does," Kalen agreed. "Okay, E'not Sel Caro…..who can I trust?"

The blue light rippled again, but no letters appeared. It was as if the E'not Sel Caro wanted to answer, but couldn't.

"Why didn't it work?" Terina asked.

_Because I am constrained to answer only one question for each querent._

"We only get one question each?" Kalen asked, raising an eyebrow. "Some oracle."

"You're just upset 'cause you wasted yours," Jareth said, grinning. "But…I actually want to know that one." He turned to the tabletop. "Who can Kalen Starrose trust?"

Blue light flickered.

_Only among three need she not tread with care: The armored wolf, the madman in chains, and the lover of the sword._

"Now, that's more like it!" Jareth cried, grinning. "Cryptic riddles! That's what an oracle should sound like."

"Why do I get the impression that had anyone else asked, it would have given a simple straight answer?" Kalen asked, glaring at him from behind her helmet.

"Let's not forget why we're here," Terina said. "The Nexus?"

"Oh, right," Jareth said. "Well, it'll have to be Tommy. Everyone else has already burned their question."

Tommy approached the stone. For a moment, he hesitated. He only had one question. This stone could tell him how to get home…

He shook his head, shaking that thought loose before it could take a firm hold.

"E'not Sel Caro," he began. "Where-"

"Not where," Terina interrupted. "What. We already know it'll be on Terra."

"Right," Tommy remembered. "E'not Sel Caro, what is the Nexus that Zedd seeks?"

Blue ripples flowed beneath the crystalline surface, forming the alien symbols, then quickly rearranged themselves into three readable letters.

_You._


	79. War of the Wolf

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 79: War of the Wolf

There was a moment of stunned silence, which Kalen finally broke:

"See?" she asked. "Simple, straight answer."

"_I'm _the Nexus?" Tommy demanded. "What do you mean, _I'm _the Nexus?!"

As before, the surface of the Caro flickered, but would not, or could not, answer a second question.

"Maybe it meant all of us?" Terina asked weakly. "Plural 'you'? Us Rangers?"

The Caro's surface flickered in agitation, the ripples vibrating rapidly, almost angrily. Its light darkened to a shadowy shade of violet.

"I'm guessing that's a 'no'," Kalen surmised. "It did mean Tommy."

The Caro settled down, brightening again, confirming the Purple Ranger's assumption.

"But…I can't…how-"

Tommy's sputtering was interrupted by another fit of violent coughing from Jareth, who fell to his knees, hands on the Caro to steady himself. Terina knelt beside him.

The Yellow Ranger blinked down at the ground in alarm. "Um. Guys, we really need to get him back to the ship. He's started coughing up blood."

"Never a good sign, is it?" the Gold Ranger asked weakly.

"I guess we should pick our artifacts and go," Kalen said.

"You would think about treasure while your teammate's bleeding internally," Terina accused.

"Thanks to your actions, no less," Tommy added.

Kalen glared at them both. "Are you still going on about that? Look, if that attack was going to have seriously injured him, then that magical good luck of his wouldn't have let him stand close enough to be used as a shield. Besides, if anyone has any call to be mad at me, it's him, and I don't hear _him_ complaining. If he's not holding it against me, why should you?"

"She's right," Jareth agreed, as Terina helped him to his feet. Shrugging off her help, he limped over to the shelves and began to choose an artifact.

Tommy shook his head, staring at the Gold Ranger in disbelief. "If I live to be a hundred, I will never understand that guy."

"Just one of the many differences between you and me," Kalen said, laying her hands on the Caro. "I understand him just fine."

The Caro began to shrink, eventually becoming a version of itself that was no bigger than a hockey puck.

There was a purple flash as Kalen stowed it in that pocket of non-space that Rangers used for storage.

"And that's _my_ artifact," she said to herself. Turning back to Tommy, she continued, "Besides, you've got bigger things to worry about now, don't you? Being the Nexus and all?"

The Red Ranger sighed. "Yeah, I guess I do." His gaze fell on Jareth. "But first thing's first. Let's get him to the ship."

"Artifacts first," Kalen reminded him.

"We got what we came for, and you got your treasure," Tommy snapped. "I don't need any of this."

"Fine, then I'll take yours," the Purple Ranger said. "But what makes you think Cleora will let us leave without lightening his load?"

Tommy sighed, reaching out towards the shelf at his left and grabbing the first thing he could reach with his red-gloved hand…which happened to be a large red shield shaped like a dinosaur's head.

"Fine. Terina, Jareth, grab something and let's-"

There was a scarlet flash as the shield leapt in Tommy's hand, jumping to the back of his left forearm and magically replacing his normal, smaller shield-gauntlet.

"What the…" Tommy shook his arm, trying to see if the shield would come loose. It didn't, but a long, curved blade, like that of a sword, folded out from the front of the shield, extending forward from his wrist.

Three words echoed vaguely through his mind, like remnants of a half-forgotten dream.

"Shield of Triumph," Tommy repeated softly.

A second red flash, and the shield vanished, morphing back into his normal gauntlet. Though it was gone from sight, Tommy could still feel its presence, as though it had integrated itself with his powers.

"Looks like you're keeping it after all," Kalen said ruefully. "Ah, well. I still have all the answers in the world."

"Is everything okay, Tommy?" Terina called back to where the Red and Purple Rangers were still standing.

"Yeah," the Red Ranger said softly, still examining his arm, finding that he could make the shield disappear and reappear at will. "Yeah," he called back, more loudly. "Everything's fine. Grab something so we can go."

"Kay!" the Yellow Ranger called back, turning to follow Jareth as he continued to browse the shelves.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey, did you see this?"

Troy looked over at his partner, who sat in the passenger seat of their squad car, flipping through a newspaper.

"See what?"

"Anton Mercer's gone missing. Says here he hasn't been seen by anyone in three weeks."

Troy shrugged, turning back towards the road. "You know how it is with these corporate types, Nick. He probably just decided he needed a vacation. Didn't tell anyone where he was going because he didn't want to be disturbed."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Nick replied. "Guy's probably lying on some tropical beach right now, martini in hand, complaining that he's short an olive."

The radio abruptly crackled to life.

"Harper? Knight? You guys there?"

"We hear you," Nick said, picking the handset up off the dashboard and speaking into it. "What's the situation?"

"We have reports of a disturbance down at Willy's Road House. Shots fired."

"Who reported it?" Troy asked.

"The bartender. Kept raving about Power Rangers."

"Power Rangers," Troy said, trying to keep his face expressionless and his tone neutral. "Huh."

"I doubt it's true. Rangers don't have a history of using guns. But check it out anyway," the voice on the Radio said.

"We're on our way," Nick said, hanging up the radio.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

All across the floating island, enormous mechanical beasts looked up in annoyance as they were awakened by the engines of the Astro Megaship, which landed none-too-gently on the Animarium next to the Oasis. The silver-ribbed front of one of its landing struts slid open, and three figures exited, one having to be supported by the other two.

Tommy looked up at the drone-free, fully repaired surface of the Oasis.

"Home sweet home," Kalen said.

"Hear hear," Jareth muttered.

"You guys go ahead," Terina said from the Megaship's entrance. "I'll go return the Megaship to Station."

"But then how will you get home?" Tommy asked. "Teleportation is still offline."

"I can spend the night on Station. I don't sleep, remember." Terina hugged herself, looking even smaller than she was. "Besides, I…I need to spend some time alone."

"Cleora really did a number on you, didn't he?"

The look Terina shot Tommy was a haunted one, but she made a valiant effort to hide it with a smile. "You could definitely say that. Let me know about Jareth, okay?"

Turning, the Yellow Ranger reentered the Megaship, which lifted off and shot off into the clouds.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Myk ducked as Zen'Aku swung his massive, crescent-shaped sword in an attempt to sever the Ranger's head. Turning, the Bronze Ranger delivered an eagle-taloned kick to Zen'Aku's torso, knocking him back.

Seeing it coming, Deacon knelt down behind the wolf-masked Org, causing Zen'Aku, off-balance from Myk's kick, to fall back over him, landing on his back on the dingy floor of the tavern.

Rising, Deacon extruded his claws and slashed at the ground, aiming to impale Zen'Aku, but the Org rolled aside, causing Deacon's blades to lodge in the floorboards.

Zen'Aku's fist shot forward, and Deacon dodged as best he could with one hand stuck in the floor, jerking his head aside to avoid the blow. Black leather-clad knees and feet flew with blinding speed, all with the intent of causing grievous bodily harm.

The Bronze Ranger flew at Zen'Aku, fist-first, but the wolf-masked warrior reacted at the last possible moment, grabbing the flying Ranger by the arm and using his own momentum to throw him forward. Unable to dodge with his claws firmly embedded in the floor, Deacon was struck head-on by the ballistic Bronze Ranger. Torn free from the floor by the impact, the two tumbled end-over-end, coming to rest at the far side of the roadhouse against the wall.

Groggily, they regained their bearings and looked up to see Zen'Aku stalking toward them, Crescent Blade resting languidly on his shoulder.

Before either Ranger could even begin to think of an effective tactic, four small knives…dirks…appeared, their wavy, razor-keen blades glittering as they danced and spun in circles around Zen'Aku, circling him.

The Org froze, eyeing them warily. "Jindrax," he muttered.

No sooner was the word out of his mouth than the blades halted, oriented themselves so that they were each facing him, blade-first. They paused for only a moment, then rocketed forward, inward, shredding their way through his armor and flesh.

Zen'Aku dropped his sword and let out a savage howl, which quickly faltered as a savage growth of toxic green vines tore their way through the floorboards at his feet, entangling him and squeezing the breath from his lungs.

"Toxica!" he choked out.

Deacon and Myk jumped as a pair of figured moved near the bar…a young man with bizarre clothes and shaggy blonde hair, and an Asian woman with dark, dangerous eyes.

"Who are _you_?" Myk demanded.

"So glad you asked!" the man said. He grabbed the edge of his costume and somehow managed to throw the whole thing aside, revealing an identical suit underneath….but his head had changed, becoming a rigid ceramic mask with a long, sharp horn growing from his forehead.

"I am Jindrax, Master of Blades!"

The woman next to him twirled her fingers in an alluring, hypnotic pattern, her form shifted before their eyes, her clothing becoming turquoise-blue robes. Her features remained hidden, but were now concealed beneath a translucent veil that hung below a shark-shaped headpiece. Like Jindrax, she, too, had a long horn growing from her head. A knobbly staff appeared in her hand, seemingly made from a solid growth of poison ivy.

"And I am Toxica, Mistress of Magic," she said proudly.

"The Dynamic Duo is back!" Jindrax cried triumphantly.

"The Dynamic Duo was Batman and Robin," Deacon corrected.

"We used it first!" the clown cried defensively.

Zen'Aku chose that moment to exert a Herculean effort and break free from the entangling vines, dropping to a fighting stance on the floor.

"I've been waiting for eons to get revenge on the two of you," he growled. He held out his hand, and his sword jumped from the floor, leaping eagerly into his grasp. "A pity you came to me." He narrowed his burning golden eyes at the pair of Orgs.

"I was looking forward to the hunt."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You say Gasket launched a disk at him from his wrist?"

Tommy nodded.

Lolli squinted, running a scanner over Jareth.

"Did it get larger and extrude blades?"

"Yes," the Red Ranger replied. "You've seen it before?"

"Budgeonblades are standard on Machine Empire humanoids," Lolli replied. "But he can't have been hit by one."

"He was," Tommy argued.

"It's true," Jareth added hoarsely. "Trust me, I was there."

Lolli shook her head. "Even if the chainmail COULD keep him from being sliced in half, those things are fired with enough force to reduce human bones to dust. Check the X-rays yourself, his bones are all intact."

Diskette landed on one of the medbay's control consoles and jacked into it. The mechanical scanners around Jareth's cot sprung to life, performing a more thorough analysis.

"They're not _bone_," Diskette said, bafflement in her electronic voice.

"What?" Lolli asked, moving to view the screens.

"What?" Jareth and Tommy echoed.

"She's right," the Green Ranger confirmed a moment later. "Your bones aren't made of calcium anymore. They're…something else."

"What are they?" the Gold Ranger demanded.

The image on the screen became one of a complex-looking molecule.

"If I had to guess? I'd say some sort of flexible organic crystal. Nothing I've ever seen before."

"How did that happen?" Diskette asked.

"The spell?" Tommy suggested. "The one that keeps changing him?"

"I guess," Lolli said noncommittally. She typed away at the panel.

The image shifted, now displaying a transparent humanoid figure being struck by a bladed disk in slow-motion.

"The chainmail blocked the blades, and his ribs bent instead of breaking. They punctured his lung, that's why the bleeding. Some other organ damage, too. Mostly bruising, and the muscles have torn away from his ribs. Quite nasty. But not surprising."

"Will he be okay?" Tommy asked.

"Nothing a tissue regenerator and a decent night's sleep won't fix."

Diskette zipped over and helped Jareth to remove his shirts, and the chainmail garment between them, then slapped an adhesive device to his side.

Tommy let out a low whistle upon seeing the roadmap of scars that crisscrossed Jareth's torso, particularly the nasty mess of scars around his left shoulder. "What happened to you?"

"I'm a Power Ranger who sucks at fighting," the Gold Ranger replied flatly.

"He's got a thicker medical record than any of us," Lolli said, walking over and taking the woven metal shirt from the droid, examining it closely. Diskette retrieved a small facemask attached to a tiny canister and proceeded to gas Jareth with it.

"What's this made of?" She asked.

"No idea," Jareth replied, lying back on the cot wearily as Diskette removed the mask. "Shayla gave it to me."

"I just got done being Shayla," Lolli said offhandedly. "Didn't really care for it. I hate dresses."

"There's a shock."

Lolli shot a half-hearted glare at him.

"Umm…where are the others?" Tommy broke in, trying to steer towards a more comfortable topic.

"Angel portaled home to that cave of his."

"He doesn't live in a cave," the Gold Ranger muttered, already half-asleep from the sedative. "He lives in a grove."

"Cave, grove, whatever. Can't imagine how he lives without electricity."

Any answer Jareth may have made was too mumbled and low to be comprehensible.

"And the others?"

"Myk and Deacon went after Zen'Aku."

"Who?" Tommy asked.

"Ooh, boy," Diskette piped in. "Did _you_ ever miss a party."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick and Troy entered the building, guns drawn, to find it occupied by one wolf-masked man in leather armor, two Power Rangers, a clown with a horn on his head, and a woman dressed as a shark.

"Where do we start?" Nick asked, eyes forward.

His only answer came in the form of a solid blow to the head, courtesy of the butt of Troy's own gun, which he then holstered, conjuring his morpher. As his partner hit the ground, unconscious, Troy held the device out before him.

"**Triceratops!"**

A blinding blue flash lit the room, replacing his human body with the armored form of the Blue Ranger.

Everyone in the room paused what they were doing, distracted by the flash. Turning to see what it was, they found themselves facing the business end of a red laser pistol.

Three shots blasted across the room, striking Zen'Aku, Jindrax, and Toxica right between the eyes. All three fell to the ground, clutching their faces.

"No!" Deacon cried. "Just the black one! The other two are on our side."

"They are?" Troy asked, puzzled.

"Yes!" both Rangers, as well as the two Orgs in question, yelled back.

"Oh. Um. Sorry," the Blue Ranger offered, moving to stand next to Myk and Deacon, keeping his Blade Blaster leveled at Zen'Aku.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Which one's Zen'Aku?" Tommy asked.

Lolli crossed her arms and peered down into the rippling surface of the sacred pool. "That one. The one in black."

"Your friends seem to fairing fairly well," Shayla said helpfully.

"I should go down and-"

"No, you shouldn't," Lolli interrupted. "If you open that portal, he might be able to get back up here through it. And we went through a lot to kick him out."

"I wouldn't worry," a familiar voice called.

Tommy was so used to this by now that he didn't even flinch at Kite's sudden appearance.

"And why's that?' the Red Ranger asked resignedly.

"Almost everything that lives on this plane can be killed," Kite replied, walking over to the pond and peering in. "It's the downside to being here. It's usually just a matter of how."

"So what's Zen'Aku's weakness?"

"The moon," Shayla replied. "His power waxes and wanes with the phases of moon."

Tommy glanced up at the silvery disk that shone above them.

"Full moon tonight," he observed. "That means he's at his strongest."

"Are you familiar with the concept of a lunar eclipse?" Kite asked.

"Of course. It's when Terra's shadow cloaks the moon," Lolli said. "There won't be another one until next year. Unless you can make the planet move faster."

"That's a tall order, even for me," Kite admitted. "But I think there is _something _I can do…"

Kite snapped his fingers, producing a small shower of metallic-colored sparks.

Tommy, Lolli, and Shayla all wavered, trying to keep their balance as the Animarium suddenly lurched beneath them.

"Woah. What'd you do?" Tommy asked. "Kite? Kite?!"

"Gone again," Lolli observed.

"He does have a flair for the dramatic," Shayla admitted.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Stand back," Deacon ordered, his friends and new allies falling into position behind him. **"Battleizer Beam!"**

Keeping his hands flat out to the sides, he concentrated, focusing energy into the large, sapphire-blue gem set into the front of his collar. The gem began to glow, more and more brightly, finally releasing its charge as a focused pulse of blue light.

Zen'Aku braced himself, standing his ground as the beam struck him head-on. His leather armor began to blister and crack, but the Org stood firm, forcing himself to take step after painful step towards the Rangers.

Deacon focused, narrowing his beam, directing still more power into the steady pulse of energy, but the Org forced his way closer, step by step, until…

SMASH!

Deacon shuddered, a shock going through his armored form as Zen'Aku's fist shot forward, smashing the spherical gemstone that adorned the Battleized Ranger's armor.

Seizing him by the throat and belt-buckle, Zen'Aku lifted the Ranger and heaved him away, sending him flying back against the wall behind the masked Org. The Silver Ranger slid to the ground, landing in a painful, upside-down heap. There was a bright flash, and his Battleized enhancements faded away, though he managed to exert enough focus to remain morphed.

The wolf-like Org melted into a purple streak that ricocheted off the walls, sending both Myk and Troy flying into walls on opposite ends of the roadhouse, smoking slashes in their armor.

Jindrax and Toxica exchanged a glance, then assumed fighting stances as Zen'Aku approached, murder in his fiery golden eyes.

Toxica leapt aside as a downward slash from Zen'Aku's sword smashed through the floor where she'd been standing.

Yanking his blade free, the masked Org took a step towards Jindrax, swiping at him, but the clownish Org raised a hand, and the blade stopped mid-swing.

Perplexed, the wolf-masked warrior tugged at his sword, but it would no longer move…in any direction. Letting go, he took a step back, gazing at his weapon as it continued to hover rigidly in mid-air.

"Hello?" Jindrax said. "Master of _Blades_? Have you not been paying attention?"

Growling, Zen'Aku stepped around the blade, jumping forward and dropping to the ground, kicking his legs in a low sweep intended to knock Jindrax's feet out from under him.

Jindrax chuckled, backflipping away, then gestured with his hands at something behind his opponent.

Zen'Aku turned around, just in time to see his own blade, moving towards him of its own volition…or, more accurately, of Jindrax's volition.

Ducking and weaving, Zen'Aku dodged the motions of his sword, dancing away from it.

Toxica smiled, watching her former master as he was forced up against the ropes by his own sword. Grinning, she waved her staff, gesturing towards the fragments of broken wood that had been torn free from the floor by her vines earlier.

The shards of hardwood lifted into the air, rushed forward, and began pelting Zen'Aku, distracting him from his efforts to dodge his blade.

Growling, the lupine warrior redoubled his efforts, ducking chunks of rock-hard wood in addition to the darting movements of his blade. His situation grew still more dire as pitchers, mugs, plates, silverware, billiard balls, and anything else that wasn't nailed down joined the lethal barrage. Catching sight of Toxica out of the corner of his eye as she directed the debris, he smirked, maneuvering his way towards one of the few chairs in the tavern that still remained unbroken.

As soon as it was within reach, he gave it a precise kick, sending it sliding along the floor towards Toxica. The blue-robed witch let out a surprised cry as the chair knocked her legs out from under her, sending her tumbling to the floor in a disshelved heap. Instantly, all the chunks of floorboard and furniture dropped, lifeless, to the floor.

Zen'Aku clapped his hands together as the sword darted in for a stabbing thrust at his face, pinning the wide blade between his palms.

"I grow tired of your games, Duke Orgs," he snarled.

There was a small jolt as something made of wood snapped over his head.

Blinking, Zen'Aku looked down to see the narrow end of a pool cue lying on the ground in front of him. A glance over his shoulder revealed the Silver Ranger, the other half of the cue still in his hands.

Abruptly seizing the sword by its handle and thrusting it into the ground where it stuck fast into the floorboards, he turned to face Deacon.

"A stick?" Zen'Aku asked incredulously. "Seriously? You attacked _me _with a _stick_?"

Deacon shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

Zen'Aku took a step towards the Ranger, but that was as far as he got.

"Zen'Aku!"

Zen'Aku turned to see a distressing sight: Toxica, her staff leveled in his direction, Troy, Tricera Lance crackling with blue lightning. And Myk, the shining white blade of an enchanted longsword pointed right at him.

A tremendous surge of energy flashed out at him as all three attacked at once, blasting him back, lifting him off his feet and throwing him bodily through the air. His leather-armored form went crashing through the shoddily-built walls of the tavern, only to come tumbling to a halt against the gravel of the crude parking lot outside.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Mmm," Jareth groaned, waking groggily from a somewhat fitful sleep. He sat up, evoking a stabbing pain from his side.

"Ow," he said helpfully. "Maybe we should just stay down for a while."

"But I'm thirsty," he argued.

"How thirsty?"

"Very thirsty."

"Okay, then. You can get a drink, but then you're laying right back down. No excitement for you, mister."

"Sheesh," Jareth complained, climbing out of the cot and getting himself a drink from the nearby water cooler. "What are you, my mother?"

Downing the water at a single draft, he tossed the cup at one of the rectangular panels set into the wall. For the first time ever, it failed to open to catch the trash.

The Gold Ranger blinked at it, then blinked down at the cup on the ground.

"Meh," he told it, turning away and heading back to his cot.

"Not like we're sleeping so well, anyway," he reminded himself. "We've never been able to sleep without…"

He stopped in his tracks, spotting something lying on the table next to his bed. Something he'd never really expected to see again.

Smiling, he picked up the fluffy, worn teddy bear. It had clearly been torn open, but someone had lovingly stitched it back together.

A small piece of black paper was tied around the bear's neck with a white ribbon. Removing it, he unfolded the card and held it up to the dim light. Elegant letters in silver ink spelled out a short, simple message.

_I think this belongs to you._

_Get well soon._

_-Lecca_

Smiling, Jareth lay back down on his cot, and, cuddling his bear, fell back into a deeper, more peaceful sleep.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Somewhat groggily, Zen'Aku hauled himself to his feet, his vision refocusing just in time to see all five of his opponents exit the roadhouse through the hole he'd left in the wall, forming ranks before him.

The Bronze Ranger, striking his idiotic pose. The Silver Ranger, a sword in either hand. Toxica, staff aimed in his direction. The Blue Ranger, gun in one hand, a glowing shield of red light on the other. Jindrax, twirling his dirks.

Cattle for the slaughter, all of them.

Clenching his fist, the Org called his weapon, which vanished from within the tavern and reappeared in his hand.

He took a step towards the group…and suddenly faltered, an inexplicable wave of weakness washing over him.

Glancing up, he saw the silvery disk of the full moon overhead, just as it was silhouetted by a shadowy shape reminiscent of a turtle.

The Animarium had eclipsed the moon.

The fiery golden glow in his eyes faded to the faintest of embers as he lowered his gaze from the heavens, back down to his enemies.

"This isn't over," he promised, mustering up all the energy his could before it all drained away.

Then, melting into a bolt of purple light, he rocketed off into the thick trees that surrounded the building, vanishing into the forest.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Well, that was…an experience," Deacon said, as he and the others reentered the roadhouse. "Think there's any point in trying to rebuild this place?"

"If that bartender was smart, he'll have had insurance," Troy replied, demorphing with a bright blue flash.

"He wasn't, really," Toxica commented.

"Well, thanks for your help," Jindrax said. "You guys were great. Don't know how we could have done it without you."

"What are you two going to do now?" Myk asked.

"Zen'Aku will be off licking his wounds for a while," Toxica replied. "Now's the perfect time to strike. We'll find him and finish him off."

Deacon turned to Myk. "So how do we get back to the Animarium?"

Myk considered. "It's right above us. I can probably fly us there…"

As he spoke, there was a surge of energy, and a portal opened right next to them.

"No need for that," Princess Shayla said, sticking her head through. "Just come on through, while it's safe."

"Princess Shayla!" Jindrax cried, waving. "Hi! Remember me?"

Shayla smiled at him. "Jindrax. How could I forget? If there's any way I can thank you for all your help…"

"Well, now that you mention it…"

Toxica looked from Jindrax, to the princess, and back to Jindrax again, her expression growing less and less pleasant. She gave her friend a half-playful punch on the arm.

"Ow! What'd you do that for?"

"Quit making moon eyes!" Toxica chastised. "We've got work to do." Grabbing him by the arm, she dragged him from the building.

"Ow! Hey, watch it! Bye princess, gotta go, maybe I'll see you in another three thousand years…Hey, that hurts, don't pull!"

Troy shook his head, watching as the two left. Sighing, he pulled his gun and took aim, shooting the roadhouse's surveillance camera.

Deacon blinked as the Blue Ranger turned to him and handed him his gun.

"Do me a favor?"

"Umm…sure?" the Silver Ranger agreed, puzzled.

Troy turned around, his back to Deacon. "Hit me over the head."

"What?"

Troy sighed. "Just do it? There'll be fewer questions asked if they find us both out cold," he explained, gesturing to where his partner was still stretched out on the floor.

"Oh, I get it," Deacon said. He shrugged. "Okay, if you say so. Nighty-night."

Careful not to cause serious damage with his Ranger-enhanced strength, Deacon knocked Troy over the head with the handle of his own gun, then dropped the firearm to the ground next to him as he collapsed.

He turned to Myk. "Come on, let's go home."

"You go. I'm going to stay here, help clean this place up a bit. After all, we made the mess." Sensing Deacon's uncertainty, he added, "Don't worry, I'll leave before more Enforcers get here."

Deacon shrugged. "Okay. Have fun."

The Silver Ranger stepped through the portal.

"You fly, right?" Shayla asked.

Myk nodded. "I'll make my way back to the Animarium when I'm done."

"All right," the Princess said. "Just don't take too long."

She pulled in her head and the portal closed with a flash.

Myk smiled slowly, a fiendish glow coming to his eyes. "Don't worry," he said softly. "This won't take long."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zen'Aku scowled as best as his wolf-masked face was able, arms crossed, leaning idly against a convenient tree deep in the woods, far from the tavern where his former servants had bested him. This time.

Jindrax and Toxica. He owed them as much as he owed the Princess, if not more. She was out of his reach, for now. They weren't.

He started as the sound of footsteps began to draw near, twigs and leaves on the forest floor snapping under someone's weight.

"Who's there?" he demanded, crescent-shaped sword in hand. "Show yourself."

"Right over here, Zen'Aku," a voice said. A cloaked figure stepped out from between the thick trees.

"You speak my name as though I was an underling," Zen'Aku growled. "Do you even know whom you face?"

"Do you?"

"You speak in riddles. What is your business here?"

"I've come to make you an offer," the Stranger replied.

"And what have you to offer me?"

"The opportunity to serve me," the Stranger replied sharply. Then his voice softened again. "And in the process, to obtain your own goals. Vengeance on those who have wronged you, I believe, is your motivation? Your former lackeys? The Princess?"

The stranger leaned back against a tree across from Zen'Aku, examining his nails in the moonlight, though his face remained covered. "I'm a collector of sorts, you see. When I encounter a powerful being who is not long for this world, I offer them a chance to live a bit longer than fate would have it. And all they must do," he continued. "is swear to serve me."

"I need no one's help," Zen'Aku replied flatly. "And my time upon this world is nowhere near its end."

"Do you decline my offer?"

"I do."

"Then I'm afraid you're wrong about that."

A dazzling flash illuminated the small clearing, blinding Zen'Aku and taking him by surprise. Before the Org could even raise his sword, the Stranger's shining white blade entered his chest, point-first, driving itself through his heart and nailing him to the tree behind him.

The crescent-shaped blade fell from his gauntleted hand, striking the earth with a dull _thud_ as the sword's dazzling glow began to intensify. As it did, he felt himself begin to weaken, as though the blade were drawing away his life force…which, he realized with horror, was exactly what it was doing.

Vibrating with power, the sword began to sing, a single, shrill note that split the air as its blinding light flashed through the forest.

And then, suddenly, it stopped. The Stranger withdrew his blade, which had settled down to a dull, pale glow, barely brighter than that of the moon.

A sinewy, pale figure fell to his knees, a dark red stain spreading across the otherwise spotless white linen that covered his chest.

As he fell to his hands and knees, a cold, lifeless piece of ceramic fell from his face to the ground. He blinked, his blurry vision focusing on the wolf mask that lay before him.

"Still not enough," he heard a disappointed voice above him say. He looked up to see a shrouded figure, pulling back his hood to reveal the face of a haunted-looking young man. Skin that had clearly once been olive was now a sickly beige, dark circles rimmed his eyes. Most of his shaggy hair was shortish, except for two bits in the front that had been gelled up into horns. A glowing white sword was in his hand, and he was examining the blade sullenly.

"Who…where…?"

Myk smiled kindly down at the pale, shaking man that knelt, bleeding to death, at his feet. He knelt down to look him in the eye.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Merrick."

Dorn's blade sang out in a wide arc. Something flew up into the air, then landed with a gentle thud nearby. Merrick's headless body did likewise, falling forward into the dirt.

"Oh, come now. Don't look at me like that," Myk said, gazing over into Merrick's unseeing eyes. "You've bled to dead inside an hour anyway."

The Bronze Ranger picked up the wolf mask and pulled himself to his feet using his sword. He held the wolf mask up to the moonlight, admiring it for a moment, then tucked it away inside his cloak.

"I'll be sure to give the princess your regards," he told Merrick's corpse, echoing Zen'Aku's earlier words to him.

Then, turning, he strolled off into the forest, whistling merrily as he went, Dorn's blade lighting his path through the trees.


	80. Conversational Interlude V

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 80: Conversational Interlude V

Fox glared across the table.

"I'm right," she said.

"You're wrong," Deacon argued. "You're _so_ wrong. Never has anyone in history been so wrong."

"I'm right," the Camoflage Ranger insisted.

"You're wrong."

"I'm right."

"You're wrong."

"I'm wrong."

"You're right," Deacon replied automatically. Then, catching on, "Oh, son of a-"

"Yes!" Fox pumped her arm into the air. "Haha! Victory is mine!"

"What was the topic?" Lolli asked, having slid into the lounge part-way through the argument.

The Camo Ranger opened her mouth to reply, but just as quickly closed it again. She and Deacon exchanged confused looks as Lolli sat at the table next to them.

"What were we talking about again?" she asked.

"Damned if I know," the Silver Ranger admitted. He turned to Jareth, who was curled up in the nearby armchair, poring over a thick, leather-bound book. "Do you know what we were arguing about?"

"Not a clue," the Gold Ranger replied.

The doors at one end of the lounge slid open, and Tommy hopped in.

"Has anyone seen my shoe?" he asked.

Jareth glanced up from his book. "It's on your foot," he replied, returning his eyes to the text.

The Red Ranger rolled his eyes. "Has anyone seen the one that's missing?"

"Now, how can we have seen it if it's missing?"

Tommy slumped against the doorframe, shaking his head incredulously. 'Why do I even talk to you?" he asked.

"Doesn't seem to be much point, does there?" Jareth agreed, turning the page.

"It's over there by the sofa, Tommy," Lolli offered.

"Thank you," Tommy said, shooting a pointed glare at the oblivious Gold Ranger. He hopped over and retrieved the wayward footwear.

"How'd it get over there?" Fox asked.

"Drone's been spazzing ever since the ship was rebuilt," Lolli replied. "It happens when he has to recalibrate his operating systems to function through several hundred thousand units, then condense back into one again."

"So how much longer will he be randomly moving things?" Deacon inquired.

"Probably a few more days," Lolli replied. "So hide your valuables."

"You know, I was surprised that it only took a few days to get this ship in ship-shape again," Tommy said. "Wasn't the estimate for a couple weeks?"

"Well, that's why they call it an estimate," the Green Ranger dismissed. "Could be more, could be less. She still won't be flying anywhere anytime soon. And the lower levels are a mess. Only the habitat level is really back to normal. Oh, I almost forgot," she said suddenly, turning towards Jareth. "I've finished analyzing your chainmail, so you can have it back now. It's in the lab."

"Thanks, I'll pick it up later. What was it made of, anyway?"

Lolli was forced to say something that she very rarely had to say.

"I don't know," she replied. "It doesn't match any of the metals the Oasis has on record, and it's not anything I recognize. And any tests I could have used to identify it would have probably melted it. Strong, though. Those Animarians knew their metallurgy."

"We could ask Shayla," Tommy offered.

"If you can drag her away from Myk," Deacon said. "I don't think those two have been apart at all in the last week."

"The Princess and the Paladin," Jareth mused. He rolled his eyes, then returned them to the pages of his tome. "Please, dear gods, don't let Disney touch that one."


	81. In a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 81: In a Galaxy Far, Far Away…

"Ban!"

The Red Ranger glanced down at the console of his SWAT flyer.

"What is it, partner?"

"Don't call me partner," the voice on the line snapped. "I've located Ichthior. Third moon, fourth planet of the Fernovia system."

"Good work, Hoji!" Ban replied. "Let's get in there and fry that fish."

"Fernovia…," another voice crackled over the comlink. That was Jasmine, the Yellow Ranger. "How did you ever manage to run a trace there? The ion field around that planet makes scanners almost useless."

"I never said it was easy," Hoji replied, a hint of smugness in his voice.

"If he's on Fernovia, he's probably after the Kryllium," Sen chimed in. "He'll go for the mining stations."

Ban frowned. The Green Ranger was probably right…Ichthior had already stolen Triforian water, as well as shipments of various spices from Edenoi, Mirinoi, and Aquitar. Blended properly and with Kryllium thrown in, he'd have everything he'd need to make stardust, one of the most potent, addictive, and illegal drugs known to sentient life.

"Uh-oh," Umeko's voice said. "Mecha, dead ahead."

As the five small fighters converged on the moon, a mechanized construct came into view, floating in space just outside the planetoid's atmosphere. Ichthior's Mecha, the one he'd been using to highjack the Spice shipments, overseeing the raids on the mining stations. It, too, had been assembled using the finest in black market parts…not an opponent to be taken lightly. It raised its mechanical head as the shuttles drew near, taking notice of their approach.

"Time to bring 'em together," Hoji's voice calmly stated.

"You got it, partner."

"_Don't_ call me partner!"

As the Rangers activated their zords' transformations systems, their flyers began to convert, some splitting apart, others merely changing in shape, becoming parts of a robot every bit as large as Ichthior's. The parts converged, fitting together perfectly, forming an angular winged construct that was more or less humanoid, having two arms and two legs. Last of all, a head emerged from the top, rotating as it snapped into place.

"Swat Megazord online," Jasmine stated.

The Mecha turned to face them as the Swat Megazord flew towards it, the jets in its feet carrying it at a rapid pace. Had there been air, there would have been a colossal clang of metal against metal as the two collided, grapping as the flipped end-over-end through the void.

The Mecha raised one of its legs, kneeing the Swat Megazord in the midsection, striking sparks as it pushed free. Raising its elbows, the Mecha revealed that it had twin missile bays concealed along the bottom of each forearm, panels sliding back to reveal the warheads.

The missiles screamed through space, leaving trails of white smoke behind them as the soared towards the Rangers.

"Watch out!" Ban cried.

Spinning, the Swat Megazord swung its leg in a wide kick, the missiles exploding against its foot relatively harmlessly as they were blocked from the Zord's main body.

"Our turn!" Umeko said triumphantly, operating her controls.

The Megazord produced a massive pair of handguns and leveled them at the Mecha, releasing a devastating barrage of high-energy blasts. The Mecha tried to block with its large, shield-like arms, but one blast made it through, striking it soundly in the head.

There was an expectant pause, but the Mecha failed to move after that, except for a few slight twitches and jerks.

"I think we damaged it," Sen ventured.

"Wait…what's that?" Ban asked.

As the Rangers watched, a panel slid back atop the Mecha's head, and something small shot free…an escape pod. It hovered for a moment, as if getting its bearings, then shot out into space.

"Was that Ichthior?" Jasmine inquired.

"Negative," Hoji replied. "No life signs aboard."

"Decoy," Sen called. "Cheap trick."

There was a flare of red light from the planet below, a plume of fire.

"That was one of the mining stations," Umeko said. "We need to get down there."

Leaving the inert Mecha floating harmlessly in space, the Swat Megazord descended through the moon's atmosphere, landing near the ruins of the station. The Rangers disembarked, exploring the area cautiously.

Umeko knelt down by what was unmistakably the scorched and blacked body of a Fernovian. Sentient, plantlike creatures, dead Fernovians tended to smell like rotten seaweed. The corpses of other species also lay nearby, some recognizable, some not…the remains of the other miners who'd worked at this station.

"What do you think?" Hoji asked.

"I'd say Ichthior tried to take the Kryllium," Sen guessed. "And they didn't want to give it."

"Resisting wasn't too bright," a hissing voice chimed in. The Rangers spun around to see a fishlike humanoid alien standing behind them, clothed from the neck down in supple black armor. "And the next station I visit will know that."

"Ichthior!" Hoji said. He took a step forward and whipped out his morpher, pointing it at the alien. Pressing the button on top, he flipped it open. "You are under arrest for multiple murders, smuggling, building and operating unlicenced Mechas, and-"

"And probably a few other things that we've forgotten," Ban added.

"Yes, just what _did_ you do to my Mecha?" Ichthior asked, as the badge began to assess his guilt, alternately flashing a green circle and a red X. "Its brain escaped during the battle. Do you know how expensive Series One Prototype Hyper Intelligent Encrypters _are_?"

A buzzing sound answered him as the badge delivered its verdict…the X.

"Guilty!" Jasmine said. "Delete approved."

Ichthior chuckled, drawing the sword from the scabbard at his side.

"Ocean Saber! Sea Strike!"

Before any of the Rangers could react, he darted forward, his blade flashing through the air, seeming to fill the air around him. Not merely sparks but full flashes of fire flew from the Rangers' armor as their Dekametal suits tried to absorb the damage.

Ichthior sheathed his blade as the Rangers fell, turning to face them.

"Delete me? I think _not_. Tell that flea-bitten Commander of yours that when he's serious about bringing me in, to come do it himself instead of sending his pups."

And with that, Ichthior was gone.

"Dammit!" Sen said, pulling himself to his feet. He demorphed, as there was no longer a need for the armor. The other Rangers followed suit, their Dekametal shattering and vanishing as it fell to the ground.

"Nice going, Hoji," Ban said.

"Excuse me?" the Blue Ranger blinked incredulously. "This was MY fault?"

"You just HAD to whip out the Judgment Scanner. We already KNEW he was guilty."

"We have to scan all Alienizers before Delete. You know that Regulation 32-B says that-"

"That we have to give every criminal a chance to make a clean getaway?" Ban finished. "We could have had him if we'd just attacked right away."

A bleep from Ban's SPD license interrupted the argument.

"Boss?" Ban answered, holding up the morpher.

"A-Squad. Report," a deep, smooth voice commanded.

"Ichthior escaped," Jasmine stated. "But I don't think he had a chance to gather any Kryllium."

"Did you track his trajectory?"

"We tried, but the ion field surrounding this planet scrambled our trace," Umeko replied. The Pink Ranger's expression was abashed.

"Wait," Sen said.

The others all turned to stare at the Green Ranger as he turned upside-down, standing on his head.

"Sen…," Hoji started slowly, as if wondering about his teammate's sanity.

"Wait," Sen repeated, his eyes closed.

The Blue Ranger traded mystified glances with the other three Rangers. None of them seemed to have a clue what this was about, either.

"I got it!" Sen exclaimed after a moment, his eyes flying open. He flipped back to his feet. "During the fight, something got ejected from his Mecha, remember? And he mentioned that he'd lost his Encrypter, and that they were hard to come by."

"Which means if the part the Mecha lost was the Encrypter, Ichthior might try to get it back," Hoji finished. "So if we follow the trajectory of the Encrypter, we might find Ichthior."

"Do it," the voice on the other side of the communication ordered. "Report back when you have the location of the Encrypter."

"Roger," Ban replied, saluting even though the commander couldn't have seen him anyway.

"What _was_ that?" Jasmine asked, turning a critical eye towards Sen as Ban cut the transmission.

"What was what?" he asked.

"Standing on your head?"

"Oh. I heard that you can think better in that position. More blood goes to your brain."

"Who told you that?" Umeko asked.

Sen hesitated to reply. "Just…a friend."

"You've been talking to the weird one again," Ban accused.

Sen started to retort with "He's not weird!", but stopped himself, knowing that there was no evidence whatsoever to support that argument. "Well, it worked, didn't it?" he demanded instead.

"Yeah, I guess it did," Jasmine allowed. "Come on. Let's get back to the Megazord and run the trace…"

There was a loud bleeping as all five communicators went off at once.

"Scratch that previous command, Rangers," the Commander said. "An Ectomorphicon is attacking one of the other planets in your System. You know what that means."

"Ooze," Umeko said dismally, shuddering with disgust. The last time they'd tangled with Ivan Ooze, she'd spent a week in the tub, trying to scrub purple slime out of her hair, finally being forced to cut it out with scissors.

"Correct. Get over there and stop him. I'm uploading the coordinates to your licenses."

"Boss, what about Ichthior?" Hoji asked.

"I've already run the trace on the Encrypter you mentioned. It's heading for a star system called Sol. Western Spiral Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. There's only one inhabited planet in that system, so that's probably where it'll go."

"Should we go there once we've finished with the Ectomorphicon?" Ban inquired.

There was a pause while the Commander considered.

"Negative," he finally answered. "I'm sending the B-Squad."

The Rangers exchanged apprehensive glances.

"Are you sure that's wise, sir?" Jasmine asked.

"I'm fairly sure it isn't," the Commander replied dryly. "You have your orders, Rangers. Move out."

"Roger!" the five said in unison. Cutting the transmission and holstering their morphers, they started walking toward their Megazord, already feeling sorry for the inhabitants of this planet on the Western Spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, in the Sol System.

After all, B-Squad was B-Squad for a reason.


	82. Over the Rainbow Part I

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 82: Over the Rainbow (Part I)

"Duck!"

Tommy's head whipped around, just in time to spot the rapidly approaching danger. Eyes wide behind his visor, he ducked.

Tearing through the air at speeds no human was ever meant to achieve, the Gold Ranger flew over him with a wail, crashing into the wall of a nearby building and sliding to the sidewalk.

Twirling his sword around himself in a dance of razor-sharp metal, the Red Ranger mowed down the few Tengas that still surrounded him and rushed over to his fellow Ranger's side.

"Are you okay?" he asked, helping the Gold Ranger to his feet.

"Duck," Jareth replied groggily.

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "I already-"

Jareth shook his head, gravel falling from the shaggy brown lion's mane of his helmet. "No," he corrected, pointing back in the direction from which he'd been thrown. "Duck!"

Tommy looked…and blinked in astonishment. Standing in the middle of the street, what few Tengas that remained standing regrouping around it, was one of the most ridiculous-looking monsters Tommy has ever seen.

It was a rubber ducky. Or rather, in place of a head, a giant rubber ducky was attached to its neck. From the neck down, it appeared to have been made out of sewn-together loofas, through it had scrub brushes for hands and feet.

"Fear me!" It cried, in exactly the sort of squeaky voice one would expect from a rubber duck. "For I am Sudsine, Master of-"

"First Tengas attacking a public library, now this," Deacon commented, appearing beside them, shaking tar-black blood off his swords. The Green, Pink, and White Rangers also joined them, abandoning their campaign against the individual Tenga warriors and grouping together in light of this new 'threat'. Murphy, the mechanical dog, stayed close to Lolli, keeping his optical sensors trained on the monster, metal hackles raised.

"Get the impression Zedd's not even trying anymore?" Stephen asked.

"Hey!" Sudsine demanded, outraged. "I'm talking here!"

"Let's thin out the crowd," Lolli suggested.

**"Star Shower!"** the White Ranger invoked, raising his hands towards the sky. A thin, focused pulse of light shot up into the sky, then faded.

There was an expectant pause.

"Well?" Deacon asked.

"Wait for it," Stephen advised.

Barely a second later, beads of white light began to rain from the sky like meteorites, tearing through the Tengas as they made their way to the ground, where they shattered into tiny sparks that quickly faded away. Sticky black blood and greasy feathers flew in all directions, loud agonized squawks filling the air as the Tengas were brutally slain.

Deacon let out a low whistle as the last Tenga fell over, stone dead. "Not bad."

Mara tilted her head. "How come _he_ gets the only attack that doesn't obliterate the landscape?"

Stephen shrugged smugly.

Tommy inched forward and nudged the ridiculous monster with the tip of his sword.

"Is it dead?" Jareth called.

Before Tommy could answer, the Loofa monster's brushlike hand closed around the blade of the Red Ranger's weapon, wrenched it from his grasp, and swung it like a club, bashing Tommy upside the helmet with the handle. Tommy staggered back, dazed, his helmet dented and visor cracked.

"You'll have to do better than that!" the monster squeaked, climbing to his feet.

"Well?" Jareth asked, seemingly oblivious to what had just happened. "Is it dead?"

Tommy looked at him incredulously, wishing he could see the Gold Ranger's face so he could tell if he was kidding, and wondering whether that would even help.

"No!" he replied, as his visor finished uncracking. "It's not dead!"

"Oh. Then let's kill it."

"Good idea," the Pink Ranger broke in, her bow appearing in her hand with a flash of pink light. She nocked a pink energy arrow, aiming right between the duck's rubber eyes. "Say cheese."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey! He squeaks."

"They just jump-kicked his head from both sides at once," Ornyk observed. "You'd squeak too."

Panika ignored her brother, leaning forward to get a better view, ignoring her precarious position at the edge of the library's roof. Not that it mattered…gravity ignored it as well.

"What, by the way, possessed you to make a monster out of _loofas_?"

The bizarrely-dressed girl looked up at Ornyk blankly.

The wolflike alien sighed. "Yes, yes, of course. Forgot to whom I was speaking. Never mind."

"Oh, look," Panika said idly, pointing as a portal opened on the ground below and the Yellow Ranger emerged. "More. See, I told you they'd need reinforcements."

"I think it more likely she simply wanted to come laugh at this monster in person."

Panika stuck her tongue out at her brother, then turned back to the battle on the streets below.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

From out of nowhere, a long coiled braid snaked out, ensnaring the loofa monster's legs. With a surprised squeak, he looked down, flailing his arms as his feet were yanked out from under him. He collapsed, face first to the pavement.

The others blinked as the whip uncoiled, retracting back into a handle in Terina's hand.

"Where'd you get _that_?" Tommy asked as the Yellow Ranger trotted over to them, making a point of stepping on the monster in the process.

"This?" she asked, opening her hand to reveal a sword-hilt, seemingly carved from glowing blue-white crystal. It was rough-hewn, as though carved by a novice, except for the flawless sphere that served as a pommel jewel. The sphere shone a bright yellow, whirling like the wind. "Got it from Cleora's hoard."

"That's the Atma Weapon," Jareth said. "It's supposed to change in form and power to match the true nature of the person who wields it."

Terina glanced at it, somewhat distastefully. "Yeah. I'd kinda guessed that." She held it out to him. "Wanna try it?"

Jareth reached for it, but paused. "Um. Maybe I better not."

"You little _prick_!"

The Rangers turned back towards the monster as it climbed back to its feet, looking as furious as a rubber duck can.

"Are we through playing?" Stephen asked.

"I think so," Tommy said. He drew the sword from his back and extruded the hook-blades from his shield. The others drew away from him as he held them straight out to the sides and began to spin, becoming a lethal red tornado that rushed forward, carving through the monster. Sparks of magical energy and bits of shredded loofa sprayed out into the air as the Red Ranger tore his way past, spinning to a halt.

Sudsine let out an agonized squeal, falling to the ground again, this time exploding on impact, producing a massive spray of soapsuds.

Deacon deliberately wiped the foam from his visor and flung it to the ground. "Thanks," he said dryly.

Tommy shrugged. "Sorry. Didn't know he'd do that." He sheathed his sword and claws. "Man, I have seen some bizarre monsters in my day, but loofas? What was Zedd _thinking_?"

There was an outcry as Murphy shook, spraying foam in all directions.

"Warn us when you're gonna do that," Mara complained.

The robotic dog looked sheepish for a moment, then suddenly perked up his ears and began barking at the ground near the Yellow Ranger's feet.

"Something wrong, boy?" Lolli asked.

There was an abrupt shifting beneath their feet as the concrete began to ripple like water. Something red and black suddenly surged up through the pavement, directly beneath Terina, snatching the Atma Weapon from her hand.

"Hey!" she cried. Murphy went wild, barking loudly at Panika.

"Why does everyone always give Zedd the credit?" Panika asked casually, fiddling with the weapon in her hand. The gentle, whirling yellow light had instantly faded, overwhelmed by flickering, chaotic scarlet. "Shoo," she added as an afterthought, flicking her fingers at Murphy. A tiny strand of red light whipped out and lashed him across the nose. He yelped, then proceeded to hide behind his creator, growling lowly at Panika from the safety of Lolli's legs.

"Who in Hel's name is _she_?" Jareth asked, curious.

"That's Panika. Ornyk's sister," Stephen replied, Saba in hand, looking a good deal more unnerved by her presence than anyone else there.

Jareth did a double-take, eyeing the hovering girl. She looked no older than fifteen, and distinctively human, albeit one who dressed like a playing card and had half her face painted black. Her long hair was red on one half of her head, black on the other, and pulled into pigtails.

"The crazy one?" he remembered, now sounding vaguely worried himself.

"Yep," Tommy replied.

"Then we need to get that thing away from her. Now."

"Why?" the Red Ranger inquired, but before he could receive and answer, Panika herself broke in.

"Oh, no," she protested. "You broke my Tengas, and my poor little Sudsy. You owe me something. So it's mine now." She smirked, eyeing Stephen. "Unless of course you have anything you'd like to trade…"

Lolli blinked, glancing from Panika to Stephen and back again.

"_Him_?" she asked incredulously. "You want _him_?"

Panika looked the White Ranger up and down, giving him the distinct impression that if she had X-ray vision, she was using it.

"Mmmhmm. Who wouldn't?"

Every hand went up, save Stephen's and Panika's.

"I say we let her have 'im," Deacon suggested.

"Second!" Jareth called.

"We're _not_ trading one of our Rangers!" Tommy protested.

"Damn," the Silver and Gold Rangers muttered in unison.

"Then no Atma for you," Panika replied snobbily, turning away and sticking her sharp little black tongue out at the Rangers.

"Why can't we let her keep it?" Tommy asked reasonably.

"Same reason I shouldn't use it," Jareth replied. "Its power changes to match its wielder. If a crazy person activates it, it could start screwing with reality itself."

"I don't care!" the bizarre floating girl said, clutching the weapon tightly against her chest, sounding now like a petulant child. "It's mine!"

"It's _mine_," Terina corrected. "Give it back."

"Don't make us have to _take_ it," Deacon warned, twirling his swords threateningly.

"_Mine_!" Panika screamed. She melted into a streak of red light and shot across the parking lot, into the library, taking the weapon with her.

"They never make it easy, do they?" Mara asked, sighing.

"That's okay," Tommy said. "If she puts up a fight, it'll give me a chance to use _my_ new toy. **Shield of Triumph!"** he invoked, the shield-bracer on his left arm morphing into the larger, flanged, dinosaur-headed shield.

"Nice," Stephen said, impressed.

"It looks familiar," Terina declared.

"Hey, yeah," Deacon said. "Can't remember why, though. But it suits you."

"Thanks," the Red Ranger replied. "Now, let's go see what it can do, shall we?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ornyk chuckled as his sister melted down through the ceiling of the building, to emerge from the sidewalk beneath the Rangers. That was bound to have shaken up the building's occupants.

Focusing his sensitive ears down on the street below, he listened in as his sister swiped an artifact from one of the Rangers. Amused, his eyes followed her as she streaked into the building, the Ranger's following behind. Then…

All amusement on his face vanished as three unmistakable words filled his wolflike ears.

**"Shield of Triumph!"** he heard the Red Ranger say.

And sure enough, it appeared.

Ornyk wasn't aware of leaping down from the rooftop. He wasn't aware of crossing the library's parking lot. He was only aware of the sudden fact that his paw was now clenched around the Red Ranger's armored throat.

"Where did you get this?" he demanded, grabbing the Ranger's left arm, the one that bore the Shield. "Give it to me!"

Immediately, Deacon shot forward, stabbing one of his Silver Swords into the Zornian's back. The point sank through Ornyk's enchanted blue armor, and black blood poured out around the wound, but the wolfike alien seemed oblivious to any pain. He threw the Red ranger to the ground, then swung behind him, backhanding Deacon with his paw. Blue fire erupted from the impact, knocking the Silver Ranger into the air. He flipped heels-over-head twice from the force of the blow before crashing to the asphalt.

Ornyk turned his attention back to Tommy, dark fire in his eyes.

"I'll handle this. You guys go get the weapon back from Panika," Tommy commanded.

The Rangers hesitated, but obeyed, running into the building, leaving Tommy alone with the gray-furred warrior.

"I have spent over six centuries looking for the owner of that shield," Ornyk growled. "Where did you get it?"

"It was given to me by the Guardian of the E'not Sel Caro," Tommy replied, taken aback. "He had a vault full of artifacts like this."

"Impossible. Randomon never went to Yllustri," Ornyk spat. "It was sealed away for millennia until I discovered the compass. Now tell me the truth, or it's your head."

Tommy edged backwards as Ornyk drew his sword from its sheath at his side.

"I am!" Tommy said desperately. "Cleora…the vault guardian…he said he'd been collecting things, from all over the galaxy. Whenever something was about to be destroyed, he'd take it instead."

"You _lie_!"

Tommy jumped back, barely avoiding the flaming blue-black sword as it swiped at his midsection. Summoning his own Tyrant Sword, Tommy began to parry in earnest, deflecting powerful blows as quickly as he could.

"I will give you _one_ chance, Red Ranger. Return that Shield to me. It is my property, and I will have it. If I have to cut it from the arm of your corpse, it will be mine."

"Take it if you can," Tommy replied.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Great," Terina said, conjuring her daggers. "More Tengas."

"I got this," Deacon said. **"Razor Rush!"**

Melting into a streak of silver, he began to rocket off the walls, mowing down the Tengas, black blood and filthy feathers sticking to the shelves.

Finally, he slowed to a halt, returning to his original position.

"So where's Panika?" Mara asked, rising into the air to peer over the bookshelves.

"Let's ask," Jareth suggested. He walked over to the front desk, peeking behind it.

Behind the desk were two dead librarians and one live one, all bearing telltale signs of Tenga-induced injuries.

The still living librarian was a lady in perhaps her mid-sixties. She was cowering in the corner formed by the computer and the filing cabinet, her outfit and her face both splattered with the blood of her co-workers. Despite the damage it had suffered, it was easy to tell that her clothes had one been immaculately cared for, dry-cleaned and pressed, and her silver, high-heeled shoes had clearly been expensive. Obviously terrified, she was wide-eyed and trembling, flinching at the slightest sound.

She let out a scream when a helmet shaped like a roaring lion's face appeared over the counter.

"Hey there," the Gold Ranger said congenially. "We're looking for someone. I was wondering if you'd seen her. She's about this tall….well, actually I'm not sure how tall she is, I've only seen her the one time, and she was hovering about three feet off the ground-"

"She's dressed like a playing card and she flies," a second head summarized, this one shaped like some sort of green dinosaur, with a mass of blonde hair spilling out the back. "You can't miss her."

With a shaking finger, she pointed towards the children's section.

"That way? Thanks," the Gold one said cheerfully, waving a farewell. Both of them left.

After a moment passed, the librarian dared to breathe a sigh of relief, allowing herself to relax slightly.

"Boo!"

Shrieking, the middle-aged woman contorted into a terrified ball, a hand raised in feeble self-defense.

"Jareth!" Someone yelled in a chastising tone.

"Sorry," the Gold Lion-helmet's voice replied. "Couldn't help myself."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They found Panika sitting at one of the too-small tables that had been designed for small children. She was idly tinkering with the Atma Weapon, which in her hand had become a long wand made of ruby, with a glittering star on the end. Evidently, she'd been using it to bring various elements from numerous stories to life. A beanstalk loomed in one corner of the room, somehow leading up into the clouds despite the building's relatively low ceiling. Nearby, a young boy with no shoes and a straw hat sat painting a fence, and next to him was a beautiful, sleeping woman in a glass coffin. Faeries flitted back and forth, leaving trails of glittering dust as they went, and a wooden marionette skipped around, proudly wearing a donkey's ears and tail for all to see.

"Woah," Stephen said. "The Atma Weapon did all this?"

"It's doing more than pulling stuff out of the books," Mara pointed out. "Look."

Mara pointed to one of the few adult-sized chairs in the section. As Panika waved the wand, conjuring forth a large dog whose midsection was made of a giant alarm clock, the chair twisted and deformed, contorting itself into a mockery of its former self, its sides and angles bending at ways that twisted the eye and defied physics.

"It IS warping reality," Lolli observed. "We've gotta get that thing away from her."

"Oof!" Deacon cried, as a flying spinning wheel crashed into him, bringing him to the ground.

"No!" Panika said. "_My_ toy!"

Pointing the wand at the bookshelves, she shot a ribbon of red light into the pages, which at once spewed forth a small army of goblins.

"Sic 'em!" she commanded.

The goblins were only too happy to obey, rushing at the Rangers with their rusted pikes and crooked swords.

The goblin's pot-metal weapons were completely useless against the Rangers' armor, but their sheer numbers and tenacity made the task of approaching Panika about as difficult as wading through glue. Waist-high, poking, biting, cursing, clinging glue.

Using the wand, she summoned more and more things to throw at the Rangers…eagles, ninjas, clowns, giant slugs, everything and anything that had ever been published. The Rangers quickly found themselves buried beneath a veritable ocean of children's nightmares.

The Gold Ranger took a deep breath, then let out a sonic lion's roar that scattered the crowd in front of him. The gap lasted less than half of a second before it closed back in, but that was enough for him to leap free of the hoard and, extruding his claws, cling to the ceiling.

A number of things still pecked and clawed at him, but the enemies were far less dense than they were on the ground. Looking down, he saw nothing but baddies, with the occasional blast of Ranger energy piercing the thick layer.

Swinging himself down onto the top of one of the bookshelves, he took a running start and jumped.

"Yah!"

Panika let out a furious screech as he tackled her, knocking her down from where she was hovering, his hands tightly gripping the handle of the Atma Weapon.

As the two hit the ground, rolling, the crystal orb of the weapon flashed, swirls of golden light fighting with the red for dominance. The many-pointed wand shifted and flickered, as though trying to become something else…some sort of curved blade? It was impossible to tell, not even the weapon itself seemed to know what it wanted to be. It settled for something halfway, a sort of twisted wand-sword, made of marbled red and gold crystal.

And, all at once, each and every thing Panika had wished out of the books vanished. The other Rangers and Murphy found themselves falling a few feet, the critters beneath them no longer present. Others found themselves aiming at empty air, strangling nothing, or in the process of punching missing targets.

"Woah," Terina said, his eyes falling on the only obvious spectacle in the room. Jareth and Panika, fighting over the Atma Weapon, the magical device flashing with indecision.

"Um. If a crazy person holds it, it warps reality," Stephen stated nervously. 'What happens if _two_ crazy people hold it?"

"I think we'd better keep our distance," Mara replied, taking a few steps back herself.

Not that the Rangers had much choice…the erratic energies surrounding the weapon began to pulse outward in alternating rings of red and gold light, knocking back anything that got too close. Many objects found themselves curiously embedded in solid surfaces, as though they'd simply sunk into them before remembering that they shouldn't have been able to. Others became twisted, like the chair from before, or altered into something else entirely, as in the case of a nearby pencil sharpener that found itself turned into a very surprised bottle of pomegranate juice.

"Jareth!" Terina yelled. "You have to drop it!"

"Stop touching it!" Deacon added. "Before one of us turns into tapioca! I _hate_ tapioca!"

Jareth blinked, realizing for the first time what was going on around him. As he and Panika rolled over, he slammed both of their weapon-holding hands against the floor. Once, twice. Finally, Panika's grip loosened, and the weapon flew from their grasp.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Everything seemed to stand still as the erratically fluctuating weapon flew, end over end, through the air, towards one of the book-covered tables. It finally landed, blade-first, embedding itself in the cover of a vividly-colored children's tome.

There was an expectant pause.

Then, so quickly that it could have been pulled down from the inside, the Atma Weapon sank into the book, the glossy cardboard surface rippling like water. The book itself began to shake violently, vibrating against the tabletop…then a pool of black ink, swirling with undertones of gold and red, began to spread across the table, as though the tome itself was bleeding. The ink continued spreading, covering the entire table, then dripped down its legs, pooling on the floor.

"Um…is that supposed to happen?" Terina asked.

"I dunno," Jareth replied, sounding equal parts surprised, curious, and apprehensive. Panika, likewise, was staring at the pooling ink in fascination, her squabble with the Gold Ranger completely forgotten. The two disentangled automatically, rising to their feet.

Everyone jumped as the table abruptly sank into the pool of rapidly spreading ink, as though it were far, far deeper than it could possibly have been.

"_That's _definitely _not_ supposed to happen," the Gold Ranger declared.

The circular pool of ink grew larger, pulling in tables, chairs, bookshelves, continuing to spread more and more quickly, consuming everything in its path.

"I'm thinking we should leave," Deacon suggested.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tommy backflipped, dodging Ornyk's latest sword-strike and putting some distance between himself and his target.

He landed in a crouch, just as Ornyk ignited his sword and fired a ribbon of indigo flames at the Red Ranger.

Tommy flinched, raising his shield.

The was a 'swoosh' as the dark fire was sucked up, absorbed by the surface of the shield. No force, no heat at all was transferred to Tommy, the powerful attack completely neutralized.

"Woah," Tommy said. "This _is_ a nice shield."

Ornyk rolled his eyes, rushing in for another attack.

This time, Tommy used his shield rather than his sword to block the strike. The shield absorbed the blow entirely, none of the impact even felt by his arm. Trading his two-handed sword for the shorter one from his back, Tommy struck back, slashing across Ornyk's armored stomach, sparks flying.

The Zornian staggered back, clutching the rent in his platemail, his eyes still burning with indigo flames.

Raising his shield-arm, Tommy flexed his fist, the long, curved blade of the Shield flipping out towards his wrist.

"Okay," he said, blades at the ready. "Let's see what you've got."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Cold and wet, the ink expanded more quickly than Stephen could run, clinging to the back of his armor. As soon as it touched him, it seemed to pull him in, enveloping him in sticky wet darkness.

The next thing he knew, harsh midday sunlight was shining down on him. The ache in his shoulders told him that he was no longer morphed. He tried to move his arms, but found that they were pinned in place, stiffly held out at his sides. Further inspection revealed that he had been…crucified, for lack of a better term. Tied, thankfully not nailed, to a pole stuck in the middle of a field.

A road ran nearby, but there wasn't a soul in sight. Rescue seemed unlikely.

And to make matters worse, a ravenous-looking crow settled on his right elbow, eyeing him hungrily, as though it was just waiting for him to die of exposure so that it could feast on his entrails. He tried to blow it away, but it just fluttered and glared at him reproachfully.

An hour later, it was joined by more.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Turning to escape from the ink, Mara's foot became entangled in the leg of one of the tables. She tripped, her face striking the thinly carpeted floor of the library, her helmet the only thing saving her from a broken nose. Something cold and liquid touched her boots, and she felt herself yanked backward, lost in an ocean of swirling blackness.

When she awoke, she found herself in what appeared to be the cold, stony tower of a shoddily-maintained castle. A large, black iron pot…no, not a pot, a cauldron…stood in the center of the room, and nearby there stood a podium bearing a thick, leather-bound book. There was an ancient-looking broom propped in the corner that looked as if it would fall apart if it were to ever try to actually sweep anything.

Mara's eyes fell on the mirror hanging on the wall.

And she screamed.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Deacon was almost to the door when he skidded to a halt, remembering the librarian who'd been cowering behind the desk. Turning on his heel, he raced back to it. Sure enough, she was still there, curled into a trembling ball.

He tried to coax her out from behind the desk, but she refused to move. With a sigh, he leapt over the counter, picked her up, and threw her back over his shoulder. Hopping the table again, he headed for the door.

But he had delayed too long. The encroaching edge of the pool caught his toe…the very tip of his toe…and pulled him in, him and his cargo.

The first thing Deacon realized when he regained consciousness was that the librarian was gone. The second was that he was in a forest, standing before a tree that bore a deep gash, as though someone had started to cut it down but never finished.

The third was that he couldn't move.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The darkness never really went away. Instead, it was replaced by a different darkness…a darkness that was just the lack of light, and not the presence of a universe of cold, sticky black ink. Eventually, Jareth realized that he was standing in the woods, someplace where the leaves overhead were so thick that not a single shred of sunlight ever got through. His night-vision lenses didn't seem to be functioning, and his own nocturnal eyes weren't quite up to the task of seeing in this level of total darkness.

The ground beneath his feet felt hard and even, and he realized that he was standing on a road that ran through the forest.

Figuring that eventually someone was bound to travel this road, Jareth sat at its edge, his lionlike tail waving lazily behind him.

There was a snap from somewhere in the forest, as of something large stepping on a twig. The Gold Ranger jumped. It suddenly felt as though hundreds of eyes were staring at him from the cover of the underbrush, just waiting for their chance to leap upon and devour him.

This wasn't fun anymore, he decided.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Terina invoked her super-speed, racing out the door and into the street outside, papers and books being torn from their shelves and tables as air rushed in to fill the vacuum she left behind. She skidded to a halt, turning to look behind her. The other Rangers were only halfway to the door, quickly being overtaken by the expanding blackness. Ink oozed from cracks in the windows and doors, bubbling up and continuing to expand, the building encased in a giant sphere of swirling ink.

Seeing that they weren't going to make it, she prepared to race back in, but made it less than halfway back across the lot before she was forced to stop, realizing that the ink had already absorbed the entire building. She backed off a few steps, eyes wide as she stared at the orb that had eaten her friends. Then, turning around, she ran out into the street.

Tommy and Ornyk stood there, swords crossed, but each seemed oblivious to the other's presence, all eyes wide, focused on the expanding black mass.

The sphere grew, expanding past the parking lot a few feet into the street…then stopped, shrank back a foot or so, and finally stabilized, as though it had decided that this was far enough. Then, without ever having made a sound, it rose into the air, a hovering black sphere, leaving only a perfectly round crater where the library had stood.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was Ornyk who first remembered what he was doing. Taking advantage of the Red Ranger's distraction, he knocked the sword from his hand, threw his own aside, and grabbed the Shield of Triumph in both hands, trying to tear it free from Tommy's arm.

Tommy resisted, but the struggle didn't last long. There was a surge of energy, a flash of red and indigo light…and the two flew apart, each with a shield.

The Shield of Triumph on Tommy's arm was unchanged, but Ornyk now held a darker shield, one of plated blue, purple, and silver. A red eye adorned the center, glaring balefully wherever the shield's bearer cared to point it.

Ornyk chuckled, standing and fondling his shield, his mirth quickly growing into full-scale maniacal laughter. He held out his hand, his sword flying back into his grasp. With a flourish, he slid his sword point-down into the shield, as though the two had been meant to fit together all along.

Tommy, for his part, stared at his own shield in astonishment, never having dreamt that it had ever contained a second shield. Let alone one that perfectly matched the style of Ornyk's armor and sword.

He climbed back to his feet, realizing that Ornyk was glaring at him…or rather at his shield.

"I suppose that one's chosen you."

"Yes," Tommy said defensively. "It has."

For a moment, Ornyk said nothing. Then, "So be it. But treat it well."

Then, in a burst of blue-black flame, he was gone.

_What was THAT all about? _Tommy thought. Looking around, he spied Terina, still staring in horror up at the sphere.

"Terina," he called.

She started. "I-it just _ate_ them. We have to help them."

Tommy nodded. "Let's get back to the ship. Maybe Zord-1 can work out just what that thing is."

Terina nodded, tapping the side of her helmet.

"Angel? You there?"

"Yes," the Gray Ranger's voice replied.

"If you're still at the Temple, could you portal us home, please? We have a problem."

There was no answer, but a shimmering disc of watery light opened nearby.

"Let's go," Tommy said, always nervous about leaving portals open for too long. He stepped through.

Terina followed. As she reached the gateway, she paused, taking one last look back at the hovering black orb.

"Don't worry, guys. We'll get you out of there. Wherever you are."

She stepped through, allowing the portal to close behind her.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lolli woke to the sensation of a cold, angular metal head nuzzling her.

"Mmm? I'm up, I'm up."

Groggily, she opened her eyes to find herself lying on a run-down bed in a run-down room. It was a house, or it had once been. It was now ruined, not that it mattered…this place had been crap when it was new.

"I'm okay, Murphy. I'm good," she assured the metal dog, scratching the sensors behind his ears. He whimpered happily, wagging his metal tail.

Sitting up, she rubbed the back of her head.

"Where are we?" she asked.

Murphy extruded a holoprojector and imaged a globe of Terra, a map that quickly zoomed in, narrowing down their location.

"The library?" she asked incredulously. She took one more look around the dilapidated house. Its contents were strewn about, bright morning sunlight filtering in through the damaged shutters.

"I think we need to recalibrate your GPS," she informed the dog. He just tilted his head and looked at her strangely. "This is _not_ the library. Can't even call it a house anymore. It looks like a tornado hit this place." She stood, working the kinks out of her limbs. Pressing her finger against the skin behind her right ear, she activated her comchip.

"Zord-1? Diskette?"

There was no answer.

"Deacon? Jareth? Tommy? Anyone?"

Nothing. Sighing, she turned to Murphy.

"Is it just my comchip? Try to contact the others."

Murphy shook his head, the words NO SIGNAL flashing across his eye-screen.

"Great. Well, I guess we'll just have to…" Lolli broke off, catching a glimpse of herself in a shattered mirror that stood nearby. "What am I _wearing_?" she demanded.

She was not in her Ranger armor, nor the green jumpsuit she habitually wore. Instead, she was dressed in a frilly blue-and-white checkered skirt with a white apron.

"Don't you dare laugh," she warned the dog, who merely sat watching her, tail wagging. "This isn't funny. I want my clothes back." She began tearing apart the house, looking for her old clothes, or failing that, anything that would fit. "And while we're at it, I'd also like to know who took them off me."

There was, sadly, nothing the house suitable.

Murphy projected a hologram of Lolli Morphing.

"Good idea," she commended, Twisting her wrist, she summoned her Morpher. A spiral of green smoke appeared, starting at her arm and winding its way down to her hand…where it faded, producing nothing.

"So much for that," she said, sitting on the bed. "Well, at least I've got you."

Murphy barked.

"Well, shall we go see where we are?"

He barked again.

The mechanical dog at her heels, Lolli strode over and opened the door, which fell off its one remaining hinge in the process. Stepping over it, she placed a hand on the doorframe and surveyed the landscape.

"Holy shit."

A sprawling, brightly colored countryside lay before them, littered with blue-roofed houses, cornfields, green grass-covered hills, and, most notably, a long, winding road of yellow brick that started in a spiral and worked its way off into the distance.

As she gaped, a tiny man, no more than three feet tall and dressed entirely in blue, poked his head out from behind a white picket fence.

"E-Excuse me," he said in a nervous, high voice, as though he'd been sucking helium. "b-b-but are y-you a g-good witch or a bad witch?"

Lolli and Murphy exchanged glances.

"Murphy?" Lolli asked. "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."


	83. Over the Rainbow Part II

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 83: Over the Rainbow (Part II)

"Here it is," Angel said, laying a book on the table in front of Tommy.

The Red Ranger glanced at the page, setting aside the magical text that he himself was reading. The other Rangers who were helping research Jareth's tomes all looked up, curious. The book Angel had placed before Tommy was written in archaic, illegible script, but someone had written translations in the margins.

"The Jagun Shield?" Tommy looked up at the Gray Ranger. As Tommy was sitting down at the picnic table, Angel looked even more improbably tall than usual. "We were looking for the Shield of Triumph. This isn't it."

Angel closed his eyes and took a breath. "You have to _keep_ reading," he explained slowly, as if speaking to a six-year-old.

Puzzled, Tommy returned to the book.

"…And so it was that Jhyri, King of Zorn, did break apart his great Shield, giving a half apiece to each of his sons," he read.

The other Rangers present leaned in to hear, and to look at the illustrations on the page.

"To Randomon the elder," Tommy continued. "He bestowed the Shield of Triumph, that he may always know triumph over those who stood in his path. To Ornyk the younger, he gave the Shield of Darkness, that his enemies might never know the light of victory. It was said that the two Shields gave the Princes great power, though the truth of this may never be known, as both shields vanished with Randomon the night he fled Zorn."

Electra pointed to the illustration. It displayed the Shield of Triumph, as well as the shield Ornyk had pulled free from it. The darker shield had an ornate sword drawn next to it. "That's Ornyk's sword, all right," the Black Ranger said.

"And that's the shield he took," Tommy added. He frowned.

"Something wrong?" Troy asked.

"If this shield belonged to his brother, and his brother is missing, then it really _is_ his." The Red Ranger shook his head. "Maybe I should have given it to him."

"We don't know that Randomon is dead," Kalen argued. "Granted, we haven't seen him in a few years, but that's nothing to an immortal. He could be taking a nap. Besides, for all we know, he could have _given_ that shield away."

"There's an easy way to find out," Terina said. "You still have the Caro, don't you?"

Kalen produced the small stone with a flick of her wrist, setting it down on the picnic table. The others at the table hastened to grab the books out of the way as it abruptly expanded, resuming its original size, the wooden table creaking under the weight of the stone.

"Who'll ask?" the Purple Ranger inquired.

"I will," Troy volunteered. "What am I asking?"

"Ask it what fate befell Randomon, Prince of Ynarra, son of Jhyri," Angel suggested.

With a shrug, the Blue Ranger looked down at the flat, glowing, sapphire-blue surface.

"What fate befell Randomon, Prince of Ynarra, son of Jhyri?"

Glowing, electric-blue runes appeared beneath the crystal surface, rearranging themselves into letters the Rangers could read.

_Randomon, Prince of Ynarra, son of Jhyri, son of Jagun, was slain by Lord Zedd for his failure to secure the Power Coins from the Caves of Deception. _

"Then the Shield of Triumph _is_ Ornyk's," Tommy said. "He's the next in line."

"The shield chose _you_, Tommy," Terina corrected. "Ornyk said so himself."

"I wonder if Ornyk knows that Zedd killed his brother?" Kalen pondered aloud. "More importantly, I wonder what he'll give to find out?"

"Odds are he doesn't, not if he said he's been searching for him," Troy surmised. "Maybe we should tell him. Stir up some dissention among our enemies' ranks."

"Would he even believe us?" Tommy asked.

"We could give him the chance to ask the Caro himself," the Yellow Ranger suggested.

"Giving him the perfect opportunity to steal it," Troy argued.

"Why would he do that?" Terina shot back. "He can only get one question out of it. It's useless to him after that."

"Not really," Kalen argued. "He could always get other people to ask more questions for him."

Electra raised her hand.

"Um…Lecca?" Tommy asked. "Something to contribute?"

"I was just thinking…while we have it out, maybe we should ask the Caro who our Rogue Ranger is. I mean, I know who did some of that stuff, even though I told me not to tell anyone, but then I probably knew I'd tell…Well, of course I knew I'd tell, I'm me and I'll have been there when I do, but that doesn't explain who did the rest of it."

There was a brief pause, during which everyone shot Electra the strange glances to which she was all too accustomed.

"It would be nice to know who let all those C.O.G.S. into our ship," Kalen agreed finally. She looked around, taking count of who was present and who hadn't asked anything yet of the E'not Sel Caro. "We've got…Angel, Electra, and Shayla. Three questions."

"Remember to watch your wording," Terina cautioned. "It's picky."

Electra placed her hand on the sapphire surface.

"Who is our Rogue Ranger?" she asked.

Blue light flickered, but no answer was forthcoming.

"That's weird," Terina commented. She turned to the Black Ranger. "Have you already asked it a question?"

"No," Electra replied. Then, she considered. "Although it's possible I will have."

"What?" Tommy asked, confused.

Electra sighed. "Never mind. Wish Jareth were here," she muttered. "_He_ always understands me."

"That's because you're both nuts," Tommy suggested.

"Let me try," Shayla offered. "E'not Sel Caro? Who is the Rogue Ranger?"

The light flickered again.

"Why won't it answer?" Terina asked. "I don't get it."

"I do," Angel said.

Everyone looked at him.

"It's simple," the Gray Ranger explained. "The only reason the E'not Sel Caro would refuse to give an answer is that there is no answer to give."

There was a brief pause while that sunk in.

"Is Angel correct?" Shayla asked, addressing the artifact on the table.

_Yes, _the E'not Sel Caro replied.

"But…that would mean that the person who caused all that trouble….wasn't a Ranger at all," Troy said slowly. "Wouldn't it?"

"_Were_ the recent troubles on our ship caused by a Ranger?" Electra asked.

_Not yes and not no._

Kalen rolled her eyes. "We have got to quit letting the crazy ones ask the questions."

"Not yes and not no?" Terina repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe?" Electra guessed.

"E'not Sel Caro," Angel began. "If you were to give us advice at this point, what would it be?"

The surface of the stone rippled, as though amused.

_I would advise you to learn how to use what you have found, for it is the key to defeating its twin. I would advise you not to be fooled by appearances, for the faces you see are not always worn by those who own them. Remember always that there are two sides to every coin, save one, and that the most obvious answer is usually the wrong one. Never stand between two mirrors, and reject only your own ignorance. _

There was an even longer pause.

"I think a fortune cookie might have been more helpful," Troy stated.

"It made perfect sense to _me_," Electra protested.

"Where are Myk and Fox?" Terina asked. "We could have two more questions."

"Fox is back at the Oasis with Diskette, trying to work out how to get the others out of that big ball of ink," Shayla said. "And Myk is…" she paused for a moment, looking uncomfortable. "Occupied," she finished finally.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Nice shield."

Ornyk glanced up at the honey-colored eyes of the Bronze Ranger. He grinned, showing off his fangs.

"I haven't held it in over six centuries." He hefted the Shield of Darkness. "It missed me." He glanced back over at Myk. "What are you doing here?"

"I have news for Zedd," he replied. "That shield…it contains great power…" Myk began.

Ornyk jerked the shield away as Myk reached for it. The Bronze Ranger quickly recovered, his hands vanishing in the folds of his cloak as though they'd never left.

"Yes, it does," Ornyk growled. "And you'll not touch it. I don't care how much more power you need."

Ornyk continued down the halls of the stony lunar palace, Myk's feet falling into step behind him.

"It doesn't matter greatly," Myk said casually. "As much power as it holds, it is not enough."

The Zornian raised a furry eyebrow. "Not two months ago you were leeching away at any morsel of magic you could find. You even drained most of those time-release spells I planted on the Rangers' ship. Why so picky now?"

"I've gathered enough power now that my condition is…stable. I don't need to scrounge for scraps of magic anymore." He smiled. "No, only the strongest sources interest me now."

"Like Zen'Aku?" Ornyk asked pointedly, the rusty iron gates to Zedd's throne room creaking open.

"Heard about that, did you?" Myk asked. "That was as much a personal vendetta as a meal. The man dropped me off the side of a floating continent."

"You can fly," Ornyk pointed out.

"That's not the point." Myk strode ahead and casually did something few others in the palace would have dared…he casually sat in Zedd's throne. Ornyk's eyes widened, impressed.

"And remind me again why the Bronze Power Coin isn't enough?" the wolflike alien inquired. "Is the Morphin Grid not infinite?"

"It is a universe of pure, infinite energy," Myk agreed readily. "Do you know what happens when you open a direct channel to a universe of pure, infinite energy? You explode. As well as the planet you're standing on. And whatever planets happen to be nearby." The Bronze Ranger crossed his arms behind his head, leaning back. "The Power Coins are remarkable not in that they can tap the Grid, but in that they can regulate how much comes through at once, and in what form. Like holding back the tide with a teacup. But that means that through the Bronze Coin, I can only absorb energy in drips and dregs. Even if I had all thirteen Coins, it would take me centuries to build up the sort of power that I need."

"I don't think a gradual accumulation of energy over centuries would accomplish your purpose anyway," the Zornian surmised.

"No, that's true," Myk agreed. "For my purpose, I need more of a battering ram. A massive, sudden surge."

"Like the Nexus."

Myk smiled widely. "Precisely. Which is why I need-"

"_Ranger_!"

Neither Ornyk nor Myk jumped, both having sensed Zedd's presence long before he announced it. The skinless warlord appeared next to the throne in a crackle of red lightning.

"Lord Zedd," Myk said. "How good to see you."

"Bronze Ranger," Zedd said cordially, a hint of warning in his voice. "Perhaps it escaped your attention, but you are sitting in my chair."

"Am I? Why, so I am."

"Zedd. I'd like a word," Ornyk broke in.

"In a moment, Prince," Zedd growled, not taking his eyes off Myk. "When I allowed you free access to my palace, Ranger, it was under the condition that you show the proper-"

"I have news that might interest you, my Lord," Myk interrupted pointedly, still smiling.

Zedd hissed, his eyes glowing red with anger, red lightning casting shadows in the corners of the room as his silver Z-tipped staff appeared in his metal grip.

"And what sort of news," he asked. "could possibly prevent me from boiling your blood while it remains within your body?"

"First, there's the fact that human bodies release their bowels when they die, and I _am_ still sitting in your chair."

Zedd twitched, causing Myk's grin to widen still more.

"Second," he continued, when he'd decided he'd pushed Zedd as far as could safely be done. "I know what form the Nexus will take."

Zedd froze, then relaxed. "And how would you know this?"

"The Rangers are currently in possession of the E'not Sel Caro," he replied.

Zedd tightened his grip on his staff. "Gasket failed to retrieve that item."

"Because the Rangers succeeded. The form of the Nexus was one of the first things they asked it." Myk chuckled. "You're going to get a kick out of this," he said. "The whole ship was literally buzzing with the news when they got back." He shook his head. "The questions these humans ask. 'What does it mean?' 'How can it be?' 'Why did-"

"Ahem," Ornyk broke in impatiently.

Myk rolled his eyes. "Oh, very well. Tommy. The Nexus is Tommy."

"The Red Ranger?" Zedd asked, his eyes igniting. "The Red Ranger is the Nexus?"

"Will be," Myk corrected. "When the time comes."

"Yes, yes, of course," Zedd said negligently.

"When is that, anyway?" the Bronze Ranger asked. "Can't be far off now."

"You'll want to be elsewhere when it happens, no doubt?" Zedd asked facetiously. "Worry not, Little Ranger. As we agreed, your life will be spared when the Nexus is mine. But not," the demonic sorcerer growled. "If you ever sit in my throne again. Is that perfectly clear?"

"Crystal," Myk said cheerfully. "Well. It's time I was off. Lord Zedd. Prince Ornyk. Always a pleasure."

There was a flash of smoky white light, and Myk was gone.

Zedd sighed, sitting in the newly vacated throne.

"I thought he'd never leave."

"Zedd?"

"The impertinence of that mortal!" Zedd raved. "Has he the slightest idea with whom he is dealing? Does he not comprehend the power I wield?"

"Zedd."

"I could crush him like an insect in the blink of an eye, and he has the audacity to sit in _my_ throne and smirk at _me_!"

"Zedd!"

"Yes, what is it?"

"I held up my side of our bargain, Lord Zedd," Ornyk said in a steely tone.

"Are you still going on about that?"

"I worked the magic. I reversed Lerigot's banishment. I brought you home."

"You would be wise to watch your tone, _Prince _Ornyk. Need I remind you whose palace this is?" Zedd glared up at the lupine alien, his red stained-glass eyes burning.

"I don't care if you own the entire solar system. I will have what is owed to me."

Zedd raised his staff, a blast of red lightning arcing off the Z and leaping at Ornyk.

The gray-furred Zornian calmly raised his shield, the power of Zedd's blast being sucked into the crimson eye at its center. Once it had been absorbed, the eye snapped shut and Ornyk lowered his arm.

"You overestimate your power, Zedd. And you make too many presumptions. I am not one of your underlings, to be disciplined when I misbehave. We had a deal, and I did my part. I demand my payment. _Tell me where he is."_

"The answer lies within the E'not Sel Caro," Zedd replied, as though the matter was out of his hands. "Gasket was to retrieve it, but it seems we have overestimated his competence."

Ornyk's golden eyes glared daggers as the seated warlord.

"According to our informant, the Caro is currently in the possession of the Rangers. Perhaps if you were to retrieve it…"

An irritating, nasal melody suddenly split the air.

"What is _that_?" Zedd demanded.

Ornyk sighed, opening his hand. With a puff of blue fire, a small indigo cell phone appeared in his palm. Seeing the name on the display, he rolled his eyes.

"One moment," he told Zedd, flipping open the phone and bringing it up to his ear.

"This is not a good time."

"You do?"

"Very well. When?"

"I'll be there."

"Ciao."

Snapping the phone closed, he shot another glare at the skinless demon on his granite throne.

"I have business to attend to. We will finish this later, Zedd."

"I look forward to it," Lord Zedd replied with disinterest, cleaning his claws with the point of his Z-staff.

With one last death glare, Ornyk turned on his blue-armored heel and stormed out of the throne room, the rusty wrought-iron gates slamming shut behind him.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Where am I?" Lolli asked, hoping that the small man wouldn't give the answer she was expecting.

"Y-you are in Munchkinland, East of the City of Emeralds."

"Which is where?" the Green Ranger asked, screwing her eyes shut.

"Why, in the land of Oz, of course."

Lolli slumped, letting her head fall against the doorframe. "I am not in Oz. I can not be in Oz. Oz does not exist."

"And yet, here you are," a familiar voice cried happily.

Lolli straightened, opening her eyes to see a large, reddish-pink bubble approaching from the horizon.

"Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me."

"Nope!" the bubble reached the ground in front of her and popped, revealing Panika, wearing a ludicrously frilly pink dress in place of her usual black-and-red garb. In her hand, she held the Atma Weapon, back in the form of a ruby-red, star-tipped wand.

Murphy lowered his metal head and growled.

"It's Glinda!" the munchkin cried. "Everyone! Glinda's here!"

There was a commotion as an absurd number of munchkins came out of hiding and began to crowd around Panika, welcoming her. Panika seemed delighted to play along, bowing and waving.

"Hello! It's good to see me, isn't it?" she asked sweetly.

"'Glinda'?" Lolli repeated.

"That's right. Glinda! The Good Witch of the North. Or is it South? I keep forgetting."

"Glinda! A new witch has come to Oz! She has slain the Witch of the East and freed us from cruel bondage!" one of the Munchkins cried.

"Oh, geez," Lolli muttered, wincing at the dialogue.

"She has indeed," Panika said. "You should celebrate your new freedom, and the arrival of your savior!"

"I haven't saved anyone from anything. Panika, do something about-"

"Of course you have!" one of the munchkins interrupted. "You slew the Witch of the East! We owe you everything!"

"I haven't slain anyone!"

Panika giggled. "Sure you have! Look around the corner."

Lolli sighed, steeling herself, then cautiously emerged from the doorway, circling the ruined house, Murphy at her heels.

"Eugh," she said, grimacing at the grisly spectacle before her.

Lying on the ground in a pool of blood and various other fluids, her left arm and most of her midsection crushed beneath a corner of the house, lay the librarian the Rangers had met previously, her glassy eyes staring lifelessly at the sky.

Murphy whimpered at the sight. He turned away and went through the motions of vomiting, regurgitating a few microchips.

"Right there with ya," Lolli agreed.

"Well? Take them," Panika said from over Lolli's shoulder.

"Take what?"

"Her shoes, of course."

Lolli blinked. "You want me to steal a dead woman's shoes?"

"Oh, for pity's sake," the frilly-dressed girl complained. "Didn't you read this book in grade school?"

"No, I was too busy reading A Brief History of Time," Lolli snapped. "Why do I need her shoes?"

"There is some charm connected with them," the first munchkin to arrive said. "But we never knew what it was."

"You must take them, to wear with you on the way to the City of Emeralds," Panika said.

Lolli rolled her eyes. "Look, Panika, you're holding the damn wand. Just undo this."

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't help you with that. But the Wizard can."

"Right, right," the Green Rtanger said in a resigned voice. "Thus, my going to the Emerald City."

"City of Emeralds," Panika corrected. "This is the book, not the movie."

"Whatever," Lolli grumbled. She knelt down and began to take the silver, high-heeled shoes off the dead librarian's feet. "Anything to end this. These things are two sizes too big. And am I really expected to walk all over Oz in high heels?"

"Just put them on and quit bitchin'," Panika said. "The road to the City of Emeralds is paved with yellow bricks, so you cannot miss it. Unless…you're not colorblind, are you? No? Good. Off you go, then."

Lolli sighed, finishing fastening the silver buckles and getting to her feet. "Come on, Murphy. Let's go." Resigned to along, annoying journey, she turned and started to walk off.

"Wait!" Panika said.

The Green Ranger turned. 'What now?" she asked irritably.

Panika tapped the side of her head thoughtfully. "I've forgotten something. I know I have."

One of the munchkins tugged on her dress. She bent down, and he whispered something in her ear.

"Oh, that's right!" she cried, straightening. She ran over to where Lolli stood, waiting expectantly. "The kiss."

"Excuse me?" Lolli asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I must kiss you, for protection. For no one will dare harm one who has been kissed by the Good Witch of the North. Or South. Whatever."

"I am NOT kissing yoummmMMMPH!"

Lolli flailed as Panika grabbed her and planted a long, heavy kiss right on her lips. She staggered as Panika finally let go, giggling.

Trotting back to the munchkins, Panika waved merrily.

Somewhat dazed, Lolli waved back. Turning, she started on her way to the City of Emeralds, her mechanical dog following closely behind.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Well, that was kind of a bust," Fox declared, striding into the temple ruins, a somewhat disgusted expression on her face. Diskette hovered morosely behind.

"Couldn't find anything?" Angel asked.

"It's empty," Diskette replied. "I mean, it's a floating ball of ink, but it's pure ink all the way through, and it's completely impenetrable. Nothing gets in or out."

"There's no way in?" Terina asked. "At all?"

"Not that we could find," Fox replied. "Lolli could have found a way, but…" Fox shrugged expressively, then slumped at the picnic table, head on her hands. Terina petted her head comfortingly.

"We could ask the Caro how to get them out," Tommy suggested. He looked around, glancing up from his book. "Hey, where is the Caro?"

"Kalen took it," Angel replied. The Purple Ranger had excused herself some time earlier, saying something about an important lunch date. "But perhaps I can be of some assistance."

"By all means," Diskette eagerly accepted. "No offense intended, but Ms. Foxtooth sucks at the technical stuff."

Fox stuck her tongue out at the hovering droid, but her heart wasn't in it.

The Gray Ranger and Diskette headed off through the Animarian forests towards the Oasis, leaving the others lounging about the ruins.

"You know, we really need to get the teleporters back online," the Yellow Ranger commented. "I mean, I'm a nature-ey girl, but it's a pain having to walk through that forest all the time."

Shayla appeared to consider the problem. "I may be able to set up a temporary portal," she said dubiously. "One leading from your ship to the temple? It would help to have a few other mages on hand, though."

"The only mage we have is Jareth, and he…well…" Terina began.

"Sucks at it," Fox finished. "He wasn't born with that tail, you know."

Shayla squinted. "He wasn't?"

"Nope," Terina confirmed.

"That's very strange."

"You're telling us."

"No," the Princess corrected. "I mean, normally, spells that cause physical changes to living creatures fade within a few hours of their casting."

"Jareth's spell keeps getting worse," Fox said. "New things keep happening. Like the fangs."

"Hmm. It sounds like the initial spell may be reacting with something."

"Pardon?" the Camo Ranger inquired.

"Something that's causing its power to gradually escalate, instead of wearing off. It's been known to happen."

"Can it be reversed?" Terina asked.

"Certainly," Shayla replied. "Just remove whatever factor is reacting with the spell, and the spell itself will fade."

Fox and Terina exchanged a glance.

"Well. We've got good news for him," Terina said.

"Assuming we ever see him again," Fox added dryly.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I'm not really that familiar with this story. Refresh my memory…the Scarecrow was the one who was missing his brain, right?"

Stephen scowled down at Lolli. "Just shut up and cut me down."

"Okay. If brains were bricks, you'd be homeless."

"From the pole," the White Ranger amended through clenched teeth, rolling his eyes.

"I dunno, I kind of like you like this," Lolli replied, grinning. She had her chin in her hands, her elbows propped on the rickety wooden fence that separated the road from the cornfield in which Stephen was propped.

Stephen sighed. Murphy's barks had scared off the crows, but he was still hot, sore, and tired, having been hanging there for several hours.

"_Please_ cut me down?"

"Oh, fine." Lolli hopped the fence, moving to stand behind Stephen's wooden post. "Murphy? Knife."

The mechanical dog squeezed beneath the fence and walked over to join her, opening a compartment on his back and producing a knife that resembled a box cutter.

Placing one foot on Murphy's metal back and using him as a footstool, Lolli reached up and began sawing through the ropes that bound Stephen to the pole. In a few moments, his feet touched Ozian soil for the first time.

"Ow," he complained, rubbing his neck and working his shoulders.

"Yeah," the Green Ranger agreed. "I'll be glad when this is all over, too."

"Yeah," he said, smirking at her, a strange expression on his face.

Lolli blinked, taken aback. "What?"

"Since when do you wear pink lipstick?"

Lolli immediately wiped her mouth. "It's not mine," she snapped.

"No? Then who have you been kissing?" Stephen asked, grinning.

Twitching, Lolli turned and resumed walking down the road. Murphy barked, trotting along beside her.

"Meet a nice munchkin girl, did you?" Stephen continued, chasing after her.

"Should have left your ass on the pole," the Green Ranger grumbled.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Will there be anything else, ma'am?"

Kalen looked up at the waitress, sipping her coffee. "Yes. I'll take a raspberry Danish, and he'll have an iced white mocha and a bear claw."

The waitress nodded, walking off to get her order.

Kalen hummed softly to herself, eyes perusing the passersby. She had always been rather fond of this sidewalk café…it was one of the few in the area she didn't actually own. But that was part of an unspoken agreement…neutral ground.

Ah…and there he was now.

"Hello," she said pleasantly, as a rather handsome young man sat down across the table from her. His silver hair was cut short in the back, sloping down to shoulder-length towards the front. His eyes were ice-blue, and he was dressed in a simple pair of blue jeans and blue jean jacket over a black button-up shirt.

"Good afternoon," he replied. "Ah," he added, as the waitress appeared, tray in hand. She began placing items on the table. "You know me too well."

"They've added a peanut butter and blueberry smoothie to the menu," she informed him. "It sounds revolting, but I think I just might try one."

"Kalen."

The Purple Ranger sighed, reaching into her designer purse and producing the E'not Sel Caro, in its compact form. She placed it on the table, halfway between them.

"Ask," she said.

He sighed, placing his hand on the artifact.

"What fate befell Randomon, Prince of Ynara, son of Jhyri, son of Jagun?"

In miniature, the E'not Sel Caro produced exactly the same answer it had watched his face carefully, measuring his reaction.

He stared at the stone for a while, long after the words had faded. Finally, he sighed.

"I suspected as much. I'd hoped never to be proven right."

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news."

He shrugged. "No matter. Now I get to do something I've wanted to for a long time." He pushed the Caro back across the table. "Thanks."

Kalen picked it up and went through the motions of putting it back in her purse, in truth stowing it back into her personal pocket of nothingness.

"What are friends for?' she asked. "So. Are you feeling bold enough for a smoothie?"

He smiled. "Bring it on."


	84. Over the Rainbow Part III

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 84: Over the Rainbow (Part III)

"…So then, she tells me to hand over the baby," Ornyk said. "The baby! Never mind that I was still holding the wand. She tells me to hand over the child."

The Purple Ranger shook her head incredulously, gazing curiously across the table at the currently human-looking alien.

"You jest," she accused.

"I jest not."

"So what did you do?"

"I hand over the child," Ornyk replied. "And then, when she's encumbered by an armful of baby, I shot her with the wand. Then I picked up the baby and went on my way."

"She deserved it."

"I agree. And this wasn't a run-of-the-mill idiot, either, mind you. Up until then, I'd considered her to be a fairly intelligent individual."

"And yet, she demands that you hand over the child first. As opposed to, say, drop the wand, _then _hand over the child."

"I suppose it's the whole child thing," the disguised Zornian guessed, taking another sip of his smoothie. "Even the brightest person can become an idiot when their offspring are involved."

"Just one of the myriad of reasons I make it a point never to breed," the Purple Ranger commented.

"Amen to that." Ornyk replied. The two clinked their glasses together.

A trilling sound emitted from Kalen's purse.

"Excuse me," she said, pulling it out and examining the screen. 'FORWARDED COMCHIP SIGNAL', it read.

With a sigh, she brought it to her ear.

"Yes?"

"Is my help _really _necessary?"

"Very well. I'm on my way."

"Ciao."

Snapping it closed, she turned to the being across the table.

"Duty calls, I'm afraid."

"Just as well," Ornyk replied. "I've something to attend to, myself. Next week, same time, same place?"

"Your treat?"

"Of course."

"Wouldn't miss it."

With a wave, Kalen excused herself and left the small sidewalk café, strolling down the street a ways. If anyone noticed the exquisitely dressed Asian girl ducking into the first side alley she could find, no one said anything.

And, if anyone had mentioned seeing her step into the portal of rippling, shimmering light and vanishing without a trace, no one would have believed it anyway.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Oh, the monotony of travel," Stephen complained, idly trudging along the road, kicking along a loose chunk of yellow brick as he went.

"Just be glad you're not in heels," Lolli retorted. "My feet are killing me. Who designed high heels anyway?"

"Terina doesn't seem to mind them."

"Terina's an alien. She has…I dunno. Alien feet or something."

The White Ranger blinked. "Did you just admit to not knowing something?"

Lolli shrugged. "For some reason, all the files in Zord-1's database on Eltarian physiology have been deleted. So I never had the chance to research it. And Terina keeps avoiding the question."

About to reply, Stephen stopped short, spying someone on the road ahead.

"Head's up. Company."

But as the two drew closer, it became apparent that the figure on the road was not so much a some_one _as a some_thing_.

"Funny place to leave a statue," Stephen said, as Lolli examined the rotund copper man who was frozen in mid-stride in the middle of the road.

"I'm not sure it's a statue," the Green Ranger argued, tucking her long blonde hair back behind her ears to keep it from falling into her face as she examined the coat of arms on the figure's ball-like body.

"_Smith & Tinker's patent double-action, extra-responsive, thought-creating, perfect-talking mechanical man_," she read. "_Fitted with our special clock-work attachment. Speaks, thinks, acts, and does everything but live. Manufactured only at our works at Evna, Land of Ev…_You have GOT to be kidding me. You can't possibly make a working artificial mind out of clockwork."

"It says it's guaranteed to work perfectly for a thousand years," Stephen pointed out, reading the inscription over her shoulder. "Let's wind it up and see if it still works."

"It won't," Lolli said adamantly. "It can't." But she took a step back anyway, arms crossed, as the White Ranger unfolded one of the keys that lay flush against the machine-man's back and began to turn.

A deep, rhythmic ticking came from somewhere deep within the copper figure's body, but nothing else happened.

"See?"

"Hang on, that was just for thinking," Stephen argued. "This one makes him talk."

"Hell-o?" the man said in a flat mechanical monotone, as soon as it was wound.

"Okay, so it talks," the Green Ranger argued. "That doesn't mean it thinks."

"How did you get here?" Stephen asked.

"I was sent by the wiz-ard to de-liv-er a mes-sage to the Witch of the North. But half-way there, I ran down and could go no fur-ther. Then I called for help un-til my voice ran down. Then I stood and thought un-til my brains ran down. Af-ter that I re-mem-ber no-thing un-til you wound me up ag-ain."

"I hate magic," Lolli grumbled.

"I think it's neat," the White Ranger said, prying the copper sword from the man's immobile hand.

The Green Ranger sighed. "You came from the wizard, right? Then you came from the City of Emeralds?"

"That is cor-rect," the machine said as Stephen began to fence an imaginary opponent with the sword, testing its balance.

"How far is it?"

"A-bout a day's jour-ney from here. But you will have to tra-vel through the Dark For-est, where there dwell all man-ner of fright-ful beasts."

"Like what?" Stephen asked.

"Like li-ons and ti-gers and be-"

"Heard enough," Lolli announced. "Come on. The sooner we get to the City, the sooner we get out of this stupid faerie tale."

"If you would be so kind as to wind my ac-tion be-fore you…go…"

But it was too late…the Rangers had already set off again along the path, leaving the copper figure standing morosely in the road, his gears grinding sadly.

Murphy paused, glanced back at him and let out a slight whimper. Then, realizing that the others were leaving him behind, hastened to catch up to the Rangers.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tommy glanced up from the book he was skimming as the portal flared to life and Fox and Angel stepped through. Kalen passed through the portal as well, but rather than stepping, she was carried by Angel.

"What happened?" Terina asked, as Angel set the Purple Ranger down at the picnic table.

"Well, we won. But right at the beginning, the monster managed to graze her leg with a blast before we could morph," Fox explained.

"I knew I should have gone with you," the Red Ranger berated himself. "I'm no good at this academic stuff. If I'd come, we could have finished the fight sooner and we all could have been…"

"Coulda woulda shoulda," Fox waved aside. "Can't be helped now. Besides, the three of _us_ have the only decent Megazord available."

Kalen rolled up her torn and bloody pant leg, revealing a large section of her left calf that had been blackened, burned, and apparently torn open.

Tommy winced loudly. "That looks bad. Does it hurt?"

The Purple Ranger shot him a look that was carefully calculated to make him feel as stupid as possible.

"Okay, of course it hurts. Why didn't you auto-morph, though?"

"I think that only works on attacks that would be lethal," Angel suggested.

"We should get her to the medbay," Fox said, examining the wound. "This is pretty bad."

"Oh, there's no need to take her all the way through the forest," Princess Shayla chimed in. She magically produced a bowl and walked briskly over to the Sacred Fountain. "The sacred waters can heal almost any injury," she said.

Everyone stepped back, and Kalen cautiously presented her leg as Shayla approached.

"Ah," Angel said apprehensively. "Perhaps you shouldn't..."

Kalen shot him an alarmed glance, but wasn't able to move her leg in time before Shayla poured the enchanted liquid onto the wound.

Immediately, there was an angry hiss, as though the water had been pure acid. The Purple Ranger's scream cut the air, and Shayla jumped back in alarm.

The others drew closer, but Angel raised an arm, warning them back.

Kalen clutched her leg, her face screwed up in pain even after her scream had faded, tiny arclets of purple lightning playing over her body. After a few deep breaths, she said, in a harsh voice, "You have an interesting idea of healing, Princess."

"I…I don't understand," Shayla stammered. "It usually only reacts that way to evil creatures…"

Kalen raised her hand. "Evil creature!" she declared angrily, as the lightning faded.

"B…but…"

The Purple Ranger sighed. "Would someone please assist me to the Medbay?"

"I will," Fox said. Placing Kalen's arm around her shoulder, the two proceeded to hobble off through the woods. Fox shot a worried glance back at Shayla, as though wondering whether she'd injured Kalen on purpose.

"I was always told that Power Rangers were champions of Good," Shayla said softly. "How can one of them be evil?"

"We actually have three evil rangers," Terina corrected. "It…just sort of worked out that way."

There was an awkward silence.

"Well," Tommy said. "Come on. We've still got more research to do."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What I would give for a camera right now," Stephen said, eyeing the rusted form before him.

"Fox would pay a fortune for this," Lolli agreed. She took a step forward and rapped on the metal encasing Deacon's head. "Comfy in there?"

The Silver Ranger glared. "Mmm mmm mmmmmm mmmm M mmmmm mmm mmmm mmmm mmmm."

"Uh-huh," the Green Ranger replied, clearly not understanding a word.

Stephen grunted, trying to move Deacon's arms, but the joints were rusted solid.

"No good. We need some oil or something."

"Murphy. Oil can."

A panel on the mechanical dog's back slid aside and something shot up into the air, like bread from a toaster. Lolli deftly caught it and tossed it to Stephen, who proceeded to oil Deacon's arms and work the joints free.

"You can do your own legs," the White Ranger said afterwards, handing him the can.

"Did you fall into a bale of hay, or what?" Deacon asked, once he'd freed his jaw.

"Oh, like you can talk," Stephen retorted. He tugged at the straw that stuck out of his sleeves around his wrists. No matter how much of the itchy stuff he pulled out, there always seemed to be more. "You're wearing a tin can."

"From the looks of you two, I'm guessing….Wizard of Oz?"

They nodded.

"And we're off to see the Wizard?" Deacon inquired further, working his newly oiled leg joints.

More nods.

"Okay then. Let's go," he said, shouldering his axe. "Just one question."

"What's that?" Lolli asked cautiously.

"Why are you wearing pink lipstick?"

"It won't come off!" the Green Ranger wailed, wiping at her mouth.

Chuckling, Deacon fell into step behind Stephen, leaving Lolli to follow behind, trying desperately to rid her mouth of the offensive, sparkly, bubblegum-pink makeup.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So, wait…let me get this straight," Fox said. "This Wizard of Distortion-"

"Deception," Tommy corrected.

"Whatever, he sent your friends back in time 200 years?"

"Yep."

"And back then, 'Angel Grove' was 'Angel Grove Township'?" the Camo Ranger asked.

"Uh-huh."

"With Caucasian-skinned settlers and British redcoats."

"That's right."

"That's bullshit," Fox protested. "You said yourself that your 'America' was settled in the east right around that time, and that they traveled west from New England, right? So European settlers wouldn't have made it to the west coast until decades later."

"Hey, yeah," Terina chimed in. "What in Jhenoa's name were British soldiers doing in California 200 years ago?"

Tommy blinked in astonishment. "That's…a very good question. I think California was still owned by Mexico back then."

"Your Wizard of Deception probably wound up creating a pocket reality," Shayla said. "Most temporal spells do. It's even possible that he actually sent your friends to another, already existing universe."

"Huh. Maybe I should have taken his wand instead of this shield," the Red Ranger said, half-joking. "It could have gotten me home."

"Do you really want to leave that badly?" Terina asked. "Is Terra so bad?"

"Not really. But I have family and friends waiting for me back on Earth. I mean, they've probably found themselves a replacement Red Turbo Ranger by now, I understand that…"

"You've got a girl back home, don't you?" Fox asked slyly.

"Maybe," Tommy said facetiously.

"I'd let her go if I were you," Shayla said darkly.

The Red Ranger turned to face her, confused. "Why's that?"

"There are an infinite number of possible dimensions. The odds of your ever finding the one you came from are astronomical. It might be better for you to just accept that this is your world now. Make a life for yourself here, instead of waiting to return to one you may never see again."

"I dunno," Fox admitted. "It's always just sort of been assumed that Tommy'd be going back where he came from, once he'd done what the Red Power Coin brought him here to do."

"I don't even know what that is," Tommy admitted.

"I'd have thought you'd be a bit more curious, Tommy."

Shayla, Fox, Terina and Tommy all looked up in surprise to see Kite sitting on the edge of the sacred fountain, idly running his fingers across the surface of the water.

"An all-knowing Oracle tells you that you're the Nexus, and you don't even ask for a little clarification?"

"It won't answer a second question," Tommy grumbled.

"You're surrounded by friends who could have asked for it to elaborate," the seemingly omniscient child pointed out. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't WANT to know the truth."

"What more is there to know?" the Red Ranger asked. "I'm the Nexus. Or I'm going to be."

"Don't you realize what that means?"

"I'm getting sick of all these riddles," Fox said grumpily.

"Likewise," Tommy said. "Kite, unless you're actually going to tell us something, just go away. I've got enough to deal with."

Kite humphed. "Well, someone's in a bad mood. Fine. Be that way. I'll go."

"Wait!" Terina cried. "Kite, do you know of any way to get the others out of that big ball of ink-thing? We've been looking, but we can't find anything in here…" She gestured hopelessly at the stack of magical tomes.

Kite considered.

"Someone would have to in to get them, I think," he said finally. "But the entry of outside forces into a closed pocket universe after it's been created could completely destabilize that universe."

"Meaning if we went in there, it could kill them all," Tommy summed up.

"I'm afraid so," Kite replied grimly.

The surface of the Pond suddenly began to erupt with activity.

"Which is why you'd better stop him," the godlike child added, as the Rangers gathered around to see the image in the water of Ornyk, trying to crack open the orb of ink with a focused stream of fire from his sword.

"I thought it couldn't be penetrated?" Shayla asked.

"It can," Kite said. "Just not by anything the Oasis has."

"Can Ornyk crack it?" Fox asked.

Kite just shrugged.

"Guys?" Tommy asked.

"We know," Terina said. "It's showtime.


	85. Over the Rainbow Part IV

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 85: Over the Rainbow (Part IV)

Tommy's armored red boots crunched against tiny fragments of broken glass as he stepped free of the Animarian portal, emerging onto the street in front of what had once been a library. The other Rangers who'd been with him at the ruins, Fox, Terina, and Electra, followed, the portal closing behind them.

Floating serenely a good seven feet above ground level was a huge black sphere of solid ink, but it was even higher when one took into account that the ground beneath it was a perfectly smooth crater, the pavement and strata beneath having been simply scooped out by the effect. Ornyk stood on the pavement of the parking lot at the crater's edge, still trying to crack the surface of the sphere with magic from his sword, his newly reacquired shield nowhere in sight.

"Ornyk!" he called, as he and the other Rangers stepped out of the street, approaching the armored wolflike alien.

The Zornian waved a negligent hand at them, and dark flames swept across the library's parking lot, hardening around their boots as a sheet of glittering indigo crystal, freezing their feet in place.

"Be with you in a moment," he said, redoubling the stream of fire that was shooting down his sword at the inksphere.

"What do you think you're _doing_?" Fox demanded, trying without success to pull her feet free.

"The obvious. I am _trying _to get my sister back."

"If you break open that sphere, it could kill everyone inside it. Including Panika," Tommy explained reasonably.

"My sister and I have survived collapsing sub-realities before," Ornyk replied calmly. "It would kill everyone inside _but_ Panika."

Tommy frowned, disgusted but not surprised at Ornyk's willingness to throw away other peoples' lives. Conjuring his Blade Blaster, he aimed straight down and fired.

The other Rangers instinctively raised their hands to protect their faces from the flying shards of shattered crystal, then draw their own weapons and prepared to do likewise as Tommy leapt free, landing right behind Ornyk.

Ornyk smiled, not looking back as Tommy drew his blade.

There was a crackling sound, the sort of thing you hear when two expanding glaciers meet and press against one another. Startled, Tommy looked back to see that the crystal had surged upwards, completely encasing the other three Rangers even as they'd aimed their weapons down at their feet.

The Red Ranger spun back towards Ornyk…just in time to parry a blow that would have taken his head off.

"Getting sloppy, Red Ranger."

With a growl, Tommy raised his foot and delivered a solid kick to Ornyk's armored torso…not doing a great deal of actual damage, but knocking him back a few feet.

Ornyk teetered for a moment at the edge of the smooth, hemispherical pit, then topped back into it with a crash, his heavy indigo armor clattering against the layers of rock and soil.

Tommy grinned. "Who's getting sloppy?"

The Red Ranger's grin faded as the crater suddenly became a bowl of dark fire, a surge of intense heat forcing him back from the rim.

Ornyk's armored form rose out of the flames, stopping just shy of hitting his head on the bottom of the inksphere. He floated forward and set himself down on the ground, his metal wolf-paw boots coming to rest on the scarred and pitted asphalt, indigo flames still clinging to him as the fires in the pit died down.

Tommy tried to strike, hoping the Zornian was still off-balance, but Ornyk was too fast, blocking the Red Ranger's blade with his own. Tommy swung wide in a horizontal arc, but Ornyk dropped to the ground. As Tommy blade sailed harmlessly over his head, Ornyk spun, his leg sweeping the Red Ranger's feet out from under him.

Tommy let out an "Oof!" as his back hit the ground, grateful for his armor and for the fact that he had no lungs from which the air could be lost. His eyes went wide as the lupine alien's flaming sword swept down at his head. Rolling aside, he regained his feet, letting the dark sword slice through the pavement below instead of him.

Regaining his feet, Tommy was forced to dive aside again as Ornyk pointed at him with the forefinger of his free hand, firing off a blast of blue-black fire. The red Ranger dodged again and again as more blasts followed.

"Is this the best you can do, Ranger?" Ornyk demanded, yet another fireball appearing in his hand.

**"Shield of Triumph!"**

There was a flash of red as the shield-bracer on Tommy's left arm morphed into the jagged, dinosaur-head-shaped shield.

Ornyk smiled, launching his fireball. The Red Ranger raised the shield, blocking the blast, then held it out to the side.

**"Sword of Triumph!"** Tommy invoked, the long, curved blade folding out from the front of the shield. He leveled it at Ornyk and fired forth a stream of brilliant red light.

In the blink of an eye, Ornyk had sheathed his sword and was holding the broad scabbard up in front of him with both hands. The blast of crimson energy was swallowed up by the wide, flat surface.

"Thank you," Ornyk said. "Took you long enough."

Throwing the scabbard aside, Ornyk raised his blade, which was crackling with red light, power stolen from the Shield of Triumph. The Shield of Darkness appeared in his other hand, the blue-and-silver surface snapping open to reveal its blood-red eye.

Before Tommy could say a word, Ornyk turned to the inksphere and unleashed the power of both shields, firing twin beams of blue and red light at the hovering black orb.

The solid surface began rippling, liquid once again, and the orb descended until the bottom was more or less on level with the ground.

"There we go," Ornyk said, sliding his sword into his shield, vanishing them both, and dusting off his hands with the air of someone satisfied with a job well done. "I was beginning to think I'd never get through, but I tell you, there is _nothing _those two shields together can't do. It's remarkable, it really is."

Before he knew it, Tommy was running towards the Zornian, Shield arm held out before him like a battering ram.

Ornyk calmly stepped aside, and Tommy found himself plummeting headlong into the inksphere, swallowed up in a world of cold, black wetness.

The wolflike warrior shook his head, smirking as he watched the last bit of red armor swallowed up by the ink.

"Humans."

With that, he calmly walked away from the sphere.

A moment later, he came running back, diving through the air, holding his nose and yelling "Bonzai!" as he rolled into a ball, careening through the surface of the sphere, the rippling ink swallowing him whole.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Dark in here," Deacon commented, as the foliage overhead grew thicker, blocking out the sun.

"Murphy. Lights," Lolli commented.

Small panels on the mechanical dog's casing popped open, revealing tiny halogen lights that flared to life, illuminating the long, yellow brick road ahead of them.

"Is there anything that dog _can't_ do?" Deacon asked.

"Fly," the Green Ranger replied. "But I'm beta-testing that."

"Can he get me a drink?" Stephen quipped. "I'd kill for a soda."

"Murphy. Cold one."

Another panel opened and a small object shot up from Murphy's back. Lolli grabbed it from the air and tossed it to Stephen, who stared in astonishment at the small soda can that sat in his palm, ice-cold and covered with condensation.

"I was kidding," he said, in a small voice.

Lolli shrugged, a smug smirk on her face.

"How do you fit all that machinery in there?" the Silver Ranger inquired curiously, eyeing Murphy. The robotic German Shepherd was by no means a small dog, but it still didn't seem possible that his frame could have held quite so many gadgets.

"The miracle of molecular compression," Lolli replied, as Stephen got over his astonishment and cracked open his soda, taking a swig.

He licked his lips curiously. "Surge? I thought they stopped making this stuff."

"They did. I had to synthesize my own. But don't worry, this kind doesn't have those side-effects that got the real thing shut down."

"Those side-effects were real, then?" Deacon asked. "I thought those were just rumors."

Lolli shrugged. "How should I know? The stuff didn't make MY penis shrink, that's for damn sure. But Zord-1 has built in safeties that have to be switched off before they'll let you replicate any food that's innately harmful, and I didn't have to shut anything off to get Surge, so don't worry about it."

"I wasn't, until you two started talking about it," Stephen muttered. "I'd never even heard those rumors."

Lolli chuckled. "Want something to _really _worry about? I _did _have to shut off the safeties to get him to synthesize McDona-"

Her sentence was cut off as Deacon stopped abruptly, stretching his right arm out to the side to stop his companions. The Green Ranger's first impression was that he was trying to grope her, but his gaze was focused on the road ahead.

"Murphy. Lights out," he said. The dog complied, plunging the forest back into complete blackness.

"What is it?" Stephen asked.

"Look," the Silver Ranger said.

Lolli squinted off into the darkness. As her eyes adjusted, she was able to make out a tiny ember of light burning on the road ahead.

"What is that?" Stephen asked, spotting it. "A campfire?"

"Murphy?" Lolli asked.

Green lights swept across the dog's glossy black visor as he scanned ahead. He let out a cheerful bark.

"What's he…umm…saying?" the White Ranger inquired.

Lolli shrugged. "He doesn't seem to think it's dangerous, whatever it is. And we have to pass it to move on anyway, unless we want to try to go around…"

Deacon recalled the dense walls of foliage that stood alongside them, always threatening to overgrow the road but stopping just shy of doing so.

"Pass," he said. "We'd get lost in no time. Just stay on your guard until we know what it is."

And so, the group proceeded cautiously forward.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The world became a dizzying blur as Tommy was flung end over end through a universe of chaotic non-reality, unable to tell which way was up, or if there even was an up. Then, just as suddenly as they'd been pulled in, the two were spat out, and came to a rolling halt.

Tommy's first thought was that he was grateful to have landed on something soft. His second was to wonder why the something soft he'd landed on had let out an "Oof!"

Climbing somewhat unsteadily to his feet, the Red Ranger surveyed his surroundings.

There was a chuckle from behind him, and he spun around to see Ornyk, standing behind him and looking oddly pleased with himself.

"I've always wanted to do that," he said, smoothing his fur and shaking his head, as though to clear water from his ears.

"Do what?" Tommy asked, unsure of his meaning.

"A cannonball," the Zornian replied.

Tommy shook his head, returning to his survey of their location.

"Where are we?" He asked slowly.

"Looks to be some sort of throne room," Ornyk's voice replied.

Tommy had to agree with the Zornian's assessment. The room was long and relatively narrow, and very, very green. They were standing on a raised dais, upon which sat an emerald-encrusted throne. A velvety green carpet ran along the floor, beginning at the throne, descending the stairs of the dais, and reaching all the way to the enormous double doors at the other end of the chamber. The walls were alternately draped with loose green curtains and hung with ornamental torch brackets that added a vaguely ominous feel to the room with their flickering light.

Lying at their feet was an unconscious old man, no taller than five feet, with a pot belly and a few remaining tufts of silvery-white hair. Except for the gold buttons on his coat and the golden watch-chain that dangled from his vest pocket, his fancy outfit, like everything else in the room, was a deep, rich emerald green.

"Hey, you okay?" Tommy asked, kneeling next to the old man.

There was no response. The man was alive, but old cold.

"Oh, Great and Terrible Wizard!" a voice suddenly called.

Both Ornyk and Tommy jumped in surprise, but there was no one else in the room. The voice crackled as though coming over a speakerphone.

"Great and terrible wizard?" Ornyk repeated apprehensively. "We landed on a great and terrible wizard?"

"He doesn't _look _like a great and terrible wizard," the Red Ranger commented, appraising the figure on the floor.

"Looks can be deceiving. I once met a three-foot-tall sentient mushroom who had more power than every magical creature on Terra combined."

Tommy squinted. "I thought _all_ the creatures on Terra were magical?"

"That's exactly my point."

"Oh."

"Wizard?" the voice repeated. "Are you there?"

"What do we do?" Tommy asked. "He's not going to be happy when he wakes up."

"We could always kill him before he wakes up," the prince suggested.

"No."

"I suspected that would be your position. Very well then, _you _think of something."

"Great Wizard?"

Tommy ran over to the wall where the voice sounded loudest and pulled aside the curtain, revealing a control room of some sort. There was, indeed, a loudspeaker-like mechanism mounted on the wall.

Ornyk followed, curious.

Tommy carefully pressed the large green button on the wall.

"Yes?" he said cautiously.

"Oh, Great Wizard!" the voice said. "What a…erm…horrendously bold voice you've chosen today! No doubt your form is equally terrifying."

Ornyk shoved Tommy out of the way and growled into the speaker.

"And well it should be. Why do you disturb the Great Wizard?"

"Oh! My Lord, there is someone here who wishes an audience with your grace. Are you willing to honor them with an audience today?"

'NO,' Tommy mouthed silently.

"Yes," Ornyk replied. "I am feeling generous today. Send them in."

"At once, Great Wizard."

"What are you doing?" Tommy demanded, as Ornyk walked over and hoisted the unconscious old man over his shoulder.

"Were you not listening? The Wizard changes form when he meets with supplicants. I'd say my form is terrifying enough to play Wizard while he's indisposed."

"Why didn't you just say no?" the Red Ranger demanded.

"If the Wizard is the one overseeing these people, it might seem suspicious if he suddenly started turning them away." The Zornian replied, walking over and unceremoniously dumping the Wizard into his control room. "Besides, where's the _fun_ in that? Now get back there behind the curtain with him and keep quiet."

Tommy opened his mouth to protest, but the great oaken doors were already creaking open. Throwing one last glare at Ornyk, who was already relaxing in the Wizard's throne, he ducked into the control room and drew the curtain.

"Greetings, supplicant."

"Gr-greetings, Great and Terrible Wizard. Who was that man?"

"The one in red? Just one of my servants."

"Why does he hide behind a curtain?"

Ornyk's tone grew somewhat less tolerant. "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain," he growled. "State your business or begone."

The supplicant's matter was a simple domestic one, easily solved…nothing that should have merited a Great Wizard's involvement. He was gone in less than ten minutes.

Tommy emerged from the control room, breathing a sigh of relief. He crossed his arms, unsure of where to look, suddenly aware of his situation. He and Ornyk regarded one other in silence for a time. It seemed as though there was suddenly an unspoken agreement between them…whatever their quarrel, it was forgotten until they found a way out of this mess.

Finally, Tommy broke the silence.

"How can you be Great _and _Terrible at the same time, anyway?"

Ornyk sighed, rolling his eyes.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Deacon?"

"Jareth?"

The Gold Ranger jumped to his feet and ran over to meet the others as they approached.

"What in the name of Kingdom Hearts took you people so long?" he demanded.

"Hey! I was rusted solid!"

"I was tied to a pole," Stephen added.

Jareth looked expectantly at Lolli…then tilted his head to the side.

"Are you wearing-"

"Say one word about the lipstick and I will tear out your _entire_ circulatory system."

"Gotcha. So, am I right in assuming that we're all stuck in Oz?"

"Looks that way," Deacon said.

"How did you know?" Stephen asked.

Jareth gestured at the ground. "The Yellow-Brick Road was kind of a giveaway, and your outfits were the clincher."

"Any idea how we get out?" Lolli asked. "Panika seems to think we have to finish the story."

Jareth nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right. I tried going on ahead on my own, but…Well, not only didn't I know which way to go, but it was like the forest wouldn't let me leave. I kept passing the same trees."

"What's that?" Stephen asked, gesturing towards Jareth's light source…an antique oil lamp.

"A lamp," Jareth replied simply.

"Where you get it?"

"Oh, it's one of the relics from Cleora's stash. I was kinda hoping there'd be a djinni inside, but all it seems to do is…well, light up."

"Handy in a place like this," Deacon pointed out.

"The djinni would have been handier," Jareth pouted, picking up his lamp. "But, yeah. I was just sitting here in the dark, wishing I had a light, and then I remembered I had this in my pocket…"

"You had it in your pocket?"

"Hey, I wear pants this baggy for a reason."

Murphy's headlights were brighter, so he blew out the lamp's flame as the group made their way through the forest.

"By the way, love the hair," Deacon quipped.

"Hey, I'm a lion. What do you expect? Hey, are you hollow, or tin all the way through, or just wearing a tin suit?"

"I think it's just a tin suit."

"I'm still flesh and blood. Just have straw in my clothes," Stephen chimed in. "It itches."

"Tell me about it," Jareth commiserated "I think I have fleas."

"Can't possibly itch as much as the straw," the White Ranger argued.

Lolli sighed as the group fell into a heated debate over who currently had it worse.

"Mental note…equip Murphy with aspirin dispenser."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Myk blinked. He was standing, all alone, in the Temple Ruins on Animaria…and he had no idea how he'd gotten there.

One moment, he'd been standing in his room, and the next…he was here. Glancing at his watch, he realized that almost four hours had passed.

Stunned, he sat down heavily at the wooden table, placing his head in his hands.

"There's something wrong with me," he said quietly to himself.

_Indeed there is._

Myk's head jerked up.

"Ikaika?"

_You can hear me? Thank the gods. I was beginning to think I'd lost you for good._

"Ikaika, what's going on? Why do I keep blacking out?"

_You do not 'Black Out'. Your other side takes control._

"Other side?"

_Yes. You have developed a second self…as though your mind is split in two. Your other self is evil, Myk…pure evil. _

"Why haven't you stopped him?"

_I have been trying, but an outside force has been suppressing me._

"That explains why you've been so quiet lately. But how…when did I…split?"

_I believe it began when you first assembled Animus. The mental link placed too much stress on your mind, causing the fission. _

Myk paused. It did add up…the bad dreams had started right about then, and the mental lapses not long after that.

"He's lying."

Myk spun to see Kite sitting near the fountain, staring at him disconcertingly with those penetrating blue eyes.

"You can hear him?"

_Of course he can hear me, _Ikaika said. _Don't you understand? Kite IS Animus._

"It's true," Kite said simply. "I am."

_When the Animus Megazord first assembled, your three minds and the Morphin Grid were as one, _the sword said. _And Kite was born. He can see through your eyes, hear your thoughts, because part of him IS you. And it is he who has been fighting me, trying to keep me from speaking to you. He has been manipulating your evil side, using your body to gather energy to sustain himself…since you have not formed Animus in so long, his power has waned._

Kite shook his head. "He's lying about that, Myk. There is no 'other side' to your personality. The time you can't remember is the time when he's taken control from you. Ikaika is the one using your body to gather power, power he needs to create a body of his own."

Myk shook his head.

_You mustn't listen to him. Remember how he betrayed the other Rangers on Phaedos._

Kite smiled. "That really was quite clever, the decoy Kite. Who was it, pretending to be me? Zedd? Ornyk?" He snapped his fingers, smiling, comprehension dawning across his face. "Panika. Of course. Who else makes force fields of red light?"

_You know a great deal about it for someone who supposedly wasn't there._

"The others told the whole story when they got back, remember?"

_You are twisting words, obscuring the truth! You are using this man for your own selfish ends and I will NOT allow it!_

"Oh, shut up. Your story doesn't add up, and we can all see it. Deacon and Jareth didn't develop 'evil personalities' when I was formed. Why should Myk?"

_Because Myk knows that Good and Evil cannot coexist! It blends in the minds of the others, because they foolishly believe that it can, but in Myk's it had no choice but to polarize!_

"Enough!" Myk yelled, hands over his ears. A futile gesture, he could keep neither of them from his mind. "I don't…I don't know who to believe…Either I'm going insane because of one of you or I'm being possessed by the other."

"If you're equally screwed either way, then you might as well believe one of us as the other," Kite said.

_A third of him may be you, but the rest is corruption, _Ikaika said fiercely. _He just said that Good may as well be Evil. He cannot be trusted._

"The water," a voice said.

Myk and Kite turned to see Shayla, standing beneath one of the Temple's ruined arches.

"Earlier today, Kite was touching the water. It didn't burn him. But when I had to splash some on you…the other you, when he threatened me…"

Myk paused, remembering the strange burns he'd had when he'd emerged from one of his lapses, just before the whole Zen'Aku debacle.

_Proving nothing, except that Kite is stronger than the water, while the demon he spawned within you is not._

"You can hear him, too?" the Bronze Ranger asked, his eyes on the Princess.

Shayla fingered the intricate necklace she wore. "This lets me," she said. "It was this your dark side wanted… whoever he may be…"

Myk's head felt like it was splitting.

"Shayla," he asked. "Princess. Who would you believe?"

The Princess paused. "I…I want to believe Kite. He woke me up, and brought the Wild Zords to Animaria…I owe him so much." She shot an apologetic glance as the child, who nodded indulgently. "But...I don't know. He could have just done all that to win the Rangers' favor. Either of them could be telling the truth. I just don't know."

Myk sighed.

"Just give me the sword, Myk," Kite urged gently. "I can break its tie to you. I can put him back in that tomb where he belongs, before he breaks free of the blade."

Myk's head snapped up, his expression hardening.

"So that's it. You want my sword."

"Shit," Kite said simply.

"You want Dorn's power. I've got to hand it to you, Kite. You almost had me. It was a good effort, it really was."

There was a sudden flare of white light as Dorn materialized in the Bronze Ranger's hand. He stood, holding the brilliant white blade before him. It all made so much sense now. How could he ever have ever thought that there was anything genuine about this creature? What honest being would wear the face of a child?

Letting out a cry, Myk rushed forward, swinging the blade. At the last possible moment, Kite shattered into a flurry of gold, silver, and bronze sparks, the blade singing harmlessly through the air where he'd been standing. Its tip caught the edge of one of the rocky columns that still stood about the ruins, slicing through the stone as though it were cheese.

The Bronze Ranger let out a frustrated yell, gazing up at the sky.

"But you're not getting this sword! Never! _Stay away from me_!!" He fell to his knees, suddenly too tired to stand. "Stay away," he repeated in a whisper.

Shayla knelt down and wrapped her arms around him, but he barely felt it.


	86. Over the Rainbow Part V

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 86: Over the Rainbow (Part V)

"Deacon! To your left!"

The Silver Ranger jumped, narrowly avoided the entangling vines that were encroaching towards him, trying to ensnare his ankles.

Stephen stabbed at another thick tangle of branches with the copper saber he'd taken from the clockwork soldier, doing the best he could to incapacitate them. The trouble was, there wasn't much of an edge to his weapon, the blade having been designed for stabbing rather than slashing. Deacon's axe was better suited, but the sheer amount of vegetation meant that they were fighting a losing battle.

"Killer trees," Deacon grumbled. "I've fought giant bees, rabbits made of jello, two-headed birds, empty suits of armor, thought I'd seen everything, but no, now we have killer trees…Ow!" He clutched at his face as one of the trees flung an apple, the rock-hard fruit striking him in the nose. His fingers came away stained with blood.

The tree reared back its arm to throw another apple, but a massive fireball struck it, incinerating its leaves and causing its entire upper section to explode. A wave of blistering heat rolled over then, and bits of shattered bark rained down on them.

The other trees seemed stunned, which was fortunate because the Rangers were too surprised to do much fighting at that point.

Lolli smirked, lowering Muphy's cannon-form.

"He turns into a _bazooka_?" Stephen asked.

"Why didn't you whip that out before?" Deacon demanded.

The Green Ranger shrugged. "You seemed to be doing okay."

The vines along the ground began to twitch, and another apple flew by, nearly striking Stephen's leg.

"Quick, shoot the rest!" he suggested.

"Can't," Lolli said. "Two minute delay between shots."

"That was stupid," Stephen said. "Why'd you built that in?"

"There _has_ to be a cool-down period," Lolli argued.

"Why?"

"Because otherwise my dog would melt."

"Oh."

As the trees recovered from their apparent shock, Lolli took a few steps back, watching the timer on Murphy's back, waiting for it to indicate that he was ready to fire again.

One of the vines ensnared Deacon's ankle, and he let out a cry as the tree lifted him into the air, dangling him upside-down. The Silver Ranger tried to cut the vine and free himself, but the Tree began whipping him around, slamming him against the ground. His tin suit helped somewhat, but it wasn't too effective as armor.

Deciding it was finished with swinging him around and slamming him into the yellow bricks, the Tree spun the Silver Ranger around in a quick circle and released him, sending him flying.

Deacon winced as he hit the ground, rolling with the impact.

"Ow," he said, climbing painfully to his feet. Checking to be sure nothing had broken, he spied Jareth, boldly hiding behind one of the normal, non-violent trees.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Staying in character," Jareth replied. He abruptly ducked back behind the tree as a barrage of apples came their way. Deacon followed suit, then, once the barrage was over, hefted his axe and prepared to dive back into the fray.

"You could help out, you know," he remarked dryly.

"Umm…no, I really couldn't," Jareth replied. "You're packing an axe, Stephen's got that sword he took, Lolli has the wonderdog who can turn into a bazooka…And you know what I've got? A lamp."

Jareth help up the gold-and-blue lamp that had helped to guide them through the forest.

"And it's nice when you need to find your way through the woods, but it doesn't help much in a fight. Sorry, I wish it was more useful, I really do-"

Whatever Jareth may have said after that was abruptly cut short as the lamp jerked in his hand, it's handle folding downward and a blaster barrel snapping out from the spout.

Both Rangers stared at the lamp in astonishment.

"Did it just grant your wish?" the Silver Ranger asked incredulously.

"You know, I think it _did_," Jareth replied, smiling.

"Well? Use it!"

Jareth shrugged. "Okay, but you know I'm not the best shot in the world. Here goes…"

He stepped out into the center of the road, leveled his lamp-blaster, and squeezed the trigger. A rapid-fire barrage of golden fireballs flew out of the end in a narrow stream…that flew straight between two of the trees, neatly missing them both.

"See? Told you...," Jareth began, then stopped short as the fireballs broke formation, each one breaking away from the narrow line and launching itself, of its own accord, at one of the trees.

Few people have had the experience of hearing trees scream. As the leaves and branches of the killer foliage burst into magical flames, that meager statistic increased significantly.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

The bell above the door jingled, announcing the arrival of a new customer.

"Thank you," the cashier said, handing some change to the customer she was already dealing with. "Have a nice…"

She broke off, seeing what had just walked into her store.

The man to whom she'd just made the sale edged around the new arrival cautiously on his way out, and the cashier couldn't blame him…the girl who'd just walked in was filthy, wearing the most bizarre clothes she'd ever seen, and seemed to have no idea where she was.

As the other customer left, the cashier addressed the new girl cautiously.

"Can I help you?"

The girl looked over at her, looking surprised to realize that there was someone else in the room. She made a weird noise that sounded almost like a modem, then began babbling in what sounded like six different languages.

"Woah…stop, stop…I can't understand a word you're saying."

The girl suddenly stopped.

"Atlantean?" she asked haltingly.

"We can talk in High Terran, if you prefer," the proprietor offered, switching languages.

The girl appeared to consider. "That would be easiest. Thank you."

Something seemed to shimmer on the front of the girl's shirt, but when the bookstore owner turned to look directly at it, all she saw was the name embroidered onto the fabric. S.O.P.H.I.E.

"What can I get for you…Sophie?"

"Sophie?"

"That's your name, isn't it? It's on your shirt."

"Oh…yes. That's right."

"I'm Beth," the cashier introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you. You remind me of someone, actually. Comes in here a lot. She has a far-off expression like yours."

Sophie smiled, but her expression quickly turned to one of fear, her head snapping around to face the front windows.

Frowning, Beth followed her gaze. Through the myriad of posters, flyers, and magazine pages pasted to the windows, she could see two people in outfits just as freaky as Sophie's, both men, one of them with chocolate-colored skin and dreadlocks, the other pale, with ice-blue eyes and a black crew cut. They seemed to be looking for something, and every few minutes each one consulted the strange, rectangular device he was carrying.

Beth blinked in surprise as Sophie vaulted over the counter and started tinkering with the microwave on the shelf behind her that she used to heat up snacks when she was working a double-shift and had to skip lunch.

"What are you doing?" Beth demanded, as Sophie set the microwave to HIGH and turned it on, not bothering to put anything in it.

"Drowning out my signature," Sophie replied, ducking under the counter. She looked up at Beth, eyes wide. 'Don't tell them I'm here!" she pleaded.

Beth was about to press her for more information, when the bell over the door rang again, and the two strangers entered the store.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

A brittle cracking sound broke the silence, shards of blue-black crystal raining to the pavement as Fox managed to work her way free of the glittering prison that encased her. As soon as her upper body was free, she reached into her jacket and withdrew a pair of small, blue, arcane-looking pistols, each with a curved blade running along the top. Leveling them at the crystal still encasing her feet, she blasted away what remained, chunks of hard mineral flying in all directions.

Once she was free, she shook loose what tiny flakes of crystal still remained attached to her and turned her blasters on the crystal that still encased the others, freeing them as well.

"Thanks," Terina said, brushing a few crystal chips from her shoulders.

"No problem," Fox replied. "Um. When did I get these?" she added, holding up the guns.

The Yellow Ranger shrugged. "Who knows? We get new stuff all the time. What are they called?"

"Thundermax Sabers," the Camoflage Ranger replied automatically. She shook her head. "Man, that still weirds me. I shouldn't know what they're called. I've never even seen them before."

"Sabers?" Electra asked, confused. "They're guns."

Fox gave one of the pistol-type guns an experimental flick, and it unfolded into a long, curved blade.

"There," she said, waving it around, testing the balance of the weapon. "Now it's a saber."

"You know, normally we just develop new abilities," Terina mused, lifting her feet free of the crystallized pavement. "This is the first time I think any of us has gotten new gear."

"No it's not," Electra interjected, raising her left arm. "I didn't always have the grappling thingy."

"I stand corrected."

Fox snapped the saber back into gun-mode, and holstered them both, peering inside her jacket curiously. "Okay, and the holsters definitely weren't there before."

"So, um, forgive me for going off-topic here," the Black Ranger butted in. "But where's Tommy?"

"No sign of Ornyk either," Terina agreed. She tapped the side of her helmet. "Tommy? Anyone? Hello?"

"Terina?" Diskette's voice replied. "Oh, good. You're out of the crystal."

"How long have we been in there?" Fox asked.

"About ten minutes," Angel's voice replied. "We've been debating whether it was safe to break you out."

"Why wouldn't it have been safe?" the Camo Ranger asked, puzzled.

"Well," Electra replied. "There was always the chance we'd do the liquid nitrogen thing and shatter along with it."

"Exactly," Diskette's voice agreed over the comlink.

"Oh."

"So where's Tommy?" Terina asked.

"He and Ornyk vanished into the inksphere," Diskette said.

The three Rangers shifted their gaze to the massive ball of ink.

Fox sighed. "Great."

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Welcome to Kobeki Books. What can I do for you?"

"Good afternoon, Ms….Beth," the darker-skinned man said, reading her nametag. "My name is Jack, this is my friend Sky. "We're looking for someth…someone, and we were wondering if you'd seen her."

Beth blinked. The man was charismatic, and certainly cute. She'd have to watch herself, or he'd try to charm her. Maybe even succeed.

She shrugged in what she hoped was a nonchalant manner.

"Lots of people come through here," she said, eying Sky as he started wandering the shelves, going over everything with the gadget he carried.

"We think this one might stand out," Jack said. He pulled out the same device and flipped it open. Inside was a video screen, displaying a picture of Sophie. "This is the one. Seen her?"

Beth shot a cursory glance at the image. "No. I'd have definitely noticed _her_."

"Jack," Sky called.

"Excuse me for just a moment," Jack said, then turned and conferred with his friend.

Beth drummed on the countertop, trying not to glance under the counter.

After a few moments, the two men returned to the counter.

"Beth, wasn't it?" Sky said.

"It was," Beth replied.

"We have reason to believe that this girl is in possession of something very dangerous. If you've seen her, it is imperative that you tell us."

"I haven't," Beth replied, calmly meeting his gaze.

A sudden beeping sound broke the tense silence.

"Food's ready," Sky pointed out, still staring into her eyes.

"It can wait," Beth replied, just as stonily, not looking away.

There was another pause.

"Well, thanks for your time, Beth. If you see her, give us a call," Jack said, handing her a business card.

"Sure thing," Beth said, glancing at the card as they walked out the door. The card was fairly plain. It bore the image of a badge, superimposed with a stylized silhouette of a dog's head, the letters SPD, and a ludicrously long phone number.

She waited a few moments, then peered beneath the counter. Sophie stared back up at her, wide-eyed.

"They're gone," Beth said, crumpling up the card and tossing it over her shoulder. She reached down and helped the strange girl get to her feet.

"Now," she added, as Sophie dusted herself off. "I think you owe me an explanation."

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What should I wish for next?" the Gold Ranger was still asking hours later, as the group traveled down the road of yellow bricks.

"A muzzle," Stephen suggested. Jareth's childlike exuberance was beginning to grate on everyone's nerves.

The Gold Ranger pouted. "Be nice, or I'll wish for you to turn into a…hmm. Well, I suppose anything would be an improvement, wouldn't it?"

Stephen turned to shoot him a glare, and he smiled sweetly back.

"How many wishes do you get?" Deacon asked.

"Good question," the Gold Ranger examined the lamp. "Normally, there'd be a djinni to explain the rules, or at least an inscription or something."

"Three is traditional," Lolli allowed.

"True. Sometimes it's just one, though. And in some stories, there's no limit."

"Haven't you already used two?" the Silver Ranger asked.

Jareth frowned. "Mmmmmaybe. The first one could have been a coincidence. I wished I had a light, then I remembered I had the lamp in my pocket. I'm not sure it counts, wishing for something I technically already had."

"So it could still be any of them," Stephen summed up. "A one-use lamp, a three-use lamp, or an unlimited-use lamp."

"Right. I won't know until I go to make another wish."

"Better save it then," Deacon suggested.

Jareth sighed. "Yeah. I guess you're right. Pity, I'm dying for a soda."

Lolli smirked. "Murphy?"

The Gold Ranger suddenly found himself holding the small soda can that the dog had produced.

"Oooh. Surge. Haven't had this stuff in years."

Showing no surprise whatsoever that Lolli's dog had a built-in fridge, Jareth cracked open the tab and took a swig.

"See? This is why I prefer technology to magic," Lolli began. "There's no sloppy guesswork. I KNOW how many sodas I've got."

"I swear, if you start another ten-minute rant about how technology is superior to magic, I will take that entire dog and ram it up-"

Exactly where Stephen would have rammed the dog was to forever remain a mystery, because at that moment, the group crested the hill up which they'd been laborious walking. From the top, there came into view the glistening green spires and shining gem-encrusted walls of the City of Emeralds.

"Wow," Jareth said, rubbing his eyes. "That city could cause glaucoma at thirty paces."

"It's beautiful," Lolli said, amazed.

"You're just saying that 'cause it's green," Stephen denounced, but even he couldn't tear his eyes away from the spectacle before them.

"Well," Deacon said, after they'd spent a respectable period gawking. "Let's go, shall we?"

Agreeing, the group set off down the hill.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Electra's ninja-to made a sharp tapping sound as she struck it against the side of the inksphere.

"Solid," she said, replacing the weapon in its sheath at her back.

"How'd they get _in_ there?" Terina asked.

"Doesn't matter," Fox replied. "We can't follow them."

A sharp sound split the air, not unlike that heard when Ornyk's crystal had cracked earlier. The three female Rangers all turned to see massive cracks begin to travel across the once-flawless surface of the floating black sphere.

Terina and Fox slowly turned to face Electra.

"Lecca?" the Yellow Ranger began.

"Yeah?"

"Don't tap it again."

"Right."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So, let me see if I've gotten all this," Beth began. "You're from another world, but you don't know where. Someone was using you for something, but you don't know what. You came here following something, but you don't know what. And those men are after you because they think you have something….but you don't know what. Is that right?"

"That's right," Sophie agreed, working shampoo into her hair with her fingertips.

Beth shook her head. "You're lucky I run a bookstore," she said. "I'm used to bizarre stories. How long are you gonna be in there?"

"I'll be done in another 9.723 minutes," Sophie replied, sticking her head under the torrent of hot water and letting the scalding spray rinse away the shampoo.

"You hungry?"

"Hungry?" Sophie asked curiously, peering over the frosted-glass wall of Beth's shower.

"I'll go order a pizza," Beth said. "Any topping preference?"

"No," Sophie replied honestly, wondering what a pizza was.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The City of Emeralds was just as dazzling within as it had been from the outside. A bustling capital city, it was packed with people of all sizes, colors, and creeds.

"One short day, in the Emerald City," Jareth sang. "One short day, full of so much to do…Everywhere that you look in this city, there's something exquisite, you'll want to visit, before the day's through…"

"So…any idea where the Wizard lives?" Deacon asked.

"I guess we can ask," Stephen said. "Hey…wait, we're missing one."

"Right here," Lolli said, strolling back up to the group. She tossed each of the others a pair of green sunglasses, such as those found on almost every person walking the streets of the city. There was already a similar pair on her face.

"Snazzy," the Gold Ranger said, sliding his on. "Where'd you get them?"

"That street vendor over there," Lolli said.

"Cool. How much?"

"Free."

"He just gave them to you?" Stephen asked, peering through the emerald lenses of his sunglasses.

"That's right," the Green Ranger confirmed. "Of course, he doesn't know it yet."

"Excuse me…," Deacon was saying to passersby, all of whom seemed to be pointedly ignoring him. "Pardon me…if you could…we'd just like…I wanted…" The Silver Ranger sighed, glaring. The next person to walk past found himself caught by the hair and dragged painfully backwards.

"Hello there," Deacon said pleasantly, honey dripping from his voice as the strange little man fought to free himself from the Silver Ranger's tin grip. "I was just wondering if you would be so kind as to point my friends and me in the direction of the Wizard."

Eyes wide with pain, the man pointed.

"Thank you," Deacon said, releasing him. The man flailed as he regained his footing, then raced off into the crowd without looking back.

"Nicely done," Jareth quipped.

"I thought so," the Silver Ranger replied, slipping on his shades. "Let's go."

He had barely taken three steps when he abruptly fell sideways, one of his feet falling much farther than the other. He stumbled, hopping a bit as he regained his balance.

"Ew," he said, examining his tin-plated foot, which was smeared with a sticky black substance. "What did I step in?"

Murphy walked over to the curious, liquid-filled tear in the otherwise flawless emerald-encrusted street, sniffing at it.

"Well?" Lolli asked, kneeling next to her dog.

The mechanical German Shepherd looked back up at her, words appearing across his LCD readout.

"It's ink," the Green Ranger announced.

"Ink?" Jareth repeated, sounding troubled. "You're sure."

"Absolutely," she replied, standing. "Why? What does that mean?"

"Hopefully, not what I think it does."

ooooooooooooooooooooo

"That's like the sixth one today complaining about ink," Tommy said, emerging once again from behind the curtain. "Seems like it's bubbling up everywhere."

"You do realize what that means, don't you?"

"Well, it's a pleasant change from complaints about that Witch."

"Besides that."

The Red Ranger's eyes narrowed as he regarded the wolflike alien who sat in the Wizard's throne.

"No," he finally sighed. "What does it mean?"

Ornyk shook his head. "It amazes me that you've been a Ranger for this long and still know almost nothing of magic."

"You don't have to know magic to be a Ranger," Tommy retorted.

"No, but it helps."

"How would you know?"

"Some of my best friends happen to be Power Rangers," the Zornian retorted. "Working with Zedd's just a job, you know. Off the clock, I've nothing against any of you. Well," he hastily amended. "Not on account of being Rangers, anyway. A few of you manage to offend simply by virtue of being yourselves."

"Like who? Oh…nevermind. Just tell me what the ink means?"

"This entire universe is created of ink, and yet it appears real. The fact that the ink is showing through now can only mean that its reality is destabilizing."

"Thanks to you."

"On the contrary. _You_ were the first outsider to enter." Ornyk stretched, crossing his arms behind his head. "In any case, it doesn't have long to live. I'd say another day, perhaps two."

"I should be out there," Tommy said. "Trying to find the others."

"And then what? Perish alongside them as this world dissolves into oblivion? Rather an anticlimactic end to your adventures."

"Well, what would you suggest?"

"I'd suggest that you wait here," Ornyk said. "If your friends have brains at all….and if memory serves, the Green one does at least….they'll be bound to come here eventually for advice." He waved his paw towards the Wizard's hidden chamber, which was full of not only an unconscious Wizard, but also various contraptions and mechanisms. "As for getting home, there's bound to be something in there. This IS the lair of a great Wizard, is it not?"

"I've checked, there's nothing but stuff for entertaining visitors. Like that giant head."

"Then check the Wizard's private chambers," Ornyk suggested.

Tommy glanced at the door they'd found at the back of the throne room, the one that led into a majestic private bedroom.

"I guess I could check."

"You do that. Help yourself to some of his food. Creoa, take a nap if you wish. I can handle this on my own."

"Yeah, okay."

"Oh, and lower that giant head before you go. The Great Wizard mustn't look the same for too long, or he'll begin to lose his mystique."

Rolling his eyes, Tommy went over to the control room and pulled one of the levers. With the mechanical sound of a winch, a massive, monstrous head descended into view, suspended from a chain in the ceiling. It stopped just in front of the throne. Ornyk laid his paws on the controls on the back of the head, tinkering idly with the levers that operated the eyes and mouth.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were enjoying yourself."

Ornyk shrugged. "If one must rule, why not rule in style?"

Tommy squinted. He could have sworn there was a slightly bitter edge to Ornyk's tone.

"Okay," he finally said. "Well. I'll be in the back if anything comes up."

Ornyk waved him away, and Tommy strolled through the door, leaving the Prince to fiddle with the head's controls.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"The Wizard will see you now," the pompous little doorman said.

But when all four of them, plus the dog, got up, he held up a hand.

"Woah now! Only one of you at a time. Per day. That's the rule."

"What?" Stephen demanded.

"Ooh, me!" Jareth cried. "I'll go!"

"No, I'll go," Stephen retorted.

"But this is one of my favorite stories!"

"Yes, but I'm the one who's more likely to ask the Wizard for the info we actually need to know. You'll probably wind up asking him how many licks it takes to-"

"594," Jareth interrupted. "And anyway, I'm the one-"

"Neither of you is going in," Deacon broke in.

"Why not?" Jareth and Stephen asked together.

The Silver Ranger pointed at the doors to the Wizard's chamber.

"Because Lolli just went in."

The White and Gold Rangers blinked.

"Well…crap," Stephen said.

"Yeah," Jareth agreed petulantly. "I wish I'd been the one tomMMPH."

"No. No wishing," Deacon said. Jareth rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Mm mmmmmmm."

"Good boy," Deacon replied, removing his hand from his friend's mouth.

Sighing, the Gold Ranger slumped back to his seat.

About ten minutes later, Lolli emerged. Murphy jumped to greet her as though she'd been gone for a year.

"Well. There's good news, bad news, and worse news," the Green Ranger announced.

"Good news first," Deacon said.

"The Wizard's willing to send us home."

"Bad news?" Stephen asked.

"He'll only do it if we bring him some witch's broom as proof that we killed her."

"Worse news?" Jareth chimed in.

"We only have until sundown to do it."

"That's not so bad," the Gold Ranger rebutted.

"It isn't?" Deacon asked.

"No," Jareth said. "This dimension will probably have caved in by sundown anyway."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"They're on their way."

Mara jumped, tearing her worried gaze away from her mirror and spinning around to find Panika standing behind her, resplendent in a frilly pink ballgown.

"How come _you_ get the good clothes?" Mara demanded, gesturing at her own plain black frock. "Wait…who's coming?"

"Your friends," Panika said, pointing to the crystal sphere that sat on a desk nearby.

Mara rushed over to look. Sure enough, there were Stephen, Deacon, Lolli, and her brother.

"About time they came to get me," the Pink Ranger grumbled. She glanced at the mirror again. "I'm sure they'll have a good laugh when they see me like this," she added ruefully.

"No, no, no!" Panika said. "You're doing it all wrong."

"Huh?"

"You're supposed to try to stop them! There's supposed to be bees and wolves and ravens and poppies and…something about mice. Or did the mice help them? I forget."

Mara blinked. "But I _want_ them to get here."

Panika pouted at her. "You're doing it all wrong. Well, fine. Be that way. I'll do it myself."

Raising her Atma Weapon wand, the Zornian caused a blinding red flash that flared throughout the room.

Mara blinked, trying to clear her vision and wondering where the sudden flapping and squawking sounds were coming from.

"Whee!" Panika said. "Look at the pretties. Go, pretties! Sic 'em!"

The loud fluttering sound made its way towards the window, as whatever Panika had conjured flew off. There was a second flash as Panika herself vanished, giggling maniacally.

When Mara's vision finally cleared of spots, she was standing in the chamber alone. It was if Panika had never been there….or almost, except for the feathers that were now scattered all over the room.

The Pink Ranger shook her head, turning her attention back to her disturbing new reflection.

"That girl is _not_ playing with a full deck," she told her mirror. "Nice dress though."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Yeesh," Stephen griped, after yet another thirty-minute detour. "If we have to go around one more chasm full of ink…"

"We will," Jareth assured him. "They'll be more and more of them the longer we wait."

"What's causing them, exactly?" Lolli asked.

"Whatever was holding this world together, isn't anymore," the Gold Ranger replied simply. "It was made from ink, and that's where it's going. And it'll take us with it, if we're not gone by then."

"But we'll be okay, right?" the White Ranger asked, scratching at his straw-filled limbs. "I mean, we crossed through the ink before…"

"That was different. Last time, it led someplace. This time, it's just dissolving. No, if we fall into the ink again, it's curtains."

To emphasize his point, Jareth hefted a medium-sized rock and heaved it into the chasm. It started to sink slowly into the ink, but before it had the chance, the ink rose up, covered it, and pulled it down.

"Eugh," Lolli commented.

"I agree," Deacon said. "Come on, let's keep moving."

"The Wicked Witch is probably Mara," Jareth commented idly. "The role suits her. Um. Something wrong?"

Stephen had paused and was shading his eyes.

"Yeah…those don't look like birds to me."

Lolli squinted, peering off into the distance. "Tengas, maybe?"

"Worse," the Gold Ranger said, smiling delightedly. "Monkeys."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

12:58.

12:59.

Midnight.

Sophie opened her eyes and sat up silently, turning to the side and quietly getting out of bed.

As silently as she possible could, she slipped out of the pajamas Beth had lent her and into the clothes Beth had lent her. Creeping past the sleeping girl on the couch, Sophie snuck towards the door of the apartment. Casting one last glance at Beth to be sure she hadn't woken her, Sophie closed the door and tiptoed downstairs into the bookstore.

Grabbing a sheet of paper and a pen, she wrote a quick note to Beth, telling her not to worry. She hated the thought of causing worry, especially after everything Beth had done for her. Clothing her, giving her a warm place to sleep, and, not least of all, covering for her. She'd even tried to feed her, though of course that hadn't worked out. Sophie couldn't swallow, so all that had resulted was a plate of chewed-up pizza. But at least they'd had a laugh about it.

She started to leave, but paused, hand on the doorknob. She glanced back at the shelves, bit her lip, then went over and selected two books, tucking them under her arm.

Hoping Beth wouldn't miss them, she left the store, wincing as the bell above the door tinkled, a shatteringly loud sound in the silence.

Breathing a sigh of relief that she'd gotten away clean, Sophie started down the sidewalk.

"Freeze! SPD!"

Sophie jumped, whirling to see not two, but five of the strange-suited people standing on the sidewalk, all of them training their sidearms on her. She winced, waiting a heartbeat for the sounds of Beth coming down to investigate. She never did, much to Sophie's relief.

"Told you she was in there," the one in blue said.

"Fine," the red one replied. "I owe you ten credits."

"What's that under her arm, Jack?"

"Looks like books," Jack replied. "So we can add theft to her list of crimes."

Sophie's eyes darted up and down the street, finally landing on a fire hydrant that was nearby.

"Hand over the encryptor," the blue one ordered.

She was at the hydrant before any of the strangers had even realized she'd moved. Bringing her fist down, she struck the side of the hydrant with all of her might, tearing through the thick iron. A thick torrent of water sprayed forth, dousing the people who'd threatened her.

Squinting against the spray, none of them could get a bead on her as she ducked into an alley.

"She's strong," Syd said, moving away from the water and examining the gash she'd made in the hydrant. Strands of flesh-like material clung to the jagged edges of the metal. "But I think she hurt herself."

"Be on guard," Jack ordered. He gestured to the others, indicating that they should approach the alley.

With the unmistakable sound of metal tearing through the air, a silver disk shot at them from the shadows of the alley. Everyone dived aside but Jack, who didn't have time to get out of the way.

The disk shot through Jack's torso, not with a grisly tearing of flesh, but with a ghostlike rippling effect. It struck the building on the other side of the street with a deafening clang, actually embedding itself in the concrete. Now that it had stopped spinning, it was recognizable as a trashcan lid.

Z let out a low whistle.

"This isn't going to be as easy as we thought," Bridge commented.

"Easy or not, we're bringing her in," Jack declared. He drew his gun and moved forward, pursuing their quarry into the back alleys.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"That. Was. Awesome," Jareth said, dusting himself off as he rose to his feet.

The others stared at him in disbelief.

"What?" he asked defensively. "Hey, my totem's a raven, remember? I _like_ to fly. Sue me."

Stephen shook his arm, trying to make sure his shoulder hadn't dislocated itself. "Ow. Is that why you take the Megaship for joyrides all the time?"

"Yup."

"It must really bug you that your sister can fly and you can't."

The Cowardly Lion's expression darkened. "She's an _armadillo_," he said grimly. "She has no business flying. I don't care if there IS a pterodactyl on her Power Coin."

"So where are we?" Lolli demanded.

The group surveyed the landscape briefly, trying to ascertain exactly how far from their intended goals the winged monkeys had dropped them.

"I think we're closer than we were," Deacon said.

"Of course," Jareth agreed. "They were bringing us to the Witch, after all."

Everyone stared at him blankly.

"You mean they would have carried us right where we were going if we hadn't killed them?" Stephen asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"Then why did you let us kill them?" Lolli demanded.

"We could have shaved hours off our travel time," Deacon added.

The Gold Ranger shrugged. "I just went along with it when you started attacking. Figured you knew something I didn't."

There was a collective sigh from the group.

"Forget it," Lolli said. "Let's just go."

There were residual complaints from Stephen's direction.

"Well," Jareth added as the group continued on. "There's also the fact that they would have torn Stephen open and spread his innards all over the forest, and dropped Deacon onto the most jagged rocks they could find from 300 feet…"

The Gold Ranger smirked as the grumbling abruptly ceased.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Electra squinted, trying to make out the letters on the page of her book in the dim glow of the streetlights. Night had long since fallen, bringing with a slight chill, though not enough to be troublesome. She and the others had elected to stay where they were and monitor the globe for signs of change.

The Black Ranger glanced sharply up from the story as one of Fox's kicks came uncomfortably close.

"Sorry," the Camo Ranger said.

"It's okay," Electra replied. "But if you could shadow-box a bit further away, I'd appreciate it.

Fox moved over a few meters, taking advantage of the reprieve to pull the burgundy scrunchie from her hair and adjust her ponytail. Once it was secure, she returned to her one-sided sparring session.

Electra closed her book, keeping her finger in the pages as a bookmark as she stretched, glancing up at the cracked inksphere.

"Still the same," Terina informed her as she skated past.

"So I see." Lecca stood up from the asphalt, working the kinks out of her legs as she watched the Yellow Ranger whiz around the vacant lot on her wheels.

Fox suddenly stopped in the middle of a combo, her eyes on the street.

"Company," she said.

The others looked over to see a dark-haired girl rushing down the street, cradling a pair of books with what appeared to be an injured hand.

"Help," she gasped as she drew nearer, out of breath. "Please…they're after me…"

"Who's after you?" Fox inquired.

"Them?" Electra guessed, pointing.

Five figured had appeared on the street, wearing matching uniforms and carrying high-tech sidearms.

"Oh, good," Fox said, cracking her neck and shaking out her shoulders. She raised her fists. "I was getting bored."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The doors to the Witch's castle creaked loudly as they swung open and the Rangers filed inside.

"Split up," Deacon suggested. "Search the tower. She's bound to be here somewhere."

"What do we do if we find her?" Lolli inquired.

"Throw water on her," Jareth said, looking sickened by the very idea.

"And if it's your sister?" Stephen asked.

"Hmm. Better not melt Mara. Just dangle her out a window or something," the Gold Ranger said with a shrug.

"You know, I'm sure Mara will _give_ us the broom if we just ask," Deacon commented.

Jareth looked at him strangely. "What's that got to do with anything?"

Everyone sighed again.

"Right. Move out. And yell if you spot her."

The Rangers split off in as many directions as there were hallways, which was, conveniently, as many as there were Rangers.

The Green Ranger found herself ascending what must have been one of the longest sets of stairs in Oz. When it finally reached the top floor, she strode down the hall, peering into each doorway.

Lolli spied motion in one of the rooms and was about to call for the others, when the black-clothed figure turned around. Her eyes widened and she froze.

"Lolli," Mara said. She sounded surprised, but any other emotions seemed to have been carefully screened out of her voice.

"Mara," Lolli replied, in the exact same carefully neutral tone, wondering why she was suddenly finding it difficult to breathe.

"Hi."

"Hi back."

A beat.

"Nice lipstick," the Pink Ranger said.

Lolli fought down a sudden and inexplicable blush. "Thanks. Nice...umm…skin."

Mara gaze wandered, and she shrugged insecurely. "You know…it's, like, the newest thing. Green skin. All the kids are doin' it."

"Right. Gotta keep up with the trends."

"Right."

Another uncomfortable pause.

"So, um, I'm gonna…you know. Go get the others now."

"Oh! Good," Mara stammered. "I mean, yeah. You should do that."

"Okay. Yeah. So I'll just…yeah."

Lolli shook her head as she turned and walked away from Mara's room, trying to get her heart to stop pounding.

"What the hell was _that _all about?" she muttered to herself.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What the _hell _was that all about?" Mara asked herself, as soon as the Green Ranger had left. She shook her head as though trying to clear water from her ears.

The stammering, the blushing, the bizarre inability to speak…were these side effects of having green skin? She couldn't have been getting sick…Rangers were supposedly immune to disease…

"Mara?"

The Pink Ranger jumped as the entire group came clomping up the stairs into her room. Lolli, she noticed, pointedly failed to meet her eye.

"We need your broom," was the first thing her brother said.

"My…what?" Mara asked, trying to pry her mind away from its current track and wrap it around this new concept.

"If we give the Wizard your broom, he'll send us all home," Stephen summed up.

"_If_ we can get back there by sundown," Deacon added.

Mara glanced out the window of the castle tower. The sun was already approaching the horizon.

"By sundown?" she wailed. 'We'll never make it."

Lolli glanced at the dusty broom in the corner. "Can that thing fly?"

"Well, yes," Mara replied dubiously. "But there's no way it can carry all of us."

"Yes!" Jareth cried triumphantly, grinning that grin he grinned that made people think he was about to go for their throats. The others look at him strangely, until he whipped the lamp out of his pocket and cried, "Finally! An excuse!"

"What are you babbling about?" his sister asked.

"The lamp can grant wishes," Deacon said. "He's already used one, maybe two. And he's been dying to make another."

"You're going to wish us back to the City of Emeralds?" Lolli guessed.

"Not exactly," the Gold Ranger replied wickedly. "It's time to try defying gravity."

He held out the lamp, and the others ducked instinctively.

"I wish that I could fly, and carry all of my friends…and Stephen…to the City of Emeralds before nightfall."

The lighting in the room seemed to dim as the lamp took on a soft but radiant golden glow. The antique appeared to vibrate softly in his hand…and finally, a small ball of golden fire flew from its spout, ricocheting off the walls, ceiling, and floor of the small, dusty chamber, knocking over most of the bric-a-brac on the shelves and shattering glass containers.

"Woah!" Stephen cried, hitting the deck, most of the others not far behind. Jareth just watched in wide-eyed delight, his gaze darting back and forth to follow the bouncing wish.

Finally, it struck the throw rug that lay in the center of the room and shattered, dissolving into a shower of tiny beads of golden light that faded as they bounced away.

There was an expectant pause.

"Is it safe?" Deacon asked.

"I think so," Mara replied, climbing out from behind the desk where she'd dived for cover.

"Well?" Stephen demanded. "Did it work?"

"I dunno," the Gold Ranger replied dubiously. For lack of a better idea, he hopped, willing himself to stay airborne, but nothing happened other than his feet hitting the ground the same old way they always did.

"Maybe you have to flap your arms," Deacon suggested.

Jareth shot him a strange look, but shrugged and gave it a try, without success.

"Try a running start?" Lolli guessed.

No luck.

"Hop on one foot."

"Raise your hands above your head."

"Shout 'Up, up, and away!'."

Nothing seemed to work.

"Well, poop," Jareth said dejectedly, glaring at his lamp. "Poop-crap-poopity-fuck."

"Now what do we do?" Mara asked.

"I dunno."

Stephen sighed, then began walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Lolli asked.

"To the city. Where else?"

"You'll never make it by dark. It's like ten miles," Deacon said.

"Well, I'll get there a lot sooner walking than if we all stand around talking about walking."

The White Ranger cast his eyes around the room, looking for any dissent, but none came. Satisfied, he turned and continued on his way. As he did, he stepped onto the dingy, rectangular rug that lay in the center of the floor.

As if it had been waiting for this very opportunity, the rug jerked out from under his feet, spilling him to the floor with a wail.

"Woah!" Mara said, jumping back.

"What the-" Deacon asked.

The rug, despite being completely silent, gave every impression of laughing hysterically as it hovered in midair above the fallen Ranger. It gave itself a shake, dislodging decades' worth of dust and revealing itself to be a richly embroidered tapestry of fabric.

"It's a flying carpet," Deacon said.

"Okay," the Gold Ranger observed, coming closer. The carpet seemed to regard him with interest. "Not exactly what I had in mind, but _cool_!"

"So will it take us to the Emerald City or not?" Stephen asked grumpily, rising to his feet and brushing off the dust that the carpet had dumped onto him.

"How 'bout it, buddy?" Jareth asked.

The carpet eagerly flew over to the window and hovered flat at a comfortable boarding level.

"Yippee!" Jareth jumped aboard. "Come on, guys."

The others cautiously climbed on behind him, save Mara.

She eyed the last space on the carpet, the one behind Lolli, suspiciously.

"Um. I think I'll take the broom, thanks."

"Symbolism at its best," the Green Ranger muttered.

"What?" the Pink Ranger asked.

"Nothing," Lolli replied. "Let's just go, please."

"As you wish." Jareth tapped the fabric beneath him. "To the City of Emeralds, and pronto."

The carpet obliged, whisking them out the window so quickly that the only thing that lingered of them were their screams.

Mara shook her head, mounting her broom.

"Giddayup," she told it, leaping out the window.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

The City of Emeralds was a ruin by the time they returned, patches of sticky black ink having spread all throughout its streets. Several buildings had fallen, their load-bearing beams and walls losing their integrity as their foundations turned to goo. The entire city seemed deserted, all the inhabitants either having been swallowed by the ink or barricaded inside their homes.

"Damn, look at this place," Stephen commented as he hopped down from the flying carpet. "We got back just in time."

"And before sunset, too," Deacon added, joining the others as they climbed down onto the staircase leading to the entrance to the Wizard's emerald-encrusted palace. "Gotta hand it to ya, rug. You're not a bad way to travel."

"What happens to him now?" Jareth asked.

Lolli shrugged. "I kinda figured he'd fall apart with the rest of this world."

"I'd rather keep him," the Gold Ranger argued. "What do you say?" he asked, addressing the rug. "Care to throw in with me?"

The carpet seemed delighted at the prospect.

"That's settled then," the Gold Ranger said happily. "He stays with me."

"What are you guys doing just standing here?" Mara demanded, landing her broom nearby. She rested the end of the wooden handle on the ground, bristles in the air, glaring at them as she gestured at the ground around them. "Let's get inside and have the wizard send us home already."

She had a point...the ink was spreading faster the more it covered. The innermost heart of Oz was still resisting its progress, but the black liquid was still gradually seeping its way up the dark green staircase that led to the doors of the Wizard's palace.

"She's right," Deacon said, starting for the doors. "Let's get-"

The Silver Ranger's sentence was cut off as Lolli let out a surprised cry, a fissure of ink opening right beneath her left foot.

Mara, who was closest, grabbed ahold of the Green Ranger's arm and pulled against the ink's gravity, preventing the fissure from sucking her in.

"Help!" she cried desperately to the others, who quickly ran in and assisted in pulling Lolli free of the pool's powerful suction.

"Are you okay?" Jareth asked, once she'd been pulled to safety.

Lolli grimaced at her leg, which was black from the knee down.

"Yeah," she replied. "It just got my shoe."

"As I was saying," the Silver Ranger continued, pulling open the door. "Let's get inside. Now."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tommy and Ornyk both jumped as the great double doors to the throne room slammed open.

"All right, Wizard, we brought you the broom, so hurry up and send us Holy crap, it's Tommy," Jareth said.

"Tommy?" Lolli asked incredulously. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Waiting for you guys!"

"Great!" she replied. "So you have a way out of Oz?"

"Um…no."

Loli's face fell. "No, of course not. Let me guess, you didn't know _how_ you were going to help, you just felt like you had to, so you came a-runnin'."

"Not exactly," Tommy snapped. "Actually, I was trying to stop _him_…" And here he pointed at Ornyk. "From destabilizing this reality or whatever, and wound up falling in by mistake."

"Oh," Lolli said quietly.

"Well, what about him?" Stephen demanded, pointing at Ornyk.

"What about me?" the Zornian asked calmly.

"Can't he do something?" Stephen continued, addressing not Ornyk, but Tommy. "He's got magic, right?"

"Yes, White Ranger, I do 'got magic'," Ornyk replied scathingly. "But even were I willing to employ it to aid you, which, incidentally, I am _not_, I'm not the one responsible for this world. I suspect my sister had a hand in it."

"I helped," Jareth offered weakly.

"Yes, that figures," Ornyk allowed.

"So you can't help us?" Deacon asked. "Not even if we asked you nicely?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Then why send us for the broom?" Lolli asked.

"To get rid of you," the wolflike alien said simply. "How many, when asked to steal from a witch, do so? I assumed I'd never hear from any of you again."

"And you sent away my friends, because…?" Tommy demanded.

"Truth be told, I didn't realize it was them," Ornyk replied honestly. "You can't see or hear a thing through that head, and all I could smell was machine lubricant."

"Umm…guys," Stephen broke in warily. "Might wanna wrap this up."

"What do you…oh," Tommy said, following Stephen's gaze to see the ink as it began pooling into the room from under the door.

"It's coming from back here as well," Ornyk announced.

"Here, too," Mara agreed. "It's coming in under ALL the walls."

The Rangers, Murphy, and the carpet all grouped together in a tight circle as the ink began to close in around them. Ornyk didn't bother moving and didn't have to, the ink spread harmlessly beneath his feet, consuming the floor but seeming unconcerned that he remained standing on its glossy black surface.

"Has anyone here actually _read _this book?" Stephen demanded.

"I have," Jareth replied.

"Then just _tell _us," Lolli implored. "_How _do we get home?"

There was a scarlet flash.

"Why, you've had the power to go home all along," Panika said cheerfully.

"Where have you been?" Ornyk asked testily.

"I have?" Lolli asked at the same time.

"Certainly," the bizarre female replied. "All you have to do is click your heels together three times-"

"Can't."

"-And repeat to your self, 'There's no place like'….excuse me?"

"Can't," Lolli repeated, lifting her ink-stained foot off the ground. "I lost one of the shoes."

"Oh," Panika said. She sighed, crossing her arms. "Then I'm afraid you're all going to die a slow, horrible death. Can't you Rangers even follow a simple script? I mean, it's not like this was Hemmingway."

Tommy glared at the encroaching ink. For lack of a better idea, he summoned the Shield of Triumph, which appeared in his hand with a flash of crimson light. As he held it out before him, it emitted a gentle red glow that did, indeed, seem to hold back the forward motion of the ink.

There was just one hitch…it only affected the area directly in front of him, which was less than half of the circle. Ink continued to creep forward from all sides. To avoid its touch, the Rangers bunched together until they were uncomfortably close.

Shadows overtook the room as the ink slid up the walls, spreading over the curtains, and doused the torches, leaving the Shield as the only source of light in the room. There was a _schloop!_ as the ink pulled the Wizard's throne down into its unfathomable depths. Too late, Tommy thought of the Wizard himself, whose control room had already been overrun.

"If anyone has any ideas," the Red Ranger said tersely. "Now would be a really good time."

Deacon shot a sidelong glance at Jareth. "Got any wishes left?"

Jareth took a quick count. Light. Blaster. Carpet. "One," he replied. "Maybe."

"_Use it_!"

The Gold Ranger flinched as the command came from all sides unanimously.

"Okay, okay." Whipping out the lamp and holding it aloft, Jareth shouted, "I wish for a way home!"

The words were barely out of his mouth when a shaft of white light illuminated the room. Everyone in the room turned to see a narrow vertical crack in space appear, right where the Wizard's throne had been, widening as though an unseen door were opening from the other side. Through the rectangular portal that appeared, the Rangers could see what appeared to be a disused train station, a solid inch of dust on the floor and cobwebs covering the one remaining, antiquated-looking train.

At this point, no one present was about to be picky. Anywhere, the group decided wordlessly, was better than here.

Tommy held the Shield towards the door, clearing a path for them through the deadly ink, and, moving as well as they could packed so closely together, they made their way through the gateway.

Ornyk and Panika exchanged a glance, shrugged, and followed, the doorway closing behind them.

As the crack sealed itself, darkness won, plunging the room into total blackness. There was no one left to watch as the ink closed in over the last tiny patch of land in Oz, pulling the final piece of the once-beautiful world down into oblivion.


	87. Fun With Lobotomy

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 87: Fun With Lobotomy

Brilliant red light shone down at the planet below as Zedd scanned Terra's surface from the balcony of his palace.

"DECA," he said finally, the red light snapping back into his eyes as though it were on elastic. "Send for Xander and Daniel. I want that inksphere destroyed."

The hovering disk that floated behind him paused, processing this request. "Logic Error. The Red Ranger is currently within the inksphere. Destruction of the inksphere would likely cause the destruction of the Red Ranger."

"Yes. And the rest of the Rangers as well. That's the point."

"Query. Has it not been reported that the Red Ranger is destined to become the objective you seek?"

"Indeed it has." Zedd turned his crimson gaze to the construct. "By the Bronze Ranger. The funny thing about traitors is that by betraying their own, even in my interests, they prove themselves untrustworthy. I have only Ornyk's word that he is not a double agent for the Rangers, and Ornyk's word carries very little weight these days."

"The destruction of the inksphere would also likely cause the destruction of the units known as Ornyk and Panika."

"An added bonus," Zedd replied. "Now contact the Beetleborgs."

"Might I recommend a more profitable course of action?"

Zedd turned from the balcony, walked past the floating disk, and sat down upon his throne, which appeared at his command. He gestured magnanimously.

"Why not?"

DECA shot forward and opened a panel on its casing, revealing a holographic emitter, and a brief but informative multimedia presentation followed.

The room went quiet for a moment as the explanation ended and DECA retracted her emitter.

"By the Grid," the warlord said. "Finally. A general who isn't useless."

"General?" DECA repeated, running a quick diagnostic on her auditory sensors.

"Indeed. I may yet come to bless the day that Ranger pulled you from the scrap heap."

He got up and strode back to the balcony, his eyes shining again.

"All I need is….an object. Hmm."

"Query. What manner of object do you req-"

"There. That."

Zedd turned and laid his flesh-and-metal hand upon DECA's casing, transferring the information to it in a brief and slightly disruptive surge of magical energy.

"Bring it to me," he commanded.

DECA paused, her internal systems processing this new information while trying to determine how it had gotten into her memory banks.

"Understood," it said finally.

With a snap of his fingers, Zedd teleported the small machine to Terra's surface.

It would have been easier, of course, to simply teleport the object to him, or even leave it where it was and enchant it from the comfort of his own palace, but for the next part of the plan to work, he needed to be rid of DECA for a while. Useful though it may have been, the small droid obstinately refused to acknowledge the existence of magic. It was therefore impossible to accomplish any major magical working around it without it constantly interrupting with demands to know how the effect was _truly _being accomplished.

Shaking his head, Zedd snapped his fingers. There was a crackle of red lightning that illuminated the chamber, and a pair of young men appeared. One was thin, with medium-length black hair and blue clothing. The other was more thickly built, with hair just as black, but cropped short, and his clothing was green. They looked vaguely bewildered for a brief moment, in fact, the one in green was going through the motions of washing his hands in a sink that was no longer there.

"I really wish you'd call instead of just zapping us here," the one in blue snapped.

"Agreed. I'm just glad I'd finished using the restroom."

Zedd waved their concerns aside. "I have a job for you two." He conjured an image of the parking lot, complete with Rangers and inksphere.

"Destroy that sphere, and it will mean the end of no less than six of the Rangers."

"Severely weakening those that remain," the blue one added, smiling.

"Yes," Zedd agreed. "And should you happen to slaughter any of the eight Rangers currently squabbling in the lot nearby before they happen to blast away half of the city, so much the better."

"We're on it," the one in green promised. The two shared a quick glance, then held out their hands.

**"Beetle Bonders!"** they called in unison. A pair of black-and-silver devices appeared in their open palms. Raising them above their heads, they invoked the devices' power.

**"Green Hunter!"**

**"Blue Stinger!"**

A brief surge of energy filled the room, transforming their human bodies into the forms of the Blue Stinger and Green Hunter Beetleborg.

"Happy hunting," Zedd said, snapping his fingers and teleporting them to the lot below. He shook his head wistfully. "Humans. SO easy to manipulate."

Satisfied, the warlord conjured a few small objects he'd brought with him from the dimension of his exile…a few things he'd known would come in handy for just such occasions. Namely, a small scorpion, imprisoned in a drop of crystallized amber, and a black feather bound in golden thread.

"If anyone needs me," he remarked offhandedly to no one, a trace of happiness in his rasping voice. "I'll be down in the summoning chamber."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Angel blinked as he stepped through the portal, finding himself standing just inside one of the Oasis' access corridors. He brought a finger to the spot behind his right ear, opening his comlink.

"It worked," the Gray Ranger reported.

"Excellent," Shayla's voice replied. The Princess lacked a comchip of her own, but Diskette was still at the Temple Ruins, and the small droid was more than capable of relaying the conversation through her speakers. "How's the placement?"

Angel frowned. "The portal opens INSIDE the ship. I'm not sure that's wise. If something disagreeable was to get onto the island, it'd be able to walk right in through it."

"How far inside the ship is it?"

"If you move it about…" Angel paused calculating. "Seven feet or so to the north, then it'll be just outside the access hatch."

There was a pause.

"Feet?" Shayla asked. "How far is that? And how far would seven of them be?"

"Slightly farther than I am tall."

"Okay. Here goes."

The portal began to drift backward from Angel, while still staying rigidly upright and not changing its distance from the floor.

"Zord-1? Open the hatch, please."

"As you wish," the computer replied. The entire wall slid open, allowing the portal to exit the ship.

"Out of curiosity, what would have happened had the back of that portal struck the wall?"

"It very likely would have dragged the entire ship," Shayla replied. "Or torn the wall down. Opening the door was a wise decision. There. How's that?"

"Still too close. Anyone coming through will walk facefirst into the door. A bit further…there. Perfect."

Satisfied, Angel strode forward through the portal, trusting Zord-1 to know enough to close the hatch behind him. He exited into the ruined Temple, where Shayla stood.

_Is it done? _Zoey's telepathic voice inquired. The small pink-and-purple dragon poked her head out from beneath the somewhat incongruous picnic table, where she'd been snoozing. _You're just going to leave it hovering there?_

"She makes a valid point," Angel allowed. "Is it possible to move this end to somewhere less…"

"In the way?" Diskette offered.

Shayla considered. The shimmering disc WAS floating right where people tended to walk. "It won't hurt the connection to move it. And this is a bad place, now I think about it. Okay…how's there?"

The group looked where Shayla was pointing. It was conveniently blank stretch of still-standing temple wall.

"That seems ideal," the Gray Ranger agreed.

With a wave of her arm, the Princess encouraged the portal to float over to the wall and anchor itself to the bricks.

"There," Diskette said, her electronic voice sounding satisfied. "No more trudging clear across the island to get back to the ship. That ought to silence some of the grumbling around here."

_Tell her that we could silence a lot more by just fixing the engines and leaving, _Zoey requested.

Angel conveyed the message, as Diskette was unable to perceive telepathic speech.

"Mom says it'll take months to fix and recalibrate the engines. Maybe more," the droid said lightly. "But I wouldn't expect _you_ to know about anything more sophisticated than scale-rot."

Angel was about to reprimand Diskette for her rudeness, but an urgent bleeping caught his attention.

"Yes?" he asked, activating his comchip again.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Angel? You might want to get down here. We have…an altercation brewing down here at the inksphere site," Electra muttered.

"I'll be down as soon as I can," the Gray Ranger's voice promised.

"Good. Grab Troy, while you're at it. Myk too if you can find him."

"Why so many?"

The Black Ranger eyed the approaching strangers. They looked like normal human beings, but everything else about them claimed otherwise.

"These guys just give me the jaggies, okay?" she said. "The more people we've got, the better our chances of scaring them off before things get too ugly."

"I shall make all haste then. Angel out." And the comlink went dead.

Not at all relieved, Electra took a step back as Terina gently pushed the strange girl who'd come to them for help her way. The blue-haired Ranger took the girl's hand and drew her away from the front line as Terina and Fox stepped forward, ready to defend them if need be.

"Keep the morphers in reserve for now," Terina suggested softly. "No sense tipping our hand till we know what we're dealing with."

"Right," Fox agreed.

"Please," the girl whispered. "I didn't do anything wrong."

Electra frowned, trying to work out what it was that felt so strange about this person. Something was off, something that she just couldn't quite pin down…

"SPD," a man's voice said, drawing her attention back to the group that had pursued her.

The Black Ranger looked up to see the one in red, a man with dreadlocks and cocoa-colored skin, brandishing some sort of badge-device at them.

"What's SPD?" Fox hissed in an aside to Terina. Before the Eltarian could answer, the strangers spoke again.

"You are interfering with a police operation," the one next to him, wearing blue, said.

"Hand over the fugitive, and we'll be on our way," the red one added.

Fox and Terina exchanged a look, then spared a glance back at the injured, wide-eyed girl cowering behind them, then back at the team.

"What's her crime?" Fox demanded.

"That's classified."

"I kinda figured they'd say that," Terina said ruefully, cracking her knuckles. "What do you think? Can we take 'em?"

Fox grinned, tilting her head sharply to the side and unkinking her vertebrae with a quick series of loud cracks. "Piece o' cake."

_Lecca, _Terina thought loudly at her. _Take her and run. Get a safe distance, then portal to Animaria._

"Can you run?" The Black Ranger asked the girl beside her in a soft voice.

The girl nodded.

"Good."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Bridge, Z, after them!" Jack ordered as the blue-haired girl seized their quarry by the arm and bolted, skirting the perimeter of the hemispherical pit behind them.

As the Green and Yellow Rangers set off in pursuit, the other two girls who'd come to the forefront moved to stop them. Syd jumped to try and restrain the smaller one in yellow, while he and Sky grabbed the one in camoflage fatigues, each one hauling her back by an arm.

He and Sky exchanged a look. They'd be getting an earful from the commander for this…they weren't supposed to have gotten civilians involved. A-Squad would have captured the criminal within moments of her arrival, but just look at the mess _they_'d gone and made.

There was a cry from Syd as the girl in yellow calmly wrenched free from her grip, picked her up, and threw her like a ragdoll. The Pink Ranger came to a rolling halt on the asphalt nearby.

"Syd?" Sky asked.

"I'm fine," she replied, sounding more angry than hurt. Her hand was at her mouth. "I think one of my teeth is loose."

The girl he and Sky were restraining took advantage of the distraction, somehow managed to twist free, kick him firmly in the teeth, punch Sky in the nose, knock their heads together, and deliver a kick to both of their crotches, seemingly all at the same time.

"Come on," she said in a taunting voice, as Jack and Sky somehow found themselves lying on the ground next to Syd. "Is that the best you can do?"

The Blue and Red Rangers exchanged a pained but determined expression.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Electra dived into an alley, pulling the 'criminal' along with her. She ducked behind a convenient row of trash cans.

"Why are we-" the girl began.

"Shh!" the Black Ranger demanded. She closed her eyes and reached out, expanding her mind, searching….there. Two people, one in a very predatory state of mind, the other more bemused.

_"Which way did they go, Bridge?"_

A strange flash of green light flashed behind Electra's eyes.

_"That way," _the man replied. His mind was the softer of the two, almost as though he didn't quite see what the big deal was supposed to be. _"That girl has the strongest aura I've ever seen."_

_"I thought she didn't have an aura?" _the girl was asking.

_"Not her. The other one. The native. I've never seen anything like it. It was black, but not like a void….more like she was radiating black light. Is there such a thing as black light?"_

_"I don't think so. Which way now?"_

Another green flash.

_"This way."_

Electra's eyes widened in surprise. "He's tracking my aura trail," she said. "I didn't know you could do that."

"What?"

"Never mind, I have to focus here…"

Letting her eyes fall closed again, she sent out a surge of thought, performing the mental equivalent of wiping out footprints in the snow.

_"Left or right?"_

Flash.

_"Hmm. That's weird."_

_"What's weird, Bridge?" _the girl asked, her mind tasting of pending exasperation. _"The trail's been obscured."_

Confusion. "_Is that even possible?"_

_"Well, yes, but only for a-"_

_Telepath? _Electra interjected, smiling grimly.

_"Right."_

More confusion. _"Only for a WHAT?" _the girl prompted.

_"A telepath. Like you just said."_

A pause.

_"You…didn't say that, did you?"_

_"Nobody said anything, Bridge."_

_"No…but someone thought it."_

_That'll have been me, _Lecca chimed in.

Curiosity. "_Are you the blue-haired girl we're chasing?"_

_"Um, no," the girl with him said. "I'm Z, remember?"_

_That's right, _Electra replied, ignoring her._ You gonna tell me why you're after this girl or not?_

_"Can't. It's-"_

_Classified. _

_"Right."_

_"Bridge…are you okay? I mean, you're never okay, but this is weirder than usual, even for you."_

Electra smirked. From the sound of things, she and this 'Bridge' would get along quite well if they weren't currently on opposing teams. She continued to mentally eavesdrop as Bridge explained what was going on.

_"She's talking to you…inside your head?" _Bridge's partner asked incredulously.

_"Basically."_

_"And she's wiped the trail, so you can't track her."_

_"Right again."_

_"Well, you've gotten us close enough…maybe we can find her the normal way."_

Electra grinned, then projected a compressed bundle of thought, consisting of an image of herself and the fugitive running across one of the open alleys in plain view of the pair. She added a strong sense of urgency, emphasizing how important it was to give chase, and the necessary sounds of heavy breathing and loud footsteps.

_"Freeze! SPD!" _the girl cried, chasing after Electra's phantom thought.

_"Z, stop! That's not…" _

Too late, she was gone. Electra made a point of broadcasting her smugness at her fellow telepath.

_That was mean, _Bridge projected at her.

_But funny, _the Black Ranger added.

Bridge appeared to consider.

_Yes, _he finally decided. _It WAS funny._

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jack went intangible as Terina swung at his midsection, her fist passing right through him, then jumped back as she followed it with a powerful but poorly-balanced kick. Taking advantage of her poor stance, he jumped in and slapped a pair of binders on her wrists.

She glanced at the binders, gave him a scandalized glare, then pulled her hands apart with one smooth motion, snapping the steel restraints like they'd been made of cheap plastic.

Jack's eyes widened, but he shook off his surprise and tried to land another blow.

The small girl smirked, raising her arm and blocking the punch with the steel band that was still locked around her forearm. Jack winced, shaking his hand, then tried again.

This time, Terina caught the punch in her palm, proceeding to squeeze, frowning as Jack's bones began to creak. The Red Ranger's face contorted in pain and he tried to pull his hand away, but Terina refused to let go until she'd brought him to his knees.

Once he was down, she fired off a quick, relatively gentle kick to his chin, knocking him out cold.

"I didn't enjoy that, you know," she said to the unconscious Red Ranger. "But hey, at least you're not in pain anymore."

Meanwhile, Sky and Syd had their hands full trying to subdue Fox. Even against the both of them, the girl held her own, darting in and out of striking range so quickly that they could barely see her, let alone hit her.

After a punch to the gut left him staggering, Sky fell back, glancing over to see how Jack was doing. A strange surge of anger rushed up inside him as he saw the Red Ranger lying sprawled on the pavement, the small but absurdly strong girl standing over him mockingly.

The next thing he knew, Sky was locked in combat with a slender, 4'9", delicate-featured girl in a faded yellow sweater and blue jeans….and losing. The girl wasn't nearly as fast as her compatriot, but every one of his blows that landed felt like punching a steel wall, and she hit like a piledriver.

Narrowing his eyes, the Blue Ranger moved his arm in a wide circle, creating a disk of solid blue light.

Terina nodded, impressed, then reared back and threw all her weight and strength into a single, powerful slam that broke through the force field, shattering it like glass. The shield absorbed most of the damage, but there was enough force remaining to knock Sky down onto his back.

He held his chest, where she'd hit him, trying to sit up.

"You're not human," he accused.

"Oh, like you can talk," Terina replied, massaging her fist. "But if it's any consolation, my hand is killing me now."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Syd found herself once again spilling to the pavement as Fox's leg swept both of hers out from under her.

"Honestly," Fox complained. "I expected a challenge."

Syd moved to rise…but froze when her hand encountered a rock. She smiled wickedly.

"You want a challenge?" she asked sweetly.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Left, _Electra said within Z's mind, while broadcasting an impression of going right, just to confuse her further.

"If only these tricks would work on the other one," she said ruefully.

"I don't understand why you're playing these games," Sophie said. "You can stop them. You have so much power….it's what drew me to this place."

_Our power drew her here?_

Not bothering to follow that train of thought, Electra shook her head.

"Goal's not to beat them," she said. "Goal's to get away from them. I could morph and fight them, but if they get lucky and I go down, what happens to you?"

The girl bit her lip and nodded, lowering her eyes.

Electra followed her gaze to the hand she was cradling.

"Is your hand okay?"

"I…I don't know. I haven't had a chance to…"

"Here, let me see it-"

"No!" Sophie cried, her sudden fierceness making the Black Ranger jump.

"Okay, okay," Electra said. "I was only trying to help."

"I know…I'm sorry. I just…don't want anyone looking at it."

"It's okay," Electra said. "I have a friend…" The Black Ranger paused, then rephrased her statement. She had no friends, and she knew it. "I know someone who's the same way. Won't ever let anyone tend her injuries."

"Is she…like me?"

That was a decidedly odd question, Lecca decided.

"Like you how?"

Sophie shook her head. "Never mind."

The Black Ranger shrugged. "Okay. I just figured, it must hurt, is all. I'm not a medic, but I can dull pain…" she trailed off, squinting at the girl.

"What?" Sophie asked, looking uncomfortable.

"I knew there was something off about you."

"Off? What are you…"

"You're not in any pain. In fact…" Electra did something she very rarely did, and deliberate probed Sophie's mind. She shook her head. "I can't sense anything at all."

Sophie lowered her eyes, staring at the dingy pavement of the alley. Finally, shaking a bit, she held out her injured hand.

Electra blinked, gazing at the stripped-away artificial flesh and the exposed wires, circuits, and hydraulics that it revealed.

"Yes," the Black Ranger said finally. "That would explain it."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Fist of Stone!"

Fox blinked in astonishment as a flare of golden light raced across her opponent's skin, like the edge of flame along paper, transforming her hand to solid rock identical to the one she held. The effect didn't stop at her hand, but also spread across her face and to her other hand, implying that it had covered her entire body, though anything else was covered by her uniform.

"Shit," Fox muttered.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

DECA took a moment to calibrate its sensors as it appeared, the signature crackle of red electricity that always accompanied Zedd's effects still buzzing in its circuits.

After orienting its repulsorjets to compensate for the differences in gravity…and a pause to note, once again, that the discrepancy between Terran and lunar gravity should have been greater, and that there was clearly more technological advancement in Zedd's palace than he was admitting to…the droid scanned the area for the object she'd been instructed to retrieve.

The area to which she'd been teleported was thick with foliage, but was also clearly a human habitation…a large sheet of synthetic material hung overhead, obviously to catch precipitation, and a variety of human furnishings littered the area. A rectangular white panel leaned against one of the trees, upon which someone had been attempting to recreate a visual representation of a river and the surrounding landscape.

Ignoring the incomplete image, she resumed her search, finally locating her objective. It was a simple ring of twisted reeds, with string intricately knotted throughout its interior, like some sort of net, though what the human who designed it was hoping to catch was unknown. Numerous feathers and brightly-colored beads hung from the bottom of the ring, possibly as bait…though why the human had hung the bait from the bottom of the net rather than the center was also a mystery. Another unknown was what manner of target would be attracted to such objects.

One thing, however, was _not_ unknown to the machine….this object was essential to the plan. It had seen what Zedd could do with such things, though it was still uncertain how.

Extruding a small arm, equipped with a pair of hydraulic scissors, DECA severed the thin leather cord that hung the object from the branch overhead. The ring fell onto another sheet of material, this one stretched horizontally between a pair of trees. It was, most likely, where the inhabitant of this area slept.

Well, that at least made sense. Whatever this net was meant to capture probably preyed upon the human as it slept. Over the sleeping apparatus was therefore the most logical place to station it.

Scooping up the small net, DECA prepared to signal the lunar palace that it was prepared to return, when its sensors detected a strange energy pattern.

Hovering over to a low, flat chest that stood nearby, DECA extruded another arm and cautiously opened the lid.

Within, on a soft cushion, rested a large red jewel that seemed to shine, not with light reflected, but with a luminescence of its own. DECA couldn't detect any traces of radiation, electrical, or thermal activity, but there could be no doubt that this was the source of the energy.

While not her goal, the object was nevertheless worth further study. Scooping it up, she opened a compartment of her casing and placed it within.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Z ran down the alleys, giving chase as the fugitives turned corners at random. No matter how fast she ran, it seemed like they were always just a few steps ahead of her, just a little bit faster. Still, she knew she was close, and that they couldn't outrun her forever. All she had to do was stay on them, and grab them the moment they faltered.

Ahead of her, they took a sharp right. Z followed, her boots skidding on the grimy alley floor….and she abruptly found herself facing a dead end.

Suddenly, it was as if she'd been dreaming, and someone had thrown a bucket of water over her. The spell was broken. Not only were they not here, there weren't even any traces of them. They'd never come this way at all. It had all been an illusion. But how…?

"Telepath," Z answered herself, smacking her forehead. Great. She'd run off chasing phantoms. Well, it could have been worse. At least the only one who'd seen her do it was Bridge. With any luck, she'd be able to convince him that he'd imagined it.

Sighing, she turned and ran back towards the place where she'd left him, hoping that he hadn't managed to get into too much trouble on his own.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_So who ARE you guys anyway? _Electra asked mentally, trying to keep the girl next to her, whose name had turned out to be Sophie, from fidgeting.

_SPD, _Bridge replied, still walking down the back alleys, trying to pick up whatever traces of her he could.

_Yeah, I got that. What's it mean?_

_You've never heard of SPD?_

_Nope. _

_That's right…this planet hasn't made First Contact yet. Unless you count this. Which you shouldn't, because once we apprehend that girl, we'll have to call in the containment teams and have your memories erased._

Electra smirked, picking up on his tone. _You guys are new, aren't you? And you've bungled this. You're going to get into trouble._

Bridge didn't reply, but she felt a flush of embarrassment and depression.

_So, if we're going to be amnesiated anyway, why does it matter that the girl's crime is classified? Why not just tell us?_

_Amnesiated? Is that a word?_

_You're dodging the question. _

Bridge sighed mentally. _Fine. You've got a point. And maybe we can work all this out peacefully if we discuss it like intelligent, rational people. _

_There's a first time for everything, _Lecca agreed.

_Okay, it's like this. My friends and I, we're B-Squad. A-Squad was chasing down a drug runner named Ichthior on a planet called Fernovia. While there, something valuable of his was taken. A rare piece of equipment called a Series One Processor Hyper Intelligent Encryptor. A-Squad was needed elsewhere, so B-Squad was assigned to track it. We followed its signal and found that girl's escape pod. So, we suspect that the Encryptor was taken by your friend there, and we think that Ichthior will come after it. So we need to take her into custody, for her own protection, and to get back that Encryptor so we can use it as bait to catch Ichthior._

Electra blinked. _So, you're some sort of intergalactic police department? _She asked. _I thought the Blue Senturians took care of all that._

Surprise. _How do you know about the Blue Senturians?_

_I get around, _Lecca replied dryly. _Anyway, give me a second here._

She turned to Sophie. "He says they're after you because they think you took something from someone named Ichthior, and they need it as bait to catch him."

At the mention of the name Ichthior, Sophie's eyes grew even wider.

"I…no, I didn't take anything. I just had to get away from him. I had to get away…"

_She says she didn't take anything. And she's definitely NOT working for Ichthior._

_I never said she was, _Bridge protested.

_You were thinking it._

_How do you know what I was….oh. Right. Never mind._

_Look, I'm convinced she's innocent. You're not getting her. _

_We have to take her in, _Bridge protested. _There's laws and justice and all that. Besides, if we botch one more assignment, the Commander's going to give us all the boot. _

_Tough._

"Well, so much for talking it out," the other telepath said dismally.

It took Electra a moment to realize that she'd heard that last statement with her ears, not her mind. Somehow, Bridge had managed to narrow down his search to this alley.

Pulling Sophie close, Lecca made sure that they were completely concealed behind the row of metal cans, then risked a brief peek around them.

Sure enough, there he was, scanning the alley with a vague expression on his face. Pulling off his glove, he waved his hand in front of his face, leaving behind a bright green vapor trail, through which he surveyed his surroundings.

Well, now she knew what that green flash had been.

The trail must have enhanced his senses somehow, because looking through it, he managed somehow to see Electra and Sophie as though the trash cans weren't there at all.

With hiding a lost cause, Electra stood, stepping out from behind the cans and pulling Sophie with her. Pushing the terrified girl behind her, Electra prepared to morph and fight, wishing that A) it hadn't come to this, and B) that she'd chosen an alley in which to hide that wasn't a dead-end.

Bridge took a few steps forward.

"Just hand over the girl," he urged gently. "This doesn't have to get unpleasant. I promise, she won't be harmed. Just contained." He paused. "Why are you smiling like that?"

There was a tapping on his shoulder. He turned around…and found himself staring at the chest of one of the largest people he'd ever seen. He craned his head back as far as it would go, his gaze eventually reaching the man's face.

"Hello," the new arrival said in a pleasantly calm voice. "I'm Angel. So nice to meet you."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox ducked, jumped, and did basically everything she could to avoid being pummeled. Her opponent had transformed into a stone juggernaut, one who never seemed to tire and who hit like an avalanche. She'd quickly learned, after a punch to Syd's torso in the hopes that not all of her body had been transformed, that this girl was rock throughout, impossible to damage with normal blows.

As the Camo Ranger tried to avoid bludgeoning, bruising, and broken bones, Terina was otherwise engaged, trying to fend off both Sky and the recently awakened Jack, both of whom were more than a little irritated with her.

Sky waved his arm in a wide circle, forming another force field, but this time, instead of trying to block, he used it offensively, rushing at her and putting all of his weight behind his shoulder, ramming her with the disk of blue light. At the same time, Jack dropped down behind her, with the combined result that Sky's crashing blow caused the Eltarian to fall backward over Jack, crashing to the ground painfully.

Jack rose to his feet, managing a kick to Terina's side as she lay winded. The small alien girl let out a cry of pain, rolling onto her back.

"That's enough, Jack," Sky said.

Reluctantly, Jack backed off, glaring down at Terina as she rolled over and began to cough up some sort of green liquid. Her blood?

Fighting down a pang of conscience, Jack whipped out his badge as Syd dragged the other girl over, in similar condition.

"You are both charged with interference in a police investigation," Jack said.

"Um, Jack, we can't actually charge them," Syd muttered. "This is an undeveloped planet, the natives aren't technically under the Council's rule."

"Oh. Right," Jack said. "In that case…" he turned his badge on Terina. "_You_ are charged with illegally trespassing on an undeveloped planet."

Terina tried to protest, but hadn't yet regained the power of speech. A large red X manifested itself in the air before her.

"Guilty," Jack said. He aimed the device at her and prepared to put her into confinement.

"Hold it!"

The three members of SPD turned to see three more figures approaching. One was the blue-haired girl who'd escaped earlier, another was a large, strong-looking man dressed in gray, and the third was…

"Bridge!" Syd cried.

"Hi, guys," Bridge said sheepishly, from the headlock Angel had him in.

"Back up off our friends," Electra stated. "If you want this one back in one piece."

"If you hurt him-" Sky began angrily.

"We don't wish to hurt him," Angel stated. "We actually rather like him. So we'd very much appreciate it if you'd all take several paces back from our friends. Now."

B-Squad exchanged glances, then relaxed, stepping away from the girls on the ground. Jack holstered his badge, and Syd un-stoned.

Fox helped Terina to her feet, and the two of them moved to stand by Angel.

"Now let him go," Jack ordered.

Angel glanced over at Electra, who nodded. Bridge staggered forward as the Gray Ranger released him, pushing forward.

Syd caught him and started brushing him off, asking if he was okay.

"I'm fine, don't worry," he assured them. "They didn't hurt me."

"Where's the girl?" Sky demanded.

"Safe from you," Electra replied. "So just go on back to wherever it is you came from."

"We're not leaving without her," Jack stated.

"Then start looking for an apartment," Fox suggested.

"If you don't surrender her, we'll have to take you all in for questioning," Bridge informed them. "It's not a pleasant process. There are probes involved. Trust me, it'd be better for everyone if you gave her up."

"Everyone but her," the Black Ranger protested. "You're not getting her and that's final."

Boots echoed against the pavement as Z came running up to stand with the rest of B-Squad.

"Where have YOU been?" Jack demanded.

"Long story."

"Well, I'm glad you're here. We could use the manpower."

"Don't you mean womanpower?"

"Z…," Jack began in a warning tone.

Z rolled her eyes, falling into a fighting stance. A moment later, those same eyes flashed yellow. Suddenly, there were no less than seven of her, standing in formation around the rest of B-Squad, all looking ready for a scrap.

"Still think we should hold the morphers in reserve?" Fox asked, not taking her eyes off the small army in front of them.

"Nope," Terina answered, her hazel-yellow eyes narrowed, hand clutching her side.

Electra stepped to the front, grinning. "It's showtime," she said.

Four wrists turned, four streams of smoke swirled, four morphers appeared, glinting in the dim glow of the streetlights.

"**Mastodon!"**

"**Saber-toothed Tiger!"**

"**Wolf!"**

"**Crocodile!"**

"Power Rangers," Sky said, his eyes widening. "Jack…"

"I know, Sky. It's a whole new ball game, people. Lethal force is authorized."

Fox laughed. "Lethal force. Listen to them. They think they actually stand a-"

Z had dispelled her clones, and B-Squad had all pulled out their badges.

"Ready?" Jack asked.

"Ready!" the rest replied.

Then, as one, the entire team thrust the devices out before them and cried:

"**SPD, Emergency!"**

The badges snapped open, each one generating the three-dimensional image of an armored, monochromatic solider, one each in Green, Yellow, Blue, Pink, and Red. There was a burst of force, and the members of B-squad were thrust forward, each one flipping ahead and passing through the holographic images and emerging with the Power Ranger armor covering their bodies. The five newly morphed Rangers each landed in a crouch, and, with a further flash of energy, the matching helmet appeared and closed over their faces.

The SPD Rangers rose to their feet, their visors staring coldly at the Terran Rangers.

"-chance," Fox finished lamely.


	88. The Zordeater Cometh

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 88: The Zordeater Cometh

"Well," Angel said, peering across the lot at the five newly morphed Rangers. "That makes things a bit more interesting."

"You four stand accused of-" Sky began.

"Let me guess. Being Power Rangers?" Terina ventured.

Sky's morpher flashed the red X.

"Guilty," he declared.

"At least these guys check that they're right _before _they start executing people," Fox muttered.

"Hold it. You can't arrest us for being Power Rangers," Electra protested. "Maybe you haven't noticed, but _you're_ Power Rangers."

"SPD is authorized by the Galactic Council. We were originally instated for the express purpose of bringing down illegal Rangers," Bridge stated.

"That would be you," Sky declared.

Electra glared, despising the bossy, arrogant tone in the Blue Ranger's voice.

"Dibs on the Blue one," she said.

"Only if there's anything left when I'm through," Fox growled.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Well," Xander said, his eyes on the battle below. Nine brightly colored suits flashed in the streetlights as the Rangers dueled, laser blasts and blades flashing in the shadowy street. "Should we go down there now, you think? Or just wait here and see if they finish each other off?"

Daniel considered. "Wait here for now. Let them soften each other up a little."

Xander nodded, some of the light from the streetlights below managing to gleam off his metallic blue armor.

"So, you heard about Christa?" The Green Beetleborg asked, after a moment's pause.

"Yeah. Art says she bailed on us."

"She bailed on Gasket, anyway. Can't say I blame her."

"But she hasn't answered her communicator. At all. Face it, she's gone."

Daniel shrugged. "We don't need her."

"Yeah, but it bugs me that we just let her walk away. We should track her down and…"

"What? Finish her off?"

"She's a deserter," Xander protested. Then, seeing that he wasn't going to get that argument to fly, sighed. "Well, at least get her to give up her Bonder. Give the armor to someone who'll use it."

The Green Hunter nodded. "Yeah. I can see that. But she dropped off the radar when she quit using her powers. So unless she happened to give you her address…"

"Don't even know her last name," Xander admitted. "Or yours, for that matter."

"And I don't know yours. I think it's better that way," Daniel said.

"So she gets off scott-free."

"Looks like it."

A pause.

"What about Jonah?"

"What about him?" Daniel asked.

"Why is it he never seems to come along on these missions?"

"Personal grudge. He's not interested unless he gets a shot at the Silver Ranger."

"You think that's healthy? For him _or_ the team?"

"No," the Green Beetleborg replied. "I don't."

"We should talk to him."

"Get Art to do it," Daniel suggested. "Counseling obsessive Beetleborgs is his dream job."

Xander snorted. "He's a joke. He's a psychotic old cartoonist, but he acts like he's our leader or mentor or whatever. Should have left him to die when Zedd's castle collapsed."

"Such violence. Maybe you're the one who should go for counseling."

The Blue Beetleborg shot his partner a glare, then settled down to watch the rest of the fight in relative silence.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Because Zedd's own energy was derived from the Morphing Grid, finding the appropriate sacrifices for his summoning was far easier for him than it had been for Ornyk. All he had to do was match up the appropriate elements: A Putty for Earth, a Tenga for Air, a Pirhannatron for Water, a Stingwinger for Spirit, and a Quantron for Fire.

One by one, the Ray of Offering pierced them, reducing them to dust and transferring their life forces into the standing stones to which they'd been shackled. As their blood struck the stones (he'd made a point of hollowing out the Putty and filling the cavity with liquid mud, so that it would have 'blood' as required by the spell), they began to shine, their iridescent glow filling the room. Finally, he threw his talismans into the center of the circle. They struck the carved column of black marble that held the Transcendium ring, and fell to the floor.

Blue flames immediately began to race along the lines of the circle that Ornyk had long ago painted with his own, alien blood. The black feather with its golden thread was consumed, as was the mummified scorpion. The crackling circle of fire grew, building until it was a solid column of indigo light…then, abruptly, vanished.

Standing in the circle, next to the carved black hand that bore the ring, stood a humanoid woman wearing golden scorpion-patterned armor. On the floor next to her wrestled a winged black monkey in similar golden armor, and a skeleton, half his bones bleached-white and the rest camouflage-patterned. The woman looked around in surprise, while the other two carried on with their squabble, oblivious.

"My Lord," she said, her eyes falling on Zedd. She managed a respectful bow before kicking the armored monkey. "Knock it off, you two! Our Lord has summoned us."

"Thank you, Scorpina," Zedd said. "Get off the ground, Goldar. And you," he spat, glaring at the skeleton, as the two contritely got to their feet. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, ya summoned me, didn't ya, Ed?"

"No!" Zedd roared. 'I did _not_! I summoned only Goldar and Scorpina, and _you_, like the clinging parasite that you are, came along for the ride."

The skeleton shrugged. "Well, fine. If ya wanna be like that, I'll just head on back. I'll give your regards to my sis, she's been dyin' to know where you got off to…"

The skeleton conjured up a sword of bone and made a slash in the air, cutting open a planar rift that, presumably, led back to the world from which he'd just traveled.

"Wait!" Zedd cried. "Ahem. Perhaps I've been a bit too hasty. Now I think about it, I could use a warrior like you. You are, after all…" Zedd cringed, but went ahead and said it anyway. "Family."

"Aw, shucks, Ed. I didn't know you cared. All righty, I'll stay."

The tear in space healed itself, and Zedd breathed a sigh of relief.

"How may we serve you, Lord Zedd?" Goldar asked, in his growling voice, formal as ever.

"Yes, Lord," Scorpina agreed. "For what purpose have you summoned us?"

"Same purpose as ever," Lord Zedd growled.

The three minions exchanged a glance.

"Power Rangers," they surmised in unison.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was one thing to face off against a Power Ranger. As a general rule, you knew what you were dealing with. A unique weapon, a few special moves, maybe a Mech or two. But it was still, almost always, basically just a humanoid in a super-powered suit.

So, when the Ranger that Bridge was fighting suddenly shapeshifted into a giant, squat, armored lizard, then spun around and whacked him in the torso with a tail like a sledgehammer, the Green SPD Ranger wasn't quite sure what to think.

Apart, of course, from "Ow."

He landed on his back and skidded along the pavement for a ways, but his suit absorbed most of the impact, leaving him only slightly winded. He sat up just in time to see the lizard return to its Ranger form, that of a large gray armored humanoid wearing a furry half-cloak.

"What was _that_?" Bridge asked.

"That was an ankylosaur," Angel replied. "I've always wondered if I could become extinct animals. Now seemed a good time to find out."

Bridge nodded, impressed, then climbed to his feet, drew his Delta Striker from its sheath at his hip, and launched himself at the Gray Ranger, who conjured up his sickle and parried.

"Did you mean it when you said you guys liked me?" the Green Ranger asked.

"Of course," Angel replied. "I make it a point not to say things I don't mean."

"Rats. I hate fighting people who like me."

"I understand that it's nothing personal, if that helps," Angel assured him.

"It does. Thanks."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox whipped out her new swords, using them to parry simultaneous blows from the weapons that the Red and Blue SPD Rangers wielded. She shoved their blades away, then spun, her own weapons carving deep gashes in their suits. She then flipped up into the air, snapping them back down into their blaster-mode and peppering the two Rangers with a barrage of laser bolts before landing in a crouch several feet away.

"Why don't you just surrender?" Jack asked, as he and Sky regrouped, clutching at their wounds.

"Why are _you_ using guns in melee?" Fox retorted, crossing her arms.

"Hang on…," Sky muttered. "I recognize you from the Senturian feeds! You're the one who destroyed Blue Senturian #1308 when he came to investigate that Sirenien poacher!"

"Good times," Fox grinned.

"Do you know what the penalty is for destroying a Blue Senturian?" Jack asked.

"No."

"Neither do I," the Red Ranger admitted. "Sky?"

"Fifteen Galactic Standard years in a secure facility, no chance of parole."

"And would that be served before or after my death sentence?"

Sky didn't seem to have answer for that.

"See, the death penalty was a bad idea," the Camo Ranger explained, converting her blasters back into blades and brandishing them menacingly. "It means we've got nothing to lose."

Leaping forward, she spun midair, swinging her twin swords at such speed that she became the equivalent to a human buzzsaw. The whirring blades struck Sky in the chest, carving a gash in his black-and-blue armor.

"Sky!" Jack yelled, as Fox followed her slashing attack with a kick to the gut, sending Sky careening into the nearest brick wall. He slid down the wall to the ground, where he lay motionless.

The Camo Ranger turned to face a livid Red Ranger.

"Well?" she asked. "What have _you_ got?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So…many…Rangers," Scorpina said numbly, looking at the illusionary images that stood on a semicircle before Zedd's throne. Thirteen suits of armor, frozen in mid-battle poses, were arrayed before them.

"Study them," Zedd advised. "This group is…different…from the ones back on Earth. No two have the same powers…and a few can be quite devious."

Goldar walked down the ranks, eyeing them distastefully. He paused at the image of the Red Ranger, which was suspended in mid sword-swing.

"This…"

"Yes," Zedd confirmed. "It's him. Thomas Oliver."

"Uh…shouldn't he be back on Earth?" Rito asked, scratching his skull.

"Evidently something summoned him here," Zedd replied negligently. "Clearly, accidental summonings can occur."

"One wonders how the Rangers back there are dealing with Divatox without him," Scorpina mused.

"But they're not," Rito protested. "Tommy's still there. "I was chattin' with Elgar just the other day, and he said they they'd just fought him…"

"Not possible," the skinless warlord dismissed, sitting down in his throne. "This is our dimension's Tommy, and he's been here for nearly six months."

"How do you know he's our world's Tommy?" Scorpina asked. "My Lord," she added hastily, when he turned a disapproving glance her way.

"He recognized me, and I him."

"Maybe my talk with Elgar was from a while back, then," the skeletal warrior muttered. He began babbling about special relationships, relativity, and long-distance calls, in a manner that made it perfectly clear that he had no idea what he was talking about.

Zedd massaged his temple with one hand, drumming irritably on the arm of his throne with the other. Suddenly, he looked up, as though he'd heard something the others couldn't.

Lord Zedd had no mouth, but he still seemed to be smiling as he snapped his chrome-plated fingers, a medium-sized blue disc appearing nearby in a crackle of red lightning.

"I return," DECA said.

"Do you have it?"

For answer, the droid produced a mechanical arm, the claw of which held an expertly woven dreamcatcher.

"Excellent," Zedd said, taking it.

"Whassat?" Rito inquired.

"Hmm? Oh. DECA, minions. Minions, DECA."

"Charmed," the girl in the golden armor remarked, not taking her curious eyes off the Ranger images. "My Lord, you said that they have different powers? Is there any way…?"

"Yes, you can see them in action. Just say the color, and the Ranger chosen will animate for you to study. I took those images from recent battles, so I don't imaging their powers will have changed much since they were captured."

"Red," Goldar said immediately. The other twelve images faded, and Tommy's came to life, striking out against opponents that couldn't be seen.

"Woah! Hey! Hold it you!" Rito conjured his sword and attempted to attack the image. Whether he was kidding or not wasn't apparent.

"Get out the way, you idiot," Goldar growled, pushing him back.

Zedd shook his head sadly, then turned his attention away from his bickering generals and towards the dreamcatcher in his hands.

Channeling magic down his arm, he focused it into the object, tiny arcs of red electricity leaping from thread to frame and back. Then, like a Frisbee, he tossed it to the ground.

The ring began to vibrate against the stone floor, bolts of crimson lightning leaping from it as it spun and twitched. Streaks of shadow began to tear themselves away from the shadowy corners of the room, rushing towards the dreamcatcher and appearing to consume it.

DECA, Rito, Scorpina and even Goldar turned their attention away from the Red Ranger's image to stare at the shadowy mass on the floor as it rose up, ghostlike, into the air, hovering uncertainly.

"Go to Terra," Zedd ordered it. "And destroy the inksphere. After that….well. You know what to do."

The shadowy form bowed, then shot towards the window, leaving the palace and streaking towards the planet below.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You're good," Jack called between volleys, crouching down behind a convenient car.

"Not so bad yourself," Fox admitted, examining a healing gash on her shoulder where the Red Ranger had managed to clip her with a well-aimed bullet. She wondered briefly whether her new guns could possibly run out of ammo.

"Check this one out." Jack rolled out into the open and leaped, somehow managing to hover in the air as he banked, circling the Camo Ranger, guns blazing as he kept them trained on her.

Fox's eyes went wide, and before she knew it her own blasters were raised, fingers squeezing the triggers, her aim perfect as she fired, not at Jack, but at the blasts from his guns, her energized bolts disintegrating his bullets midair.

The Red SPD Ranger gaped as he landed, unaware that beneath her helmet, Fox also had an expression of incredulous admiration on her face.

"How did you _do_ that?" both of them asked.

Fox shook her head, as did Jack. The weird moment over, Fox raised her Thundermax Blasters and fired.

Jack dropped to the ground, letting her blasts fly harmlessly above his head as he fired back, catching her in the torso. The Camo Ranger fell back with the impact, her guns flying from her hands.

The Red Ranger rose, combining his two crimson pistols into a single rifle-style blaster as he approached. Fox glared coolly up at him, her hand covering the magic-oozing hole in her dark green armor.

"Sorry," Jack said, as he placed the barrel of his gun against her forehead. There was a loud report as he pulled the trigger, the back of her helmet exploding in a flurry of dark green shards.

She failed to fall down. Jack's eyes widened beneath his mask as he withdrew his blaster, watching the Camouflage Ranger's visored face as it stared coldly back at him, the black glass uncracking. On the pavement, a patch of light from the streetlamps shone in the center of her shadow's head, unmistakable proof that the blast had gone clean through. But, as he watched, that hole sealed itself, healing until her helmet had returned to its original, pristine state.

"That's okay," Fox replied brightly, kicking the Red Ranger's feet out from under him. His rifle tumbled away across the asphalt, and he was too stunned even to retrieve it.

"How…" Jack asked numbly, backing away on his hands and butt, hardly the picture of SPD heroism.

The Camo Ranger shrugged, getting back to her feet. "I've had worse," She said. There was a glimmer of dark green, and a weapon appeared in her hands, two short blades connected by a long handle. She twirled it like a baton. "Ready to go another round?"

"What _are_ you?" the Red Ranger demanded, getting back to his feet.

Fox snapped her two-bladed sword into twin fighting knives, brandishing them threateningly. "Your worst nightmare," she replied.

There was a pause.

"Sorry," she added. "But I've always wanted to say that."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It seemed like the sounds of battle would never end. Hesitantly, Sophie dared to glance out from the shadowy alley where Electra and Angel had left her, telling her stay, saying they'd be back.

In the vacant lot and throughout the streets, Rangers fought Rangers. Her new friends against the enforcers of SPD.

Jack. Sky. Z. Syd. Bridge. Why did she know their names?

She shook her head. She had no idea. Just as she had no idea who she was, where she'd come from. She tightened her grip on her books, careful not to break the cardboard covers. They were really all she had.

Or were they? She'd left Beth because trouble followed her, and she hadn't wanted to bring it down on her. But these new people…they seemed to be able to handle trouble remarkably well. In fact…they were winning.

Sky was just getting to his feet, having laid on the ground for some time without moving. The Yellow Ranger was fighting Z, while Syd seemed to be struggling with something that couldn't be seen, a vague ripple in the air that seemed to suggest a humanoid shape.

Bridge was desperately trying to hold his own against an opponent that was never the same twice, now a large, armored, four-legged form with a horn on its head, now an enormous furry creature with a blunt snout and massive, clawed paws.

Just as she was shifting her gaze towards Jack and the Camo Ranger, she caught sight of a face she'd hoped never too see again.

There he stood, in the alley across from hers. She quickly stepped back into the shadows, hoping he hadn't spotted her. She wanted to turn, to run, to find something to hide behind…but her friends had told her to wait here? What if she left, and then couldn't find them again? What if he caught her? How would she get away without them?

He strode calmly out into the fray, sword in hand.

"Ahem," the fishlike alien said loudly.

The fighting ceased with surprising haste, all of the SPD rangers moving to stand in a line. The Terran Rangers stood back, curious but wary.

"I want my Encryptor back." The newcomer announced.

"Then you should talk to your accomplice," Jack spat. "She's the one who has it."

"My accomplice?" the alien asked. He suddenly broke into a loud, gurgling laughter. "Accomplice! Ha! You humans. You never look to see what's beneath the surface."

"You're under arrest, Ichthior."

Ichthior sighed. "What, again? How many more Rangers must I send back to Kruger in pieces before he gives up?"

"We'll never _give up_," Sky retorted sharply, spitting out the last two words as though they tasted bad.

"Of course not. Being a fool is a prerequisite for joining SPD. Now," he said, aiming his sword at them. "Which of you is going to tell me which way my Encryptor went?"

The Rangers drew their weapons.

"Very well, then," Ichthior said, running a scaly, webbed finger along the edge of his blade, testing its sharpness. "I'll cut the answers I want out of your slimy human hides."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hello," Xander said, peering down off the edge of the building at the Rangers, who were now scattered and in disarray. "A new player."

"He looks like a fish," Daniel commented.

"And we look like bugs. Who's to judge?"

"Fair point. What do you think he's after?"

"Not sure," Xander admitted. "But now's a good time to jump in, don't you think?"

"As good as any," the Green Hunter agreed, conjuring his bonder. "Seeing as the Rangers aren't killing each other anymore."

Xander summoned his as well. Both Beetleborgs brought the devices up to their mouthpieces and called,

**"Beetle Battle Base!" **

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Ocean Saber!"** Ichthior invoked, channeling energy along the blade of his sword. **"Ocean Slash!"** Faster than any of the Rangers' eyes could follow, he darted forward, his one blade seeming to become dozens as his lightning-fast slashes surrounded him, making him into a lethal missile that tore through the ranks of both teams. Armored bodies flew, falling to the ground like rain, smoking gashed marring their monochromatic suits.

"This guy's starting to bug me," Terina complained.

"I think I'll just stay down here this time," Lecca announced.

Fox pulled herself to her feet with the aid of one of her new Thundermax sabers. "Man, I wish Deacon were here," she muttered. She blinked. "Did I really just say that?"

"Getting back up?" Ichthior asked, sounding confused but not surprised. "You Rangers really are all alike. You never know when to stay down."

"Ahem. I'm staying down," the Black Ranger reminded him. It was true, she hadn't bothered getting back up.

"An intelligent Ranger. Will wonders never cease."

"Shut your hole, before someone jams a fishhook in it," Fox suggested.

Ichthior sneered, assuming a fighting stance, his sword held defensively before him. Fox matched him, stowing her Thundermax Sabers and conjuring her Stealth Cutter. The two circled each other for a moment…

And, surprising everyone, the shadows on the pavement beneath them rose up, assuming a life of their own.

The form was wispy, a ghost of black silk, with a dark hood reminiscent of the Grim Reaper's. Nothing of its face could be seen, and only the presence of a pair of eyes that shone like twin stars suggested that it had one at all. In the center of its chest was a hole, and across this abyss was stretched a complex web of string, identical to the dreamcatcher that sat atop the smooth black staff clutched in the shadowy talons of its right hand.

It let out a threatening, eager hiss, turning its shadowy head about to examine the area. Its gaze fell on the cracked inksphere, and before anyone could react, it darted over to it, flying in circles around it and striking it with its staff.

"Stop it!" Terina cried.

The other Rangers raised their weapons, but Ichthior, taking advantage of the distraction, darted forward, aiming to run his sword through the Camo Ranger's back.

Fox never even looked back. She simply stepped aside and held out her blade, in one motion dodging the criminal's blow and causing him to impale himself on her sword.

Ignoring his cry of pain and surprise, she pulled her blade free of his ribcage and started running towards the sphere intent on stopping the phantom from destroying it…and their friends…forever.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

In a large, vacant lot, near a run-down mansion on the outskirts of a small unremarkable town, a deep rumbling began beneath the earth. Grass roots tore, great, regular cracks appeared in the ground, sand and pebbles falling down into them as two great panels rose from the ground and separated, the disguised doors opening to reveal a vast underground cavity.

Hydraulic seals released themselves with hisses of steam, gears ground, engines whirred as a large edifice emerged from the subterranean chamber, resembling a short, blunt tower. With a resounding _ka-chunk_, it snapped into place.

A large door on one side folded down like a ramp, and a large, blue, beetle-like mech rolled out on six smooth wheels. A similar door opened on the side adjacent, this one extending a second ramp sideways for its green-armored occupant to trundle down on its heavy treads.

The two vehicles stood silent for a moment, the fading sunlight mustering its forces to glint menacingly off them through the thick clouds of dust kicked up by the emergence of their hangar.

Then, in two bright flashes of green and blue light, the vehicles were gone, and in the sky overhead something very like two shooting stars, one blue and one green, could be seen shooting past overhead, flying away towards parts unknown.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ichthior coughed, spitting murky green blood onto the concrete. He managed to drag himself forward the few inches necessary to reach his sword, the cold metal of its hilt giving his mind something to focus on. Grimly determined, he used the blade to pull himself to his feet, then struggled to focus his blurring vision on the Rangers' backs as they went chasing after the shadow.

**"Ocean Saber,"** he invoked, channeling his remaining energy into the blade. He drew it back, preparing to rush at his preoccupied opponents, catching them all unaware.

"Ahem."

Ichthior froze, turning around slowly, staggering slightly as he did so.

Behind him stood B-Squad, the Blue Ranger at the forefront, his morpher aimed at the criminal.

"Aren't you…" A pause to cough up more blood. "Aren't you going to judge me?" the fishlike druglord asked scathingly.

"A-Squad already judged you on Fernovia," Sky replied. He pressed the button.

There was a flash of antimatter, and Ichthior vanished, a small containment card falling to the ground where he had been standing.

"Welcome to your new home," Jack said smugly.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The deep cracks in the once-smooth surface of the inksphere became deeper still as the ghostly apparition beat away at it with its staff.

A loud roar echoed across the lot. As the shade reared back for yet another blow, it was pounced upon by a large gray lion, the feral cat's claws tearing through its shadowflesh and evoking a furious hiss. Angel passed straight through the creature, its body too insubstantial for his tackle to have much effect.

Landing smoothly on four paws, he returned to Ranger form, conjuring his Blade Blaster and firing a stream of high-energy light at the beast, which had a good deal more impact.

The shade let out a screech, trying to shy away from the beam, but three identical rays of light joined it as Fox, Terina, and Electra arrived, blasters in hand.

Overwhelmed by the focused energy being poured into it, the wraithlike figure fled, streaking away towards the closest shadow, where it vanished, staff and all.

"Whew," Fox said, holstering her Blade Blaster. The others, not equipped as she was with a belt holster, simply vanished theirs. "That was close."

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the sphere let out a resounding CRACK!, imploding in on itself and crumbling to dust, leaving nothing behind but empty air.

The Rangers stared at the space thus vacated, aghast.

"No," Terina whispered.

Familiar, derisive laughter sounded from nearby. The Rangers turned to see a pair of armored, insectoid forms approaching.

"Aww. They lost their ball," The Blue Stinger Beetleborg taunted.

Fox's gloved hands tightened into fists. "I'm glad you're here," she growled. "Because I really need to hit something. Now."

"Such violence," the Blue Beetleborg said. "You should seek counseling."

The Green Beetleborg appeared to find this amusing, he paused mid-step and shook his head at the Blue one.

"In any case, we're not here to fight you, Rangers," Green Hunter said.

"You're not," Electra repeated.

The Blue Striker snapped his fingers, and two massive shaped rolled forth, so large it was anyone's guess how they'd remained unobserved for so long. Both resembled beetles, one blue and one green, the green one having enormous metal pincers and tank treads, and the blue one equipped with an antennae-shaped cannon and six round wheels.

"No," Stinger replied. "They are."

Acting in unison, the two comic-book warriors leapt up, backflipping through the air and landing atop their respective vehicles, vanishing into their access hatches.

The two AVs began to trundle forward.

Fox drew her Blaster again and fired, but the focused beam didn't leave so much as a mark. She sighed, lowering the gun.

"Zord time?" she asked resignedly.

"Looks that way," Electra replied. **"Mastodon Dinozord!"**

**"Saber-toothed Tiger Dinozord!"**

**"Wolf Dinozord!"**

**"Crocodile Dinozord!"**

Four streaks of light emerged from four Power Coins, leaping up into the air and assuming the shapes of four enormous mechanical beasts, which roared, reared, and pawed at the ground in anticipation.

"Here we go again," Terina muttered, as she and her fellow Rangers beamed aboard.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"And here come the Zords," Green Hunter said, shaking his head. "So predictable."

Blue Stinger tapped a few keys, bringing up all the stats that had been collected by Zedd's scout vessels months ago. "They're nothing. Come on, let's toast 'em."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Terina crouched in Sabertoothed Tiger, then pounced, the yellow zord letting out a vicious roar…but, anticipating her movements perfectly, the Green AV reached up and nabbed the feline with its pincers.

"Pathetic, Yellow Ranger. Really pathetic," Hunter's voice called over the comlink. The upper body of the Green Beetle rose up from its treads and began to rotate, the treads remaining stationary on the ground. Once it had built up sufficient velocity, the Green Av released its grip, sending the smilodon flying. The Yellow Dinozord crashed into the side of a building, almost knocking the structure over. Dazed, the large mechanical cat shook its head, shaking free rubble.

Mastodon fired rays of frigid ice from its trunk and Wolf released a series of sonic blasts, but all of these splashed harmlessly off of the Blue Stinger AV's hull, as though the vehicle had been specifically designed to withstand the Zord's attacks. A blast of energy from the AV's antennae caught Wolf full in the face, lifting it right up off the pavement and sending it flipping through the air, to come crashing down on its back.

Angel quickly struggled with his controls, trying to regain some stability.

"This isn't going well," he surmised.

"You don't say," Fox commented through gritted teeth, trying to clamp down on the Green Av with Crocodile's jaws. The smaller mech somehow kept managing to slip free, as though the reptilian mech's teeth were simply slipping off its hull. "Anyone have any thoughts?"

"No Megazords," Electra pointed out. "Unless Kalen shows up."

"She's still in the medbay, recovering from the effects of the holy water," Angel reported.

"Then we're Megazordless."

"Maybe not," Fox suggested. "Mastodon becomes arms, right? Well, all Crocodile needs is arms. Why don't we try merging?"

"Because you still haven't bought me dinner," the Black Ranger replied.

Fox rolled her eyes. "Just go with it, okay?"

"Right-o. Lead on."

Fox moved her zord alongside Lecca's, then slammed her hand down on the controls that triggered her Megazord transformation, though the controls were inactive. In her own jet-black cockpit, Electra did the same.

For a moment, nothing happened apart from a rumbling deep within the Zords' guts, as though they were confused. Then, as if the mechs had finally caught on, the controls sprang to life, crocodile rearing up onto its hind legs, ejecting its tail and folding its head down onto its chest. Predazord's head emerged from the top, as the Mastodon Zord became an enormous pair of black arms and attached themselves to the back and sides of the mechanism.

"How 'bout that?" Fox said smugly. "It worked."

"Not too shabby," Electra agreed, eyeing their new cockpit. "Now, about our little bug problem…"

"Say no more," the Camo Ranger replied, taking control and steering them towards the AVs.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"That's a new one," Xander stated, alarm evident in his voice.

"No specs, no stats," Daniel agreed. "And it's coming right for me. Any suggestions?"

"I'd suggest you motor," the Blue Stinger replied.

The Green Hunter Beetleborg took this advice, slamming his hand down on his control panel, causing his systems to teleport him back to the base.

Just in time, as it happened, as, not three seconds later, the newly formed Megazord stomped, very hard and very often, on the bug-shaped vehicle, crushing metal and shattering glass.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"There's that done," Fox said, causing the Megazord to brush off its hands. "Now for the other one."

"Um…" Electra said, her eyes following a darker patch against the already dark sky, as it rose up to the Megazord's eye level. It hovered for a moment, then bowed low, as though mocking them, before turning away. The phantom twirled its dreamcatcher-staff, aiming it at the Saber-toothed Tiger and Wolf Zords, which were still busy battling the Blue Stinger AV.

The Megazord reached out to stop it, but it was too late…the spectral monster fired off two beams of ghostly light. There was a glimmer of Yellow and another of Gray as, seeing the danger, the two Rangers bailed out of their Zords, just as the ghostly light enveloped them. A nimbus of ethereal fog covered them for a moment, then there was a much brighter flash of Yellow and Gray…and the two Zords were gone. In their places was a cloud of glittering yellow and gray sparks that separated into two streams that trailed up into the sky as the phantom sucked them into its staff.

"Woah," Fox said.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Electra inquired, sounding worried.

The phantom turned to face them, bringing its staff to bear on the Megazord.

"Oh, shit," Fox muttered.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Angel materialized on the street below, just in time to look up and see Wolf and Saber-toothed Tiger vanish. Almost immediately, a stabbing pain shot through him, as though someone had reached within and torn out something vital. His vision blurred, weakness surged through him…and the next thing he knew, he was on his knees, his Ranger Armor gone, replaced by his natural form.

Gasping for air, he managed to make out Terina's outline, lying on the pavement next to him, clearly in no better shape than he was.

"What…just happened?" she choked.

"The Zords," Angel replied thickly. "It took the zords. It just…tore them away from us."

"I've never felt so sick in my life," the Yellow Ranger groaned.

"That'll pass in a few minutes," Angel assured her, fighting down his own urge to vomit. No sense wasting perfectly good food over something as trivial as magical feedback.

"Fox," Terina managed to cough. "Electra."

Angel turned his eyes upward, trying and almost succeeding to focus on the towering construct that was the Rangers' new Megazord. It raised an arm, as though instinctively trying to shield its face, the apparition's ghostly mist spreading to envelope it, top to bottom.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Groaning, Electra rose to her feet, still swaying unsteadily. When Mastodon had been captured, a backlash of energy had swept through her, demorphing her and nearly knocking her out.

A deep rumbling filled her senses. Her gaze found its way upward, her blurred vision managed to focus on the source: A massive, mechanical blue beetle, rolling straight for her on six enormous wheels.

Every instinct told the blue-haired telepath to scream, to run, to move….to do _something_, but she was still far too dazed. She knew that if she tried to run, she'd fall flat on her face. As the mech grew nearer, she staggered back, stumbled, and fell onto her butt…which was better than her face, but still, not pleasant.

She flinched, looking away. But, though the roar of the mech's engines grew louder, it somehow failed to squash her. Looking up, she was astonished to learn that the reason for this was…

"Go away!" Sophie screamed, her small frame standing defiantly before the Blue Stinger AV, hands braced against its forwardmost axle, and, most remarkably, successfully holding it back, its wheels grinding against the pavement.

Exerting a Herculean effort, the strange girl actually lifted the forward end of the mech up off the ground, the concrete cracking beneath her feet as all of that weight was concentrated into such a small area. With a sound somewhere between a grunt of exertion and a furious screech, she heaved the enormous insect aside, flipping it over onto its back and causing it to crash into the nearby building.

Over the roar of its engines as they labored to spin the AV's wheels uselessly, Electra could swear she heard the furious screams of the Blue Stinger as he sat upside-down in his cockpit. She smiled, as Sophie helped her to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Sophie asked.

"I think so," the Black Ranger replied. Then she frowned, turning her eyes up towards the spot where the new Megazord had vanished. "Fox…she didn't bail. It got her, Sophie. Whatever took the Zords got her, too."

"We'll find her," Sophie said. "I'll help you."

Angel and Terina appeared at their side as the cockpit of the overturned AV opened, the Beetleborg within falling to the ground with a curse.

"This isn't over, Rangers. I'll see you all dead."

"Charmed as always," Angel replied. "Now run along."

With one last poisonous glare, the Blue Stinger opened a portal and stepped through, vanishing.

"Rangers," Jack's voice called from behind them.

As one, they turned to see B-Squad standing in a row, the Red Ranger a step forward from the rest.

"We're not done," Sky claimed. "You're in violation of-"

"We just lost a friend," Terina spat.

"And we're less than thrilled about it," Angel agreed.

"So unless you want to end up like Ichthior…"

"Ichthior's alive," Syd said, holding up a small card. "He's in stasis. He'll be taken to a medical facility, treated, then he'll have to stand trial."

"And you helped us catch him," Jack allowed. "So I'm willing to pretend that we never found Power Rangers here." He pointed at Sophie. "But we have to have the girl. She stands accused of being an accomplice to his crimes."

"Try and take her," Electra challenged.

Just then, a portal opened behind them, a shimmering gateway resembling the surface of a golden pond, turned upright. Three forms stepped out, one each in Blue, Purple and Bronze.

"Good timing, guys," Terina said.

"We've been watching," Troy informed them, as Kalen stepped to the forefront.

"This girl has come to us requesting asylum, and, as it appears that she poses no threat, either to us or our planet, said asylum has been granted, until such time that the presence of a threat on her part can be proven," the Purple Ranger said smoothly. "At this point, the only aggressors here are you yourselves, who are not only operating outside your jurisdiction, but are in violation of Terran space and guilty of landing on an undeveloped planet without permission from the local authorities."

The others exchanged mystified glances as Kalen carried on, but the effect of her words couldn't be denied….the SPD Rangers appeared to have lost their poise, their authority in this matter having been called into question.

"Any further hostile action, either to ourselves or those under our protection, will therefore be deemed an act of interplanetary war," the Purple Ranger continued. "If you wish to gain guardianship of this refugee, then we of the planet Terra insist that you authorize a diplomatic representative to present your request for processing."

There was a pause.

"Sky?" Z asked uncertainly.

"I think she's right," Sky admitted grudgingly.

"Fine," Jack allowed. "We'll be back," he called, turning and walking away, the others following close behind.

"You're not to leave the planet until this matter is resolved," the Blue SPD Ranger insisted, before turning to follow his squad.

The Terran Rangers, except for Kalen, breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"And that, Myk," Angel pointed out. "Is why we don't mind that she's Evil."

"She has her uses, I'll give her that," Myk allowed grudgingly.

"Flatterer," Kalen quipped. She turned to Sophie. "So, what's your story, girl?"

Sophie opened her mouth hesitantly, but Electra spoke up first.

"Let's go back to the Animarium and talk there," she suggested. "We need to work out what happens next…and how we're going to get Fox and our Zords back."

The others were acquiescent. After a quick call to Diskette, and, by proxy, Shayla, the group strode through the shimmering portal and left the dreary lot.

None of them, however, noticed the shadowy patch that broke away from the larger, more solid shadows that the streetlights cast, creeping across the pavement and slipping through the portal after them before it closed, leaving the lot vacant and deserted.


	89. Machinations Part I

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 89: Machinations

Terra's Moon, from a distance, was a very peaceful place. Up close, however, moving shaped became visible on its surface: troops of Putties, flocks of Tengas, squadrons of Quantrons, schools of Pirhannatrons, and swarms of Stingwingers marching across the landscape, drilling, training with their weapons of choice, and tearing apart suggestively Ranger-colored dummies.

The armies paused in their efforts as a ship tore past overhead, resembling a smooth-skinned, slightly flat oblong egg that had had numerous portions of its hull replaced with jagged, angular pipework…a functional, but imperfect, fusion of two distinctly different technologies.

The ship continued until it reached the black-walled palace that stood out against the pale lunar surface, kicking up enormous clouds of moon dust with its engines as it touched down outside the palace gates.

As the clouds slowly cleared, the vessel's hatch opened, and a pink-armored, mechanical figure emerged.

Suddenly, someone was there to greet her, a creature resembling a human female in golden armor.

"Princess Archerina," the organic said, bowing respectfully. "I am Scorpina, servant to Lord Zedd. My master is expecting you."

Archerina nodded.

"Is there no one to accompany you?" Scorpina asked, sounding surprised.

"I need no escort," the mechanical monarch replied. "And as you may be aware, my consort was recently…destroyed."

"Yes, I heard. My condolences."

Archerina shrugged impassively. "Such sentiments are meaningless," she said, though her pained tone made this claim dubious.

Scorpina pretended not to notice.

"Allow me to show you inside," she said. "I…must apologize for the state of the palace. Most of the others arrived yesterday, you see, and they've simply been-"

Archerina paused in mid-stride, her metal head turning to focus her optical sensors on Scorpina.

"Others?" she inquired.

Sophie flinched as yet another surge of sparks erupted from the tabletop.

"Hold still," Angel admonished.

Sophie tried to stop fidgeting, as the Gray Ranger returned to the delicate task of repairing her arm. Diskette floated nearby, offering advice and tools as necessary.

"A constructed person," Shayla said, fascinated. "And made using no magic at all."

"And what am I? A can opener?" Diskette asked, sounding halfheartedly irritable.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I only meant…"

"That you don't think of me as a person," the droid finished flatly. "It's okay. Nobody does."

Shayla opened her mouth to apologize, but Angel spoke before she could.

"This doesn't look too bad," he interrupted, sparks flying from his pencil-welder as he repaired broken circuits. "What did you hit, anyway?" he asked, addressing Sophie.

"I tore open a fire hydrant," she admitted sheepishly.

"Ouch," Diskette chimed in. "No, Angel, not that wire. The blue one."

"Which one is the blue one?" Angel inquired.

"Third from the left."

"This one?"

"Yes."

"Thank you," Angel replied, making the necessary connection. He reached over to pick up a macrospanner…and immediately dropped it again as his skin began to steam, hissing as it touched the cold metal. He examined his stinging fingers, which looked blackened and burned as though he'd placed them on a hot burner. "Well, that's alarming," he said calmly.

Diskette zoomed in on his hand. "How did that happen?" she asked.

"What's that tool made of?"

Diskette did a quick scan. "Iron. Just plain old iron. It's not even hot."

"Very strange," Angel stated, sucking on his scorched fingers. "I don't normally have that reaction to iron."

Kalen raised an eyebrow. "What _do_ you normally have that reaction to?"

"Never mind. Diskette, please have Zord-1 teleport that to the lab for study. It might be one of those objects Ornyk cursed."

"As you wish," the hovering droid agreed. The Oasis' teleporter had been repaired, it just hadn't been calibrated to the point that it was safe to transport living matter yet.

The tool disappeared with a flash, and Angel proceeded to work around its absence.

"This connection is tricky to get to," he said. "Might take some time."

"Would it be easier if I took off my hand?"

Both Angel and Diskette turned to stare blankly at the android.

"Yes," Angel said bluntly.

"Your hand comes off, and you're just suggesting it _now_?"

Sophie looked, if possible, even more sheepish, as she placed a hand on her shoulder. There was hiss, as of hydraulic locks releasing, and her entire forearm slid out of its casing, leaving her with only a hollow tube from the elbow down, and a lifelike humanoid hand attached to a core of circuitry lying on the table.

Terina, standing nearby, shuddered. The Eltarian had been watching the entire process with the air of someone who'd been witness to a train wreck…horrified, but too fascinated to look away, making a face at every technical detail and flinching at every spark. This last trick seemed too much for her, as she excused herself and went to join the rest of the group, who were standing in a loose huddle near the fountain.

"…still have Triceratops," Troy was saying. " and Myk still has his Eagle."

"And Hammerhead," Kalen chimed in. As always, she seemed to be making a point of paying more attention than anyone realized.

"We have bigger problems than missing Zords," Myk argued. "We're missing a Ranger."

"Seven Rangers," Troy corrected. "We still don't even know if the others in the inksphere even survived."

"Have you tried asking the fountain?" Terina asked.

"Twice," the Blue Ranger admitted. "Nothing."

"It seems the power of holy water has its limits," Angel chimed in.

Kalen made a face. "Yes, it was only able to strip six layers of skin off my leg," she added flatly.

"There _is_ one other person we could ask," Electra pointed out.

Every head turned to face the Black Ranger, who was sitting idly on the stone edge of the fountain, her eyes distant. As was typical of Electra, she seemed to be so far off that, if anything she said happened to be relevant, it could have been entirely by accident.

"You mean Kite," Angel stated, not taking his eyes off his task.

"Absolutely not," Myk snapped.

"Why not?" Kalen asked. "He seems to have some connection to us."

"That doesn't mean he's on our side," the Bronze Ranger replied.

"We know you don't trust him," Terina said. "But it can't hurt to ask. It's not like he's ever actively attacked us before."

"On Phaedos," Myk reminded her.

"He claims that that wasn't him," Kalen pointed out.

"I could claim to be a Putty. That wouldn't make it true."

"Look, there's no harm in asking," Terina said. Then, before anyone could object further, she called. "Kite!"

"Can't you people ever work _anything_ out for yourselves?"

The group turned to see the entity leaning against one of the ruined stone columns of the former temple.

"So what do you need this time?" he asked.

"Are the others still alive? The ones who were in the inksphere?" the Yellow Ranger asked bluntly.

"Jareth and Deacon are," he replied. "If the others are with them, then they probably are, as well.

"How come you can only sense Jareth and Deacon?" Electra asked.

"Oh? Hasn't Myk told you?" Kite asked facetiously. He glanced over at the Bronze Ranger, meeting his furious glare. "No? Nothing about our last little encounter?"

"You know damn well that I haven't," he spat.

"Do I? Do I indeed?" Kite asked vaguely. "Well then. To answer your question, Electra, I know that Jareth and Deacon are still alive because I am the essence of the Animus Megazord. I am the perfect union of Myk, Deacon, and Jareth, and I share a link with them. Whether _any_ of us like it or not," he added, shooting another glance at Myk.

"Oh," Electra said.

"That explains more than it doesn't," Kalen chimed in.

Kite gave a yawn. "Truth be told," he admitted. "I'm feeling a bit stretched. It's tiring, having two thirds of one's essence on another plane."

"They're on another plane?" Shayla asked, surprised.

Kite shrugged. "An alternate reality, technically. But no one knows the difference between that, a dimension, and a plane, anyway."

"I do," the Purple Ranger protested.

"What about Fox?" Troy asked. "Is she okay?"

"No idea," Kite replied. "Probably not."

Zedd's palace was, for lack of a better word, trashed. Statues were demolished, chandeliers had been ripped from the ceiling, garbage littered the halls. There were numerous stains on the walls that Archerina's scanners revealed to be human blood.

"Our guests have been quite a demanding lot," Scorpina explained. "And our footsoldiers weren't built for room service. So, we've been abducting transients and tribesmen from the planet and brainwashing them into becoming housekeepers."

"And incompetent service…," Archerina began.

"Is usually met with having one's blood brought to a boil within one's body. The trouble is, when you blow up the housekeepers, who's to clean up the mess? Come," Scorpina said, leading the android down the cluttered halls. "Lord Zedd has much to discuss with you."

The golden-armored humanoid led Archerina to Zedd's throne room, where the skinless warlord was addressing a black-armored warrior with a crimson cape and gold horns on his helmet.

"I answered your call because you promised me the opportunity to settle my score with the Gold Ranger," the warrior said. "Now, you tell me that he isn't even here."

"He was here when I made the call," Zedd retorted. "I was not responsible for the interdimensional rift he fell into. If you wish to leave and forego your payment, there's nothing stopping you."

"The Gold Ranger is beyond your reach, being dead as he is," Scorpina chimed in. "Why not take your retribution on his friends in his place?"

Magna Defender considered. "I have no quarrel with any of his friends," he finally said. "Except perhaps the Silver Ranger…"

"The Silver Ranger is _mine_," another voice claimed. Another figure, this one unmistakably a human male, took a few steps forward.

"Not that it matters," Scorpina chimed in. "He's dead too."

Magna Defender eyed the newcomer, and shrugged.

"I have no reason to stay," he declared. He took a few steps towards the door, paused, and turned back slightly. "Unless you have another offer to make? I'd hate to have completely wasted a trip."

"I'm planning on seizing the power of the Nexus," Zedd informed him. "Once it is mine, I will claim Terra for my own, and from there, build my empire. So name it. Wealth? Women? Canada? It's yours."

The Magna Defender quoted an outrageous price. Scorpina let out a low whistle.

"I'll double that," Zedd said.

"Then I'm yours. What do you wish done?"

"Your first mission is to go down to Terra with that bull of yours and stir up some chaos."

"Where on Terra?"

"Anywhere!" Zedd cried. "It's not a big planet. Just tear apart a heavily populated area. I want you to lure out the Rangers. Get them to summon their Zords."

"That's it?"

"That's it. Leave the rest to me."

The bounty hunter considered, nodded, and left without another word.

"And was there something for you, Jonah?"

The human nodded. "I wanted to speak to you about the drills outside. Evidently there's been some confusion-"

"Between the Tengas and the Putties?" Scorpina finished. Jonah nodded. "Those imbeciles. The squadron leaders keep double-booking training zones, so the groups keep running into one another. Our army will finish itself off if it keeps up much longer."

"Just take care of it, would you, Scorpina?" Zedd asked in a long-suffering voice.

Scorpina bowed, then turned and left, adding as she went, "Oh, by the way, Archerina of the Machine Empire, here to see you, my Lord."

Zedd started, just noticing the hot-pink android.

"Welcome, your majesty," he said, waving Jonah away.

"Lord Zedd," Archerina said. "I understand you wished to see me?"

"Indeed. Come."

Zedd led the ruler of the Machine Empire through a door at the back of the throne room, into another, much smaller room. This room was dominated by a waist-high marble pedestal, upon which stood a single unmoving human form. Floating at even points around the pillar were four crystal spheres, one Black, one Gray, one Yellow, and one a mottled Green-and-Brown.

Zedd snatched one of the crystals and held it out to the android, who took it distastefully.

"What is this?" she inquired coldly.

"A Zord," Lord Zedd replied. "One of four recently…acquired. Soon to be a set of twenty. I was wondering if you'd be interested in the mechanical components, once I've extracted the magical elements."

Archerina gazed at the frozen saber-toothed tiger that lay in the center of the yellow crystal. Her optical sensors zoomed in on its tiny form, taking in every minute detail.

"This is…Eltarian magitechnology," she stated. She looked back at Zedd. "What do you wish in return?"

"Your aid, and that of your empire, in my current campaign."

Gears ground as she processed this.

"You have it," she finally said, returning the crystal to him. Her optical sensors fell on the frozen human on her pedestal. "And what is that?" she asked distastefully.

Zedd eyed the human, taking in her impassive expression. The palace was notoriously drafty, but she was so perfectly frozen, trapped between ticks of the clock, that not a single burgundy hair stirred, her camouflage fatigues didn't wrinkle at all.

"A trophy," he replied. "And perhaps, later, something more…useful."

"Lord Zedd!"

Zedd and Archerina turned as DECA shot into the room.

"Hello, little one," Archerina said, smiling.

DECA turned and regarded the pink monarch for a moment, then rotated back to face Zedd again.

"There is activity on the planet of which you should be aware."

Had Zedd been capable of facial expressions, his eyes might have widened.

"Show me."

Kite's head suddenly jerked towards the forest, as though he'd heard something no one else had.

"Excuse me, Rangers," he said. "It seems there's something that requires my attention."

And, with a flash, he was gone.

"What do you suppose that was all about?" Troy wondered.

"Hey, guys," Diskette suddenly said. "Get a load of this." Opening a small hatch, she extruded a holographic projector and produced the image of what looked to be a large, futuristic building with a dog's head attached to the top.

"What in Jhenoa's name is that?" Terina asked.

Kalen narrowed her eyes. "That's-"

"The SPD Dekabase," Archerina identified. "What would bring SPD to this backwater planet?"

"My recent monitoring of data transmissions in the surrounding three cubic parsecs of space have revealed a number of encrypted transmissions of a frequency and encryption pattern commonly used by Space Patrol Delta," DECA said. "I have decrypted these, and discovered that Space Patrol Delta recently came to Terra to capture-"

"Sophie," Electra began, sitting down at the table and looking the android in the eye. "We need to know everything you call tell us about this Encryptor that Ichthior was after."

"But I don't know anything!" Sophie protested.

Electra looked into her eyes. "Listen, if we can give that Encryptor to SPD, that may be the only way to-"

"Get rid of them," Zedd said. "I don't care how. I cannot afford to have them here now."

"Don't be so hasty, Lord Zedd,' Archerina said. "As long as these Rangers oppose the native ones, the situation works to your advantage."

"And what if they ally themselves?" Zedd retorted. "Power Rangers have an irritating habit of making friends. With everything."

"As it happens, that base contains a little piece of experimental technology that the Machine Empire has been trying to acquire for some time now. I believe I can arrange for this…predicament…to work to everyone's advantage. All I need is a few moments alone with that specimen SPD was after."

"Then you have my leave to do as you will," Zedd agreed.

Archerina turned to DECA. "Please upload to me all of the information you have gleaned from those SPD transmissions."

"As you wish," DECA agreed readily. Streams of compressed data projected themselves from DECA's optical receptors to Archerina's.

Zedd shook his head, marveling slightly at this unusual method of sharing knowledge. "I wish you luck in this," he said. "Though I still wish-"

"-they'd just turn around and leave," Electra said ruefully.

"Well, maybe they would, if we just gave them what they were after," Terina suggested.

"They're after Sophie," Troy reminded her.

"So?"

"You were all for helping defend her when she first showed up," the Black Ranger pointed out.

"I thought she was a real person. She's a robot."

"Hey!" Diskette protested.

"You're different," Terina said. "You've been around for years now. You've got memories. But she's said herself that she can't remember anything before she landed on our planet. She's practically blank."

"'Our' planet?" Kalen asked challengingly, smirking.

"You know what I mean."

"I don't," Sophie said hesitantly. "Do…you want me to leave?"

"We don't," Electra assured her, her eyes seeming to focus on what was actually going on around her, for a change.

"Yes, we do," Terina countered. "We can't afford to be feuding with SPD right now, when we have Zedd's Zordeater thing to contend with. We should solve the easy problem now, while we can."

"Terina does have a point, there," Troy said contemplatively. "SPD's presence only complicates matters. It's only a matter of time before they work their way through Kalen's red tape. We should get rid of them as soon as possible, and the easiest way to do that is to give them what they want."

"But we're talking about handing over an innocent," Lecca protested. "Since when do we do that?"

"We don't," Myk stated. "Out of the question."

"But she's not _real_," Terina protested.

"Who knows what SPD will do to her to find out what she knows?" The Black Ranger continued.

"No disassemble Johnny Five," Diskette quipped, perfectly mimicking the line from the movie.

"Exactly," Lecca agreed. "Besides, why do they want Sophie anyway? They got their man. Fish. Whatever."

"That piece of tech they were after…the one they think Sophie has…sounds like a pretty dangerous gadget," Troy said. "My guess is they want to find it and get it under wraps. Besides, as far as they're concerned, Sophie was Ichthior's accomplice."

"I wasn't!" Sophie cried. "He was using me!"

"What for?" Shayla asked.

"I…I don't remember…it was before….before the crash…I don't remember anything…"

"She's hiding something," Terina declared. "Why should we protect her when she obviously can't be trusted?"

"I can't believe we're even discussing this," Electra protested. "This girl came to us for help. And we want to just fork her over to people who ordered our execution? And what's wrong with_ you_?" Electra demanded, glaring at Terina. "Since when are you so cold?"

"She's a _robot_," Terina repeated. "For all we know, SPD wants it because Ichthior stole it from them in the first place."

"Oh, so now she's an it?"

"She's _always _been an it!"

Sophie looked at Terina, confusion in her eyes. "I…don't understand what I did wrong."

"You didn't do anything," Electra began, but Sophie was already standing. She grabbed her detached arm and was at the portal in the blink of an eye. Before anyone could say a word, she was gone.

"Sophie!" Electra cried. She rounded on Terina angrily. "Now see what you've done?"

"Yes," Terina said, steel in her voice. "I got rid of her. If your brain wasn't too wrapped in fog to see her for what she really was, you'd be thanking me."

The Yellow Ranger blinked as Electra's face, normally neutral and distant, displayed an expression that was actually hurt. Before she could fall apart and apologize, she turned on her heel and stormed off, away from the Temple and into the woods.

It took Electra a few moments for the sting to fade. It wasn't so much what she'd actually said…Electra normally _did _keep her mind enveloped in fog…as the tone she'd used. Terina had always been the one person who'd never said a sharp word to anyone. She was sunshine and oranges, dandelions and roller skates. Terina was sweetness incarnate…and now she'd revealed barbs that no one had ever expected were there.

"Where did she go?" Troy was asking Shayla.

"She didn't set any specific location," Shayla said. "She may have returned to the last place she portaled from. But it's hard to say."

"The Oasis still has limited scanning ability," Zord-1's voice stated from Diskette's speakers. "Sophie's power source is one that is easily masked by radio waves and microwave emissions….both of which are unfortunately present in large quantities in the city below. It will take some time to isolate her signal."

Kalen looked down into the pond, keeping a respectful distance from the water. "Show me Sophie," she commanded.

The water rippled, revealing the android sitting in an alley, her back against the wall, apparently sobbing.

"Well, she's alive," the Purple Ranger stated.

"Or whatever," Troy agreed. "She didn't portal to the center of the planet or anything."

"But that could be any alley," Myk protested.

"Show me the larger context," the Purple Ranger instructed.

The water rippled again….this time displaying an image of the planet, as viewed from space.

"Either this thing needs some fine-tuning, or it's just a smartass," Troy muttered.

"It's just a smartass, I'm afraid," Shayla confirmed, with a somewhat rueful smile.

"You guys keep working on it," Electra suggested. "I'll be back later."

A quick mental scan of the forest revealed Terina, sitting in a tree, which was more or less what Electra expected to see.

What she hadn't expected was whom Terina was talking to.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I dunno," Terina said. She shifted on the branch, trying to get comfortable with her back against the trunk of the tree. "She just bugs me. I don't know what it is."

A derisive stare was her reply.

"Okay, fine," the Eltarian admitted. "I _know _what it is." She sighed. "It's because she's a robot." Terina fiddled with the flower chain she'd been making out of the blossoms from the tree. "And she's not even obviously a robot. I mean, Diskette and Murphy I can handle. They look like what they are. But Sophie…I know it's not her fault…I know it doesn't make any sense. But I can't help it. She makes me uncomfortable. I hate her. I hate her and I wanted her gone. Is that wrong?"

Blank stare.

Terina shook her head, smiling sadly. She placed the flower wreath she'd made onto her head, breaking a small sprig of leaves off of one of the nearby branches and offering it to her companion.

"You're not very good at giving advice," she told the Giraffe Zord, as it munched down the leaves she offered. "But you're good company. Thanks for listening."

The Giraffe nuzzled her hand.

"Now, this stays just between us, right?"

Giraffe licked her cheek, and she giggled.

"Good."

"Terina!"

The Yellow Ranger nearly fell out of the tree as a familiar voice yelled up to her from near the base of the trunk.

"What?" the Eltarian asked irritably, steadying herself.

"A word?" Electra demanded.

With a sigh, Terina hopped off of her perch, jumping down from branch to branch until she reached the forest floor, where the Black Ranger stood waiting impatiently.

"Look, I'm sorry I was mean to your friend," she said, as soon as her white tennis shoes hit the dirt. "That's what this is about, isn't it?"

"You weren't just mean to Sophie," Electra replied. "You were mean to _me_. What's gotten into you?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Terina turned and started to walk away.

"You just _were _talking about it," Lecca retorted. "What, you can talk to the Zord, but not to me?"

Terina spun on her heel. "How do you know I was talking to the Zord?"

"I…umm…What else would you have been doing in the tree?"

"You read my mind," Terina whispered.

"Not necessarily," Electra mumbled.

"I can't believe you would do that."

"I didn't mean to…"

"You stay out of my head. In fact, just stay away from me."

"Terina, wait. Wait!" Electra cried. She moved to stand in front of the smaller girl as Terina turned to storm off.

"Get out of my way," Terina grumbled.

Electra was by no means a small person, and Terina's height fell well short of five feet, but the Black Ranger held no illusions regarding how easy it would be for Terina to move her if need be. Nonetheless, she held her ground.

"Or what? You'll twist me into a pretzel and throw me across the island?"

"No. Or I'll tell our friend the Enforcer that you're a telepath." Electra flinched. "I hear those concentration camps are cozy," Terina continued.

"I don't think you'd do that," the Black Ranger said softly.

"Oh? Did you read my mind on that one too?"

"I don't have to," Electra said. "Myk has all the telepathy of a piece of driveway gravel, and even _he _knows that you'd never hurt anyone if you could find a way around it. You're a sweet girl, Terina. That's why it's so weird that you seem to hate Sophie so much, when she's never done _anything_ to you."

Terina seemed to deflate at this.

"Just go away, Electra," she said in a despairing voice. "I said I was sorry, all right? Just leave me alone."

Her eyes on the ground, Terina walked around the other girl and walked off into the woods.

This time, Electra let her go.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sophie disabled her internal chronometer. She didn't want to know exactly how long she'd been sulking in that filthy alley. Almost automatically, she slid the circuit core back into the hollow sleeve of her arm, where it locked into place with a _click!_. Eventually, she got up and started walking, staring at her hand, flexing her newly repaired fingers as her legs carried her aimlessly down the street. She sighed. Every time she thought she'd found friends, she just wound up messing up their lives. Maybe she should just do this from now on…wander the streets alone, feeling sorry for herself.

Pfft. Who was she kidding? She knew she couldn't do that. She liked being around people way too much. Was she programmed that way, she wondered? If so, she almost wished someone would go in and fix her. Fix it so she wouldn't care about people anymore. That way, when trouble followed her, like it always did, she wouldn't wind up leading it to people she liked.

She blinked in surprise when she found that her footsteps had led her to a very familiar door. Kobeki Books.

She shouldn't be here. Beth had been a good friend to her. The last thing she needed was for Sophie to darken her doorstep again. She should turn around and leave, before catastrophe followed her again.

With a sigh, she pushed open the door and entered.

And, across the street, a strangely cold woman, dressed entirely in pink, watched…and waited.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Giraffe stared impassively down at the two small humans as they went their separate ways. It didn't quite understand what the problem was. All it knew was that its friend, the yellow one, was very upset. It wished there was something it could do to help, but it seemed that whatever the problem was, it was something the small ones would have to work out for themselves.

All those leaves had made it thirsty. Turning around on its long, elegant, slender legs, the Giraffe Zord strode towards the enormous lake where the Blue Shark Zord swam. Its long legs carried it swiftly through the forest, and it quickly reached the pure, clear waters.

Giraffe bleated out a greeting to the Shark…after all, it was only polite to announce one's presence before drinking part of someone else's home. But Shark didn't respond.

That was odd…Shark was capable of leaving the lake and swimming through the air when necessary, but it almost never left the water unless it had to. Giraffe wondered where it had gone.

Perhaps it'd look for it. Later. But first….how about that drink?

Giraffe bent its long, flexible neck to drink from the lake…and reared back in alarm as a shadowy black form appeared from beneath the water, shooting up into the air to hover right in front of its nose. No water dripped from the form, it had no substance, just shadows, vaguely organized into a humanoid form.

Giraffe backed away nervously, but before it could decide between fight and flight, the shadow produced a staff, twirled it in eager anticipation, and aimed it in its direction.

There was a beam of white fog, enveloping everything…and then Giraffe knew no more.

There was an atmosphere of uneasy silence at the Temple ruins after Terina and Electra left. No one quite knew how to react when one of the sweetest-natured Rangers suddenly went bitch.

So it almost came as a relief when Diskette sounded the alarm.

"Zord-1's sensors are detecting-"

The fountain suddenly began bubbling.

"That," the hovering droid finished, as the remaining Rangers grouped around the pond, their eyes on the suddenly perfectly still water.

"Torozord," Troy said.

"The Magna Defender's Zord?" Myk asked, for clarification.

"That's the one. Any sign of that wraith thing?"

"None," Diskette and Shayla said together. They glanced at each other.

"The Oasis' scanners can't pick up anything unterran down there but Torozord," the droid continued.

"And I sense nothing out of the ordinary, either."

Troy glanced at Kalen. "Looks like it's you and me."

"And me." Myk demanded. "I still have Eagle."

Troy and Kalen glanced at each other.

"See, the thing is…," Troy began.

"Ours are the only Zords left," Kalen finished. "We should keep something in reserve."

"I'm keeping Sawfish in reserve," Myk reminded them, holding up his arm to show the Spirit Summoner on his wrist. "Or better yet, I'll use Sawfish, and keep Eagle in reserve."

"I'd forgotten about Sawfish," Troy admitted.

"I hadn't," Kalen said. "But I'd begun to think Myk had."

"You should go," Shayla reminded them, gesturing towards the portal she'd tuned in the meanwhile.

"Right," Kalen said. "Let's Ranger up." She paused. "Whose turn to say it?"

"Mine," Troy replied, conjuring his Morpher. "It's showtime!"

"**Eagle!"**

"**Hammerhead!"**

"**Triceratops!"**

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The bell above the door jingled as it opened, letting another customer into the store.

"Welcome to Kobeki Books. How can I help-" Beth froze when she saw who'd just walked in.

Sophie looked over at her ruefully, her face the picture of sorrow.

"I had nowhere else to go," she said sadly.

There was a purple sparkle as Kalen appeared within Hammerhead's cockpit. Her hands on the controls, she steered the massive metal fish down through the air, powering up its weapons. Energy began to amass along the front of the shark's oblong head, gathering into a solid arc of energy. Hammerhead abruptly pulled off, the crescent of light continuing along its course, striking Torozord below right in the chest.

The Zord staggered, almost falling over backwards, but it managed to regain its footing. A colossal golden axe appeared in its hand, and it moved to strike the fish from the sky, but a pair of horns shot forth, dragging behind them enormous metal chains, and ensnared its arm.

Torozord turned its head to glare at Triceratops, just as Troy triggered the controls that released a surge of electrical energy through the chains, badly shocking the humanoid bull.

As Torozord reeled, a third Zord appeared, similar to the hammerhead but with a long, saw-like snout rather than a crescent-shaped head. The sawfish darted in, evading Torozord's feeble waves of its free arm and slashing at the larger Zord's torso with its saw-blade.

Myk smiled from the nearby rooftop, where he stood directing Sawfish with his Summoner.

"Jareth actually had trouble with this guy?" he asked over the comm. "Doesn't seem very tough to me."

Almost before he finished speaking, Torozord twisted its arm, catching a handful of Triceratops' chains, then yanked, pulling the smaller Blue Zord off the ground. Twirling it like a bola, it released its hold on the chains, sending Troy and his Zord flying directly into Hammerhead. The two collided with a sound like a thunderclap, soaring through the air as a single body and only separating as they came crashing painfully to the ground.

"You just _had_ to say it," Kalen's voice grumbled.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I'm sorry," Sophie said, as Beth flipped the sign on the door from _Yes, we're open! _to _Sorry, we're closed_. "They were after me…And as long as I was here, they were after you, too…I _had _to leave." She shook her head. "I shouldn't have come back."

"I'm glad you did. I was worried. That note you left telling me not to worry only made me worry more."

"It did?"

"Of course. Nobody says not to worry unless there's something to worry about."

"Oh."

"So what happened after you left? Where did you go?"

"As soon as I stepped outside, they were there again. Chasing me. So I ran. And then I found them."

"Them?" Beth asked, tilting her head. "Them who?"

"The ones that drew me here. The ones with the Power. They helped me. They fought them for me. But then they started fighting with each other, because of me…I couldn't stay there, either." She sighed. "Everywhere I go, disaster follows. I ruin everything."

"You're being very emo right now, and it's annoying," Beth informed her.

There was a jingle as the door opened, and a woman in pink walked in.

"I'm sorry, but we're closed," Beth said irritably. Could this person not _read_?

"Hello Sophie," the person said, completely ignoring Beth.

Sophie immediately took a step back. "Who are you?"

"A friend." The woman took a step forward.

Sophie stepped protectively in front of Beth.

"Stay away from her."

The woman shook her head. "Such a misguided little creature. But you needn't worry. I am not here to harm her. I am here to help you. After all…"

There was a blurring distortion, and the woman's holographic façade faded, revealing a svelte, metallic form, covered with pink armor.

"We are of the same kind."

Sophie's eyes widened.

"I take back that emo crack," Beth muttered, glancing at Sophie. "You really _are_ a disaster-magnet…"

"Come with me. I will see to it that you never feel out of place again."

"She doesn't want to go with you," Beth spat. "She doesn't even know you. Get out of my shop, whatever you are."

The android turned to glare at Beth.

"I am Princess Archerina of the Machine Empire, organic. And it is only because this child considers you a friend that I do not terminate your foul presence here and now…though she may yet see the error of her ways."

Archerina turned back to Sophie.

"I can unravel the riddle of your existence, young one. I can help you discover why you are hounded by patrols, and unwelcome wherever you go. Come with me."

"She stays," Beth growled.

There was a glimmer of pink as an angular, high-tech bow appeared in Archerina's hand, then another as it transformed into a sword. She pointed it at Beth.

"I said I would not kill you," she said. "But I _will_ remove that offensive tongue of yours if you do not let her speak for herself."

Beth swallowed, eyeing the point of the sword.

"No," Sophie said.

"What?" Archerina seemed genuinely surprised.

"I'm not going with anyone who'd threaten my only friend. I'm staying with Beth."

Archerina processed this for a moment.

"You have been corrupted," she stated. 'It is worse than I'd feared."

"Corrupted?" Sophie and Beth asked.

Archerina's eyes began to shine a brilliant emerald green. She locked eyes with Sophie, and before anyone could react, pulses of data fired forth from them, streams of microcompressed, information-dense light that lanced through the air, entering Sophie's cybernetic brain.

As the zeroes and ones penetrated her program, Sophie shut down, her eyes falling shut just as the beams ceased. She collapsed to the floor in a heap.

"Sophie!" Beth cried, but Archerina was already at her side, her sword vanishing so that her hands would be free to lift Sophie's inert body. She slung the deactivated android over her shoulder, carefully, and started towards the door.

Beth was at the door before she realized what she was doing, standing between the pink-armored android and the exit.

"Put her down."

Archerina regarded Beth for a moment.

"Move," she commanded.

Beth remained where she was.

Archerina moved on to plan B…she simply took a step forward, locked her hand around Beth's throat and lifted her into the air.

"Said you…gahk…wouldn't…kill me…"

The android considered. "So I did," she said.

With a flick of her arm, Archerina threw Beth, with considerable force, into the nearest bookshelf, which toppled into the next, then the next, in a domino effect until they reached the wall, spilling books everywhere.

Beth's eyes flickered, then closed as she sank into unconsciousness, book spines and broken shelves still sticking into her back.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

For all the bickering that the small humans were doing, it was a beautiful day on the Animarium.

It was also, Deer thought, as it stood on its cliff, admiring the view, an unusually quiet day. Normally, Falcon would be screeching as it soared overhead, proudly proclaiming its sovereignty over the Wild Zords, and Lion would be roaring back a challenge. Raven would be singing raucously, whether anyone wanted it to or not. But today, a stillness seemed to have fallen over the island.

Very unusual.

Deciding it was high time someone looked into this, Deer turned and trotted gracefully down the Cliffside and began to make its way towards the lake, where the Wild Zords often gathered, to drink from the crystal waters, bathe, and enjoy each others' company. Maybe there would be someone there who could explain why it was so quiet.

Deer jumped in surprise, backing away nervously as a shadowy figure darted out of the shade from a nearby grove of fruit trees…a patch of unnatural, shadowy blackness that raced along the ground, like a living black puddle.

It stopped right in front of Deer, then rose up into the air, revealing itself to be a wraithlike figure, wielding a staff topped by a strange, woven ring.

Letting out an eager hiss, it twirled its staff, the woven ring leaving behind a vapor trail of milky white mist…

"**Animarian Arrow!"**

A bolt of molten-bronze light shot through the air, forcing the wraith to leap aside in midair. The arrow tore through the edge of its shadow-substance, prompting a painful screech.

"So there you are!"

Zordeater scanned the ground below for the source of the attack, and his eyes fell upon a shining figure, standing at Deer's feet, covered in metallic armor, his very being emanating with magic. A Power Ranger?

The figure leapt into the air, flying effortlessly higher until he was on eye level with Zordeater. It was not one of the Rangers that Zordeater had met previously. This one had a more ancient look somehow…and, instead of being modeled after a single animal, its armor seemed to be a combination of several. Its belt bore the image of a bull's head, its chestplate was an eagle, its wings wrapped around the mane of a lion. The Ranger's right shoulder pad was shaped like a fin, and its left gauntlet was the head of a feral cat. Attached to its left bicep was a shield, shaped like the head of an elephant.

"I don't know how you got onto my island," it said, "but if you come near one of my children again, I will bring a storm of vengeance down upon your head the likes of which has _never _been seen."

Zordeater tilted its cowled head. It wasn't clear whether he comprehended the armored figure's words, but the intent behind them was clear enough. It was not intelligent, but it was cunning…and it understood that it stood little chance against such a powerful foe.

It turned and began to dart back to the shadows…but found that, somehow, the armored figure was now behind it.

It held out its left hand, palm-up, expectantly

"The Wild Zords," the Ranger said. "Now."

Zordeater protectively raised a hand to the dreamcatcher in its chest, covering the sparkling chips of colored light that were trapped there. It hissed warningly.

"Fine," the Ranger-thing said. It held out its arms to the sides. The elephant-shield slid down its left arm into its hand. Its right hand was suddenly encased in a fish-shaped gauntlet, from which emerged a long, serrated, saw-like blade. "Have it your way."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Sawfish!" Myk cried, raising his left fist into the air. "Strike!"

Sawfish hissed, a sound somewhere between a hydraulic press and an enormous teapot, darting in for the kill, jerking its head back and forth.

Torozord parried with its golden axe, sparks falling to the streets below.

Torozord's head moved slightly, its eyes jerking towards the Bronze Ranger.

Myk started…Magna Defender had realized where he was!

Torozord parried another blow, then slammed its shoulder against Sawfish, knocking the metal fish aside. Before the Copper Zord could recover, Torozord stepped forward and slashed horizontally with its axe, slicing through the steel and concrete that composed the skyscraper upon which Myk was standing. Myk staggered, trying to keep his balance as Torozord struck again, this time with the side of its axe, knocking the rooftop he'd severed out from under the Bronze Ranger. The massive chunk of concrete and reinforced steel went flying, colliding with a building across the street.

Using his flying ability, Myk righted himself in midair, regaining his equilibrium just as Torozord spied him, raising his axe for a downward swipe that would obliterate the miniscule Bronze Ranger.

Myk instinctively raised an arm in feeble defense…and, in response to his motion, Sawfish darted forward, interposing itself between the Ranger and Torozord's axe.

The titanic golden blade struck the Copper Zord in the side, its edge nearly slicing the Zord in two, the momentum of the axe slamming Sawfish into the concrete.

Sawfish let out a feeble hiss, then dissolved, shattering into a swarm of Copper sparks that spiraled up into the air and drained back into the small disk on Myk's Spirit Summoner, defeated.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The mysterious Ranger raised his sword-gauntlet, the blade glowing so brightly that the daylight itself seemed to diminish. Zordeater raised an arm in a feeble attempt at defense…

And then the light went out, and the Ranger let out a scream that no human throat could possibly achieve, a sound like a menagerie of different animals, all crying out in pain in perfect unison.

Dropping his Elephant-shield, the Ranger clutched at his right arm, which seemed to be spewing arclets of lightning, and dropped like a rock, plummeting to the ground below, where he lay, his outline flickering. His metallic armor vanished, leaving behind the form of a human child.

Zordeater blinked its deep, starlike eyes in surprise, then brandished its staff and prepared to dart in for the kill…

Only to be struck by a spray of sparkling energy from Deer's antlers. It let out a screech of fury and pain, and, reminded of its true purpose, aimed the dreamcatcher on the end of its staff at the Wild Zord. As the Deer kicked at the air with its forehooves, white mist enveloped the metallic beast, then flowed up into the air, condensing into a small sphere of greenish-brown light that Zordeater snagged, using the dreamcatcher as though it were a butterfly net.

The wraith eyed the new sparkle of light that sat trapped, caught between the woven threads, then, with great satisfaction, transferred it from its staff to the matching dreamcatcher in its chest, where numerous other multicolored sparks already sat.

Mission accomplished.

The child seemed to have vanished while it was occupied, which was a pity. That had been the last Wild Zord, now it had no reason to stay. It would have loved to have finished off a Ranger, especially one like that.

But now, it had business to attend to…down on Terra.

Melting into a streak of shadowy energy, it shot up into the air, then arced down and descended upon the planet below.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A low, painful groan split the silence as Beth slowly…and regretfully…returned to the land of the living. Her throat was raw, her neck sore, her back a fiery mass of pain. Slowly, she managed to climb to her feet.

"Ow," she muttered, as much to test her voice as anything else. She sounded like…well, like she'd nearly been throttled by an insane robot.

Her shop was a shambles, but she managed to pick her way back to the desk, where she collapsed in despair.

Sophie was gone. Really gone this time…kidnapped by the gods-knew-what, not just wandered off in the night. She hadn't been able to do anything to stop it.

She didn't know why it hurt so much…she'd only just met the girl…Yesterday? Had it really been just yesterday? But Sophie had needed her. Really needed her, and in the end…there hadn't been a thing she could do for her. She had no idea where that thing…Archerina…had taken her. And there was no one to help, no one she could call…

Except…

A light bulb flashed over Beth's head, its figurative filament shining like a beacon of hope. Sitting bolt upright, she turned and began digging through the garbage can behind the desk, throwing scraps of nevermind over her shoulder carelessly. It didn't matter where it landed. She could clean it up later, she'd have to clean the whole shop anyway. Nothing mattered except…

There! Reaching down, she pulled out a small, crumpled slip of cardboard, unfolding it carefully.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she set the card down on the desk and picked up the phone, carefully dialing the absurdly long number that was emblazoned on the card, just beneath the logo of a stylized dog's head, engraved on a badge.


	90. Machinations Part II

_Author's Note: Swan comes from DekaRanger…she's Kat's Japanese equivalent. I liked Dekaranger so much more than SPD, I just couldn't help but mix it in. _

_My fellow Sentai fans may recognize Sophie's weapon as the Horo-Sniper from Gransazer's Impactor Logia. Google it._

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 90: Machinations Part II

"Are you three okay?" Shayla demanded, as Troy, Kalen, and Myk staggered through the portal.

"Been better," Troy muttered. He and Kalen were suffering the immediate aftereffects of magical feedback, the severe physical discomfort that occurred when the Dinozords had been ripped away from them. The only good news was that Torozord and Zordeater had withdrawn once the Zords had been taken, having served their purpose.

"Two more Zords, gone," Myk grumbled. "And one out of action," he added, glancing down at the device on his wrist. "These have been the worst two days in the history of…I dunno…Rangerdom."

"Has it only two days?" Troy muttered, collapsing at the table, his head falling onto the countertop. "It feels like it's been months."

"I'm afraid we may have a larger problem on our hands than missing Zords," Angel informed them. The Gray Ranger was standing next to the table, arms folded, contemplating a rod made of dull, dark metal that sat on the tabletop.

"What now?" Myk grumbled. "Whatever it is, I'm sure we can handle it."

"Trust me, you do not wish to handle it."

"Try me," the Bronze Ranger challenged.

"Very well. Hand me that bar of iron?"

Curious, Myk reached over and grabbed the bar.

_SSSSSSSS!_

Letting out a yelp of pain and surprise, Myk yanked his hand away from the metal, his hand steaming. He examined his palm; it was reddened as though it had been burned.

The metal had been ice-cold to the touch, yet it had burned him as though he'd placed his hand on a grill. Myk's honey-gold eyes, wide with alarm, challenged the Gray Ranger for an explanation.

"There's more," Angel said calmly. There was a flash of gray light as the enormously proportioned teen was replaced by his Gray Ranger form.

Drawing his Blade Blaster from nowhere, Angel leveled it at the iron bar and fired, a pencil-thin beam of gray light that could cut through three solid inches of neo-titanium lancing out at the soft metal.

He may as well have been shining a laser-pointer at the iron; it made not a scratch.

"How?" Troy asked, confounded.

"Iron disrupts magic," Kalen said softly.

Angel nodded, demorphing with another flash of gray light.

"We've evolved, Rangers. We have become so magical that iron actually disrupts _us_. You will recall the incident with the macrospanner earlier? How it burned my hand?"

"I thought it was cursed?" Myk ventured.

"As did I, but when I tested it, I could find no traces of magic. Only later did it occur to me that no iron tool _could _have held a curse. So, I experimented a bit, tried touching various objects. It's the iron that does it."

"Does this affect us when we're morphed?" Troy inquired, always on the lookout for tactical weaknesses.

"More so than when we're not," the Gray Ranger replied. "Ranger skin sizzles, Ranger armor _liquefies_."

"This is a great weakness, Rangers," Shayla said. "An iron horseshoe is more a threat to you now than an army of Zedd's monsters."

"All in favor of keeping this little chink in our armor under wraps?" Kalen suggested.

Every hand went up.

"We should probably tell the other Rangers," Troy said. "So they'll know what to avoid."

"The good news is, one doesn't run into very much raw iron in today's world," Angel said. "Processed irons and steel are harmless. So long as we steer clear of construction sites and railroad tracks…"

"There's almost none on the Oasis," Diskette offered. The droid had been floating above the divine pond, idly running her mechanical arm across its surface and watching the ripples. "Everything's adamantium, neo-titanium, and bioskin."

"Good thing no one here's a blacksmith," Myk muttered.

"Are Terina and Electra still on the outs?" Kalen asked abruptly, looking around.

"I'm afraid so," Shayla replied.

"Terina is on the Oasis, with Kite," Diskette reported, the knowledge gained via her constant link to Zord-1. "They're working on something, the gods only know what."

"And Electra?" the Purple Ranger inquired.

"Why so curious?" Myk asked suspiciously. "Since when do you care where any of go?"

"I could care less how any of you spend your spare time, but I'd prefer if we could all get along on the clock."

"Lecca passed through here briefly some time ago," Angel said. "She ventured through the surface-bound portal. I gather her talk with Terina did not go well."

"Did she say where she was going?" Myk asked, a bit concerned now, himself.

Angel shrugged.

"Knowing Electra?" Diskette asked. "Probably a bookstore."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Intent on her task, Beth failed to notice as the bell above the door rang, announcing the arrival of a customer, despite the _Closed_ sign hanging in the window.

"What happened here?"

In the act of sweeping up splinters of broken shelves, Beth glanced up towards the door, relaxing when she saw one who is was. Pale skin, blue hair, black dress, mismatched eyes…Electra Mabius, undisputed queen of the scifi/fantasy section. Had it been anyone else, Beth might have been upset at the intrusion, but Electra had always been one of her less annoying customers. She actually…did she dare say it? Liked this girl.

The darker-skinned girl sighed, leaning on her broom. She'd managed to straighten the rest of the shelves, returning most of the books to their proper places, but the unit nearest the door (the one her spine had collided with, she remembered painfully, rubbing her back) had been irreparably damaged. Piles of books, those she had managed to salvage, stood on the counter and floor nearby, awaiting the arrival of the new shelving unit that would house them.

"Monster attack," Beth replied grimly. "It came in here and captured a friend of mine. Threw me for a loop in the process, too."

Electra's eyes widened.

"And you're still alive?"

"I'm pretty sure," the black girl replied with a chuckle. Her smile didn't last as she continued, "It doesn't look like it was me she was after. She just threw me across the room and throttled me a little. I'll survive."

"Does your insurance cover monster attacks?" the girl asked, grabbing the dustpan off the counter and kneeling down on the ground so that Beth could sweep the debris into it.

"Of course. Wouldn't be worth having it otherwise. I'm more worried about my friend. She doesn't seem able to cope very well on her own."

"What did it want her for, do you suppose?" Electra asked, trying to sound nonchalant. "And what did it look like?"

Beth shrugged. "Pink robot, female…as female as robots get, anyway. No idea why it wanted her."

Electra frowned, not recognizing the description. "Well…she may be okay. Sometimes people surprise you."

The Black Ranger stood, carrying the full dustpan over to the trash can and emptying it. Why hadn't Zord-1 or the Animarian fountain detected this?

_Because the fountain was busy telling us about Zordeater, _she realized _And the Oasis' scanners aren't up to scratch yet._ _Is there anyone Beth can turn to about this? Who do normal people call when stuff like this slips through the Ranger's fingers? We can't be everywhere at once, this must have happened a lot over the years…_

"Umm…is there anyone you can call?"

"Um," Beth said, seeming nervous now. "Yes, actually. Already did. They said they were on their way. That was almost an hour ago." She seemed uncertain. "I'm…not sure I can trust 'em, to be honest. My friend seemed really scared of them, they were chasing her yesterday…I just didn't know who else to call, and I had their card…Lecca? Something wrong?"

Electra stood transfixed, her eyes on the pair of books that lay on the countertop, apart from the others. She grabbed them, reading off their titles: _Frankenstein _and _Pinnochio_.

"Where did you get these?" She asked.

Beth tilted her head curiously. "Do you…know Sophie?"

Electra nodded, closing her eyes. "Please tell me it wasn't Sophie who was taken?" she asked softly.

Beth shook her head sadly.

The bell above the door chose that moment to ring as someone else entered the store.

"Sorry, we're closed…oh. It's you."

Electra sighed, recognizing Sky and Bridge of SPD's B-Squad.

"These are the people you called?"

"Yeah," Beth confirmed. "Why? Do you know them, too?"

Sky's blue eyes were locked on Lecca's blue-and-green ones.

"We've met," they both replied grimly.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Streams of ones, ones and zeroes, flowing past her, all around her, _through _her, always seeming to speak, to whisper to her, not in any language she understood, but rather in words that spoke to her body. She could feel herself responding to the datastreams, replying in kind, but what it all meant…if it meant anything at all…she had no idea.

New streams of silently speaking digits flowed past, asking things of her, demanding them, and she could feel herself obeying, though she had no idea what she was doing, what was being asked.

Blackness.

Sounds. No, voices. Two of them. What little power remained in the diodes of her brain could tell that they were words, but they didn't have enough processing power left to comprehend more than the vaguest nuances of meaning.

One voice was hesitant, speaking tremulously with a strange accent, as though fearful of the consequences of failure.

"Her programming is surprisingly complex, my Queen. I cinnae delete her memory engrams, but I have managed to install programming blocks to suppress them."

"Permanently?" the second voice was high, sharp, expectant, impatient.

"Of course, M'lady."

"Excellent. Bring her back online."

A surge of electricity coursed through the body of the humanoid form lying on the titanium slab in the center of the room, awakening her dormant circuits. Her fingers twitched, her eyes fluttered open. She sat up, looking around in confusion.

The room was dimly lit, the photocells in the walls and ceiling providing just enough light to see, no more, no less. The room was small, the walls metallic.

Two other figures in the room with her…no, three; one, a small, spherical machine, was perched on the shoulder of the silver humanoid who stood nearby.

The third was a humanoid female, made entirely out of polished, pink metal.

"Good morning, my child," she said. Hers was the impatient voice.

The dark-haired girl took a brief moment to analyze the language before replying in kind.

"Good morning. Where am I?"

"You are home."

"Oh," she replied. Then, more hesitantly, "_Who_ am I?"

"You are called Sophie."

Sophie nodded, taking this in. She glanced down at her arm, where a thin cable was plugged into her system. She stared at it numbly for a moment, then reached over and detached it, watching as the port closed, iris-like, and was concealed as her skin grew over it.

She blinked, then looked from the cable to the pink-armored form. Having lost interest, she absently dropped the wire.

"And who are you?" she asked, as the other figure, the silvery one with the orb-like robot on his shoulder, scrambled to retrieve the cable.

Archerina smiled.

"Why, child," she replied. "I am your mother."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

If there was one thing machines were good for, it was grunt work.

Lord Zedd drummed absently on the railing of his balcony, casting his gaze out across the desolate lunar plains that surrounded his dull, stone castle. He gazed down at the assembly that was being constructed to his exact specifications, a bridge-like structure made of silvery metal, easily as long as a Megazord was tall. Numerous COGS swarmed over it, joining its many pieces.

His eyes, or lack thereof, fell on the hybrid ship parked nearby. Archerina had been holed up inside since she'd returned from Terra, her contraband android in tow. What she wanted with it, or what SPD did, remained a mystery to him.

"What IS that walking pile of scrap up to?" he mused to himself.

"Would you like me to go and find out, Master?" Goldar offered.

Zedd sighed. Scorpina and Rito had both found better ways to occupy their time… Scorpina was studying the Ranger-illusions he'd made, and Rito was bench-pressing boulders…but Goldar had insisted on hovering, not quite literally, just behind Zedd, awaiting any chance to make himself useful.

"No, thank you, that won't be necessary," he said indulgently. Sensing something, he turned and walked back into his throne room, the gold-armored, winged monkey following close behind.

"Three hundred thousand, nine hundred and ninety-eight," Rito grunted, hefting a pair of massive boulders, connected by an iron bar to form an enormous dumbbell. "Three hundred thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine. Uhh…ummm…"

"Four hundred thousand," Scorpina supplied absently.

"Oh, right. Thanks." Rito benched the weights one last time. "What she said," he told them, tossing them aside with a very loud thump.

Zedd flinched, fastidiously repairing the chip in the floor thus caused with a flick of his fingers and a spark of red and white lightning.

"Do be more careful, Rito. The palace is enough a mess without my own generals adding to it."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry 'bout that, Ed."

The lighting in the room played tricks as the shadows stretched and lengthened, gathering into one dark splotch in the center of the room that tore itself free and floated up into the air, assuming the form of a wispy wraith with a tangled web of string in the center of its chest.

"What took you so long?" Zedd demanded, approaching Zordeater, who put a hand to his chest and gathered the myriad of multicolored stars that sparkled, trapped in his web.

The sparkles became a collection of glowing crystal orbs as they passed from Zordeater's possession to Zedd's, floating above his golden-clawed hand, swirling like planets in their orbits.

"Excellent," Zedd growled.

Scorpina, in the process of studying the White Ranger's image, spared a glance in his direction.

"One's missing," she pointed out.

"What?"

"Count them," she replied.

Zedd sighed, counting the floating crystals…then counted them again. And again.

She was right. He should have had three Dinozords and Thirteen Wild Zords, in addition to the four he already possessed, for a total of Twenty. Instead, he held only fifteen.

"You missed one," the warlord hissed at Zordeater, who cowered. "Go back down there and-"

"If you think you're getting _my_ Zord," a voice called from the throne room's entrance. "You can think again."

Zedd glowered at the cloaked form in the doorway.

Myk smirked, holding up his Spirit Summoner and tapping it.

"I subtly convinced my other side to use the Zord that's not all there during that fight. Wouldn't do to have you running off with my things." He strolled in, shrugging. "Then again, it didn't matter much…Sawfish was knocked out of the fight before Zordeater even showed up. That Torozord packs a punch. Magna Defender's worth every penny you're paying him."

"What. Do. You. Want," Zedd growled.

"Hmm? Oh, I just came by to deliver an interesting tidbit of news. That _is_ my job, yes? To keep you appraised of significant happenings in Ranger-land?"

"So, spit it out already," Rito said.

"Well, first of all, I have it on fairly good authority…though my source doesn't know half as much as he thinks he does…that each and every one of the Rangers who vanished in the inksphere is alive and well, and probably on their way home as we speak."

Zedd digested this for a moment as Myk meandered towards the warlord's wrought-iron throne.

"Stands to reason," Scorpina said, ignoring the illusory Rangers now, her focus on Myk. She crossed her arms and shifted her weight onto one foot, tilting her head to the side in consideration. "I mean, I suppose if Tommy was prophesied to become the Nexus, he could hardly die before that happened."

"This is very true," Zedd allowed.

"Yo, Ed…I just had a thought…"

"How would you know?" Goldar mused quietly.

"What if Tommy becomes this…ya know, the whole Nexus thing….while he's still off in whatever dimension he's in?"

Zedd's head snapped around to stare at the skeletal warrior. "What?" he snapped.

"Well, you know it's gonna be Tommy, and that he's gonna do his thing on Terra…but are you sure it's _this_ Terra?"

"My Lord, I think Rito may be….right," Scorpina said slowly, sounding amazed at the very concept. "Could it be that you have sent the Nexus beyond your own reach, in destroying the Inksphere?"

Zedd's clawed hands clenched into fists at his side, and he seemed on the verge of a dangerous explosion.

"I do have good news, if you care to hear it."

"We care," Scorpina muttered tensely, her eyes on Zedd as red lightning began to play over his skinless body. "Do please share."

Myk chuckled. "It seems that the Rangers…all of them…have suddenly developed a rather severe allergy," he informed them, resting his hands on the back of Zedd's throne.

Zedd, a sphere of focused energy gathered in his hand and ready to blast this highly irritating Ranger until he was naught but a greasy spot on the floor, paused when he heard the sizzling and saw the steam rising from the Bronze Ranger's hands.

Myk's smirk grew wider; he removed his hands from the wrought-iron throne and held them up to display the scorched welts that ran across his palms.

Had he possessed a mouth, Zedd would have smiled, a slow, satisfied smile. The lightnings faded.

"Well," he growled happily. "Among other things, this should keep your posterior out of my throne."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"These are them?" Kite asked.

"They are," Zord-1 replied, his spherical silver eye lowered to observe the activity in the room.

"You know, it's a little weird that Zord-1 listens to you," Terina said. "Normally he only takes orders from Power Rangers."

"I _am_ a Power Ranger," Kite replied. "Three of them, in fact. Or six, depending on how you look at it."

The Eltarian narrowed her wide-irised, hazel eyes at him. "So it _could _have been you who did all those things, and then erased the security footage of it?"

"It could have been," Kite agreed. "But it wasn't. Now are you going to help me with this, or not?"

On the holographic gameboard in front of Kite, one usually used to generate chess pieces and the like, stood a row of miniature Zords: a Red Dragon, a White Tiger, a Yellow Griffin, a Blue Unicorn, a Pink Firebird, and a Black Lion.

"How exactly is a lion supposed to be a mythological creature?" Kite grumbled. "Or a white tiger?"

"Doesn't look much like a lion to me," Terina replied. "Looks more like one of those ugly dog statues you see guarding the doors of Chinese restaurants."

Kite nodded, leaning in for a closer look. "And that yellow thing is the most un-griffinlike griffin I have ever seen," he declared.

Zoey placed her foreclaws on the tabletop and reared up, sniffing curiously at the insubstantial Red Dragon Zord. _He's kinda cute. For a robot._ _Where are his wings? He should have wings._

"I can do wings," Kite said simply. "Not a problem."

"So you really think you can make these things?"

"Yes…and no. It's complicated. I'll certainly be customizing them a bit. Tell me, do you still have the Atma Weapon?"

Terina frowned. "No," she said petulantly. "Lost it in the inksphere."

"Then this could be a bit tricky after all," Kite grimaced. "I was counting on making use of its ability to tap one's inner essence. Maybe…"

"What?"

"Never mind."

Terina shook her head. "Whatever."

"The other problem is that there are only six of them."

"Until we find out what happened to Fox, and until the others get back from… where are they again?"

"Chestnut, New York, North America, Earth," Kite replied absently.

"Until they get back from Chestnut, there are only six of _us_," she finished. "So that works out pretty…"

_Wait…Earth? Tommy's Earth? _Zoey's head whipped around on its long, slender neck, to blink curiously at Kite.

"It still doesn't work," the godlike child said, ignoring her question. "The colors don't match."

"So change them."

"I may at that," he allowed. "But the animals don't fit either. And the others will be back, sooner or later, so I'm going to have to come up with a few new ones, on the off chance that they return before you get your DinoZords back."

"Assuming we ever do," Terina grumbled.

"Sophie's presence has really shattered your optimism," Kite noted. "Why don't these two have legs? They need legs."

"They do, in fact," Zord-1 replied. "The legs were simply never used when the Zords were in battle."

Terina watched as The Unicorn and Griffin Thunderzords suddenly acquired legs, long, equine legs that folded out from the flat, box-like undercarriage.

"Much better," the spirit allowed, sounding more satisfied.

"I suppose the griffin is mine?"

"That is a kirin," Kite said firmly. "I don't care what Tommy's former colleagues called it, it looks nothing like a griffin. It has hooves. And no wings. But yes, that'll be yours."

"Might I inquire as to what materials you'll be using to make these new Zords?" the computer asked, tilting his eye to the side.

Kite nodded.

"Yes," he said. "You might."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I thought you were supposed to be keeping her out of trouble?" Sky admonished, as the three Rangers, and Beth, watched as Sophie was remotely shut down by the mysterious droid, the image somewhat blurred and grainy, not to mention black-and-white.

Bridge muttered something about pathetic surveillance technology as the Beth on screen stood down the robot.

"That took guts," Sky said.

"And no brains," Electra added, shooting a chastising look at Beth. "She could have butchered you."

"So I'm a little impetuous sometimes," the girl admitted defensively. "I'm workin' on it." She flinched as the small TV showed her getting thrown into the bookshelves.

"Ouch," Lecca said.

"I'm fine," Beth dismissed. "Just bruised my ego."

Bridge waved his hand, doing his green vapor-trail thing as he scanned Beth.

"And your spine," he said. "You should get that looked at."

Had Beth not just been assaulted by an android, that trick may have startled her more than it did.

"So…do you two plan on telling me why you were after my friend yesterday?" she asked, ignoring Bridge's assessment.

"She has something we need to get back," Sky replied. "We told you that."

"What?" Beth demanded. "And how d'you know she has it? She didn't have nothin' when she came here but the clothes on her back."

"Then she must have hidden it somewhere," Sky reasoned.

"It's called a Series One Processor Hyper Intelligent Encryptor," Bridge explained, looking pensive. "But Sky, we followed the Encryptor's power source _here_. She had to have it on her. Unless…"

"Oh, no. Bridge, don't do the…"

Sky's protests were futile as Bridge found himself a blank stretch of wall and abruptly did a headstand against it.

"Um. What's he doing?" Beth inquired.

Sky sighed. "He…has this theory that when you stand like that, more blood flows to your brain. So whenever he needs to think of something…"

"I got it," Bridge interrupted, his eyes snapping open. He flipped to his feet. "S.O.P.H.I.E. Series One Processor…"

"Hyper." Electra said.

"Intelligent." Beth added, catching on.

"Encryptor," Sky finished with a sigh.

"Sophie," they all said, stringing together the letters.

"Sophie doesn't _have _the Encryptor," Sky began.

"It _is _the Encryptor," Bridge finished. "We've got to get it back, before that robot…thing…figures out what it can do."

"She," Beth corrected firmly. "What she can do. What _can _she do, by the way?"

"She's strong," Electra offered with a shrug.

"Her physical strength is meaningless," Sky said. "Most robots are strong. The Encryptor is special because…it's complicated. You wouldn't understand."

Beth gazed coolly at him. "Meaning, you dunno either," she stated.

Sky scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"The Encryptor is the most powerful supercomputer module ever built. It can be used to navigate any computer system, circumnavigating all its defenses and accessing its programming on any level. Furthermore, the Encryptor can be used to process information more efficiently than an organic brain. It's the only machine ever built that can. An experimental model." Bridge pondered. "Which must be why Ichthior had her running his Mech for him," he added quietly. "She gave it superior coordination and thinking power…until A-Squad's Megazord interrupted the program and set her free."

"So why'd she come here?" Sky asked.

"She detected us," Electra replied. "She sensed our power, and figured we'd be able to protect her from you. And she was right."

"Power?" Beth asked curiously.

Electra winced. "Oh. Umm…"

"She doesn't know?" Bridge asked, peering at his fellow telepath inquisitively.

"No, she doesn't," Lecca replied

"Know what? What don't I know?" she asked, more forcefully this time.

"Never mind?" Lecca suggested weakly. "It's just…it's complicated."

"No," Beth said firmly. "Why does everyone think I sprinkle stupid on my Cheerios? Ever since that girl came into my store, I've been outta the loop, and I'm about sick of it. Now, so far I've been patient, and I've been nice, but now somebody's gonna tell me what's been going on around here, or I'm gonna start cracking some heads."

There was an awkward pause.

"Now!"

Electra flinched. "Okay, okay." She turned to the two members of B-Squad. "Look, why don't you two go and update your team on what's going on? I have a few things I need to explain."

Bridge and Sky nodded, excusing themselves to a quiet corner of the store.

"And don't go too far," Beth added as an afterthought. "Remember, we know Sophie better than you do. You'll need us to track her down."

Lecca sighed, turning back to Beth.

Normally, the Black Ranger's wide-eyed, intense stare and detached attitude gave the impression that she was looking at something no one else could see. On those rare occasions when she looked directly at someone, she gave the disconcerting feeling that she was staring right into one's soul. She gave that look to Beth now, and the girl had to repress a shudder.

"It all started about three years ago…"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Back in Zedd's palace, Archerina's technicians were assembling a humanoid machine before Zedd's throne. Its head was little more than a single, massive, spherical eye, and in its hand it carried a combination sword/gun.

"Call me crazy," Myk said drolly, eyeing the product of their labor. "But I somehow expected you to do more with this information than simply build COGS out of iron."

"It's nae that simple," the tall, humanoid robot stated in a thick Scottish accent.

"Klank's right," Orbus, the spherical 'bot that habitually rode on his shoulder, added. "Iron is a very heavy, soft metal, with a low melting point. Not only do the Cyclobot's servos have to be much stronger to allow it free movement, but they also have to be almost frictionless to keep the thing from melting. We're also trying to compensate for the metal's softness by equipping it with structural forcefields and-"

"How long do you estimate before it's done?" Zedd asked, languishing idly in his throne, watching the construction with something resembling interest.

"Perhaps a few hours." Orbus replied. "Then we can field-test the prototype. If no significant flaws are evident, we can begin mass-production later today."

Zedd nodded. He turned to Myk.

"Tell me…could iron be used to _contain_ a Ranger, or does it merely burn on contact?"

Myk shrugged, looking bored. He examined the self-inflicted red welt across his palm. "Touching it burns, but I feel weaker just for being near it."

"It saps your strength?" Scorpina asked, tilting her head curiously.

"No, it's more like it…poisons the air." The Bronze Ranger shuddered. "It exudes an aura that I can actually feel, permeating my body. Eating me away from the inside out. I think prolonged contact would eventually render a Ranger weak, then comatose, and eventually dead."

Zedd chuckled.

"Perfect."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Woah. _This _is your base?" Beth asked in astonishment, as she, Electra, and the five members of B-Squad emerged from the portal into the remains of the ruined Animarian Temple.

"It's…sort of an impromptu annex, actually," Electra clarified. "Our base is through _that _portal." She gestured towards the portal that served as a shortcut to the Oasis.

Shayla's eyes grew wider and wider as Electra led the six strangers right into her home. Troy and Kalen, still trying to pin down Sophie's location by means of the scrying fountain, observed their arrival without comment.

"Electra?" Shayla began. "Why did you bring them here? And who is this?"

"Oh, sorry. Beth Campbell," Beth introduced herself. "I'm a friend of Lecca's and Sophie's."

"B-Squad offered to help us track down Sophie," the Black Ranger explained. "Beth insisted on coming along as well."

"I don't recognize the design on this droid," Bridge said, eyeing Diskette with interest.

"I don't recognize your design, either," Diskette replied flatly. "What species are you? I can't seem to identify your DNA."

"I'm a human," Bridge replied, sounding confused, both that this robot was capable of sounding insulted, and that he evidently didn't register to its scanners as human.

"Trust me, you're not," the hovering machine replied.

"Is _this _the equipment you were talking about?" Sky inquired of Electra. "Some cheap droid that can't even ID a human when it scans one?"

"Cheap?!" Diskette demanded.

"No," Lecca replied. "I was talking about the scanners on the Oasis."

"You'd bring these people aboard your vessel?" Shayla asked. "Just last night you were locked in mortal combat."

"Times change," Z told her. "You've got to try to change with them."

Shayla smiled ruefully. "Easy to say. You try catching up after sleeping for three thousand years."

"That's a long time to nap," Jack agreed.

"She's not kidding," Troy clarified, not taking his eyes off the pool. "She actually spent three thousand years in an enchanted sleep."

The members of B-Squad exchanged glances, inclined to laugh but hesitant to do so. There hadn't been a note of humor in the Terran's voice…either the residents of this world were ridiculously superstitious, or this particular human was off his nut.

"Is that a dragon under the table?" Beth asked curiously.

_It is, _Zoey replied.

Beth blinked, crossed her eyes and twisted one of her pinkies in her ear. The members of B-Squad, with the exception of Bridge, were equally unsettled. Telepathic mirth at their disconcertment rippled through the minds of everyone present.

_You'll get used to it, _Zoey assured the humans. _Everyone does._

The water in the fountain abruptly began bubbling violently, Kalen taking a drastic leap backwards to avoid being splashed.

"What now?" Lecca demanded.

The Terran Rangers, Shayla, and Beth gathered around the pond, gazing into its suddenly still surface. B-Squad once again exchanged confused glances.

"That's not Sophie," Troy said simply.

"Not unless she's had one mother of a makeover," Electra agreed.

"Umm…it's a fountain," Jack pointed out.

The Black Ranger rolled her eyes, then walked over, seized him by the shoulders and steered him to where he could see the images in the pond's surface. A single droid, standing on the beach.

"See?" she asked.

The Red SPD Ranger blinked, leaning forward. He dipped his hand into the pool, and the image on its surface rippled.

"I'll bite," he said. "How?"

"Magic," Troy insisted. "It's real, and it's everywhere. Like the dragon said, you get used to it."

Curiosity overwhelming skepticism, the rest of Jack's team crowded around the reflecting pool as well.

"This is…magic water?" Z asked dubiously.

"Just don't touch it," Troy cautioned. "It doesn't react well to…certain people."

"If we could focus?" Kalen suggested sweetly. "What exactly _is_ that thing?"

"It looks kinda like a COG," Electra said. "Only…not."

"Hey, Bridge…she sounds just like you," Z quipped.

"Definitely a footsoldier-type," Troy agreed, ignoring the Yellow SPD Ranger's comment. "But then why send just one?"

"Bait?" Sky suggested.

"Possibly, but if they wanted to bait us, why not just use Fox?" Kalen argued.

"Hold on…there we go," Troy said, as a number of COGS and Krybots arrived on the scene, flocking around the strange bot. "That's more like it."

"Where did those come from?" Syd pondered.

"There!" Beth pointed towards something off the side of the image. "What's that?"

Shayla passed a hand over the pool, and the perspective shifted. A pink android stood on a cliff overlooking the shore. At her side was round-faced blonde girl in pigtails, wearing a gray jumpsuit.

"Sophie," Lecca said.

"And that droid that snatched her," Beth added.

"Wait a minute. Zoom out on that beach," Sky ordered.

Shayla complied. An enormous building came into view, a high-tech tower with a dog's head on top.

"The Dekabase. That's the beach where we landed."

"They can't seriously be planning to attack the base?" Jack wondered. "They'll never pull it off."

There was a rippling effect behind them as Terina stepped out of the Oasis' portal, still wearing a chain of yellow flowers on her head.

"Hey guys, Kite has-"

She stopped short when she saw all the people present. Her eyes narrowed as they fell on Jack, her hand automatically going to her still-sore ribs.

"Someone forget to invite me to the party?" she asked warily.

"Beth called them to help find Sophie after she was abducted by some evil pink robot lady," Troy reported. "Lecca brought them all here, and now it looks like the pink robot lady is about to try to attack their base."

The name Beth didn't mean anything to Terina, but 'Pink Robot Lady' caught her attention. She stormed over to the pool, glaring down at the image it reflected.

"Archerina," the Eltarian growled.

"You know her?" Troy asked.

"Archerina," Kalen repeated, recognizing the name. "Queen of the Machine Empire, right?"

"_That's _Archerina?" Bridge asked. "I've read about her…"

"They're headed for the base," Kalen pointed out.

Every head turned back to the image in the water, which now showed a veritable ocean of mechanical soldiers, all now flocking towards the base.

"They can't get in. The security-" Z began.

"Let's not give them the chance to try," Jack said. "Move out, B-Squad."

The five B-Squad Rangers turned and headed towards the portal.

"Woah," Sky said, holding up a hand as the Terran Rangers moved to follow them. "Where do you think _You're_ going?"

"To send some robots to the scrap heap," Troy replied.

Terina flinched, then her eyes darted back and forth, making sure no one had noticed. She caught Electra's curious gaze and stared it down with a harsh glare. Electra looked away.

"No," Sky replied, oblivious to the exchange. "You're to stay here. This is SPD business."

"Official stuff," Jack added. "You understand."

"I don't think _you_ understand," Troy snapped. "Defending this planet from extraterrestrial and supernatural threats is _our_ job. You're the ones out of your jurisdiction here."

B-Squad exchanged glances.

"True," Jack allowed. "But that's _our_ base they're storming."

With that, B-Squad turned their backs. With shrugs and glances, the Rangers turned away as well, grouping around the fountain.

"What were you saying about Kite?" Kalen asked, turning to Terina.

"What? Oh. Almost forgot. He has something for us." She turned to Diskette. "Call Angel and Myk," she instructed. "Tell them that Kite has-"

"Ahem."

The Terran Rangers turned to see B-Squad, still standing at the portal.

"How do you work this thing?" Syd asked.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kimberly Foxtooth was not feeling well.

Taking a few hits during a fight, that she could handle. Hell, she even enjoyed it, to a degree. A fight just wasn't a fight without the element of danger, after all.

Losing a fight…that, she was a little less sanguine about.

Losing a fight _and _losing her Zord? _That _pissed her off.

But worst of all was waking up with a stiff neck and a headache, on a cold concrete floor, in an unfurnished cell, with a skeleton guarding the door.

"Hey," she demanded as she sat up.

The skeleton ignored her. He was sitting in a small chair, facing away from the door, apparently more concerned with keeping other people away than with keeping her in.

She smiled. Big mistake.

She rose to her feet. To her surprise, she swayed a bit.

Fox shook her head. She wasn't used to being so unsteady on her feet, but there was no denying that she felt…weak.

She grimaced. She hated feeling weak.

Once she got her balance, she took a deep breath to steady herself and stormed over to the door of her cell, wrapping her fingers around the bars… and immediately withdrew them as the cold metal sizzled against her skin, steam rising from her flesh as though she'd laid her hands on a hot plate.

Astonished, she examined her hands. The fingerless black gloves she habitually wore had protected her palms, leaving only her fingers reddened and sore.

"Okay," she said, backing up a few steps. "No touching the bars. Got it."

The Camo Ranger turned her attention back to the skeleton.

"Hey! You!"

The guard continued to ignore her.

Fuming, she bent down and unlaced her boot, pulling it off.

"I'm talkin' to you, dipshit!"

The skeletal warrior cried out as the clunky combat boot collided with the back of his head. He leapt to his feet and turned to glare at her.

"Hey! Didn't your mom ever teach you not to throw things?"

Fox snorted. "The only thing my mother ever taught me was how to duck bill collectors. Where in Hel's name am I?"

The skeleton turned his back on her.

"Well?" The Camo Ranger demanded.

"I'm not talking to you," The skeleton said. "Last time I talked to the prisoner…well. I got into trouble."

"Lemme guess. Tricked you and escaped?"

"If I were talking to you, I might tell you. But I'm not. So I won't."

"You just did."

"Did not!"

"Still doin' it."

"I…but…shut up!"

Fox chuckled.

With a "Hmph!" the skeleton crossed his arms and faced the wall, sulking.

_Well, _Fox thought to herself. _I may be a prisoner, but at least I have an idiot to torment._

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kite glanced around at the Rangers who'd gathered at the temple ruins.

"Good afternoon, Rangers."

"It'd have been a better afternoon if we'd gotten some sleep last night," Kalen muttered. "What's this all about?"

"Hang on, hang on," Kite said. 'Where's Myk?"

"He did not answer the call," Zord-1 replied through Diskette's speakers. "Can you not locate him?"

Kite peered off into the distance, his eyes glowing briefly. "Ah. Yes, he's…busy." He shrugged. "No matter. I'll tell him later."

"Tell us_ what_?" Troy demanded.

Kite smiled, Jareth's sense of showmanship in evidence as he held out his open hand, palm-down. There was a sliding, and a scraping of stone-against-stone as a column of granite rose up from the ground, stopping only when it reached waist-height.

Reaching behind his back, he drew forth a short, rough-hew column of clear crystal, ending in a shining sphere.

Terina did a double-take, recognizing the Atma Weapon.

"Where did you get that?" she demanded.

"Last week," Kite replied. "I'll be putting it back then when we're done here, so you'll have had it to lose yesterday. That sort of thing isn't easy, either, I'll have you know."

He held out the crystal hilt. With a flash of metallic light, it changed, becoming a long, wand-like metal key with an intricate lock-bit. He blinked, waving it back and forth, amused. The type of metal seemed to change, depending on the angle from which it was viewed.

"Always did like this thing. Anyway."

With one sharp motion, he thrust the key down into the rock column, and held his hand out over the shimmering orb, palm down, fingers spread wide.

Five shining points of light grew within the orb…one each in Black, Purple, Gray, Yellow, and Blue. They swam through the surface of the sphere, floating out into the air, coming to rest before their respective Rangers.

"Reach out and take them," Kite suggested.

They did. As soon as their hands closed around the sparks, they grew into crystal wands, near exact replicas of the one under the spirit's palm.

"I give you the Keys of Ascension. They function as Mythica devices."

"Mythica?" Troy asked.

"Mythica was the Pink Morphin Master," Terina said, turning her topaz wand this way and that, admiring the way it glittered in the afternoon sun. "He was a Fernovian, but the last known record of him had him mentoring a team of Rangers on Edenoi, about 600 years ago. His trademark was making people turn _into_ Zords, instead of just piloting them. The process came to be named after him."

"Are you saying these keys can turn us into zords?" Angel inquired.

"Then Zordeater can just get _us_," Troy argued.

"Quite the contrary," Kite said. "You will not be true zords, but Mythica Beasts. Completely immune to Zordeater's power. That's the whole point."

"That's the great thing about being a Ranger," Kalen mused, twirling her key. "There's no shortage of new toys."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The SPD Dekabase had chosen a discreet, desolate beach as its landing spot, far from prying eyes. It was nowhere near any civilized sectors, none of the local tribes would return to this area until next season, when the game returned.

Archerina tapped the side of her head, double-checking the frequency she was broadcasting. It was intended to jam the Dekabase's sensors and communications equipment…no easy task, but it appeared to be working; despite the number of footsoldiers amassing so close to its perimeter, none of the base's security systems had been activated.

"Archerina!"

"Ah…that would be them now," the monarch said, as she and Sophie turned to see B-Squad, fully morphed, badges held out before them.

"You stand accused of…," Jack paused. He turned to Sky. "Is taking Sophie kidnapping or theft?"

Archerina didn't wait for the blue-clad organic to respond. Instead, she snapped her fingers.

Almost immediately, COGS appeared, surrounding the Rangers.

"She brought friends," Syd observed.

"Ah, how tough could they be?" Z asked. She aimed a kick at one, but it caught her foot and flipped her through the air.

"Answer your question?" the Pink Ranger asked facetiously, as Z picked herself up out of the sand, grumbling.

"Attack!" Archerina commanded.

The COGS obeyed, forcing B-Squad to defend themselves.

While they were thus occupied, the monarch turned to Sophie.

"You know what to do, dear."

Sophie nodded. "Yes, mother."

Turning, Sophie leaped over the edge of the cliff, landing in a crouch, the soft sand helping her mechanical legs to absorb the impact. Rising, she strode purposefully forward through the sea of COGS and Krybots that littered the beach.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"They look a bit overwhelmed, don't they?" Kalen asked conversationally.

"They said they didn't want our help," Angel replied.

"Ooh," Troy flinched. "That looked like it hurt."

"Wait…where's Sophie?" Beth asked.

The image in the pond shifted according to Beth's inquiry, displaying Sophie's image as she crawled through what appeared to be a ventilation duct.

Kalen shook her head, sighing. "Air ducts big enough to crawl through. Such a rookie mistake."

"She's inside the Dekabase," Troy realized. "The army must have just been to serve as a diversion so she could get in."

"I mean, come _on_," Kalen complained to herself. "It's rule number _one_, for Pete's sake. Build the air ducts too small to crawl through. How hard is that?"

"That's it. We're going down there," Electra stated, uncharacteristically motivated. "I don't trust those SPD guys not to blow her up for this."

Terina raised an eyebrow at the Black Ranger. "Hello? She's kinda siding with the bad guys here," she pointed out. "Maybe blowing her up wouldn't be…"

The Yellow Ranger trailed off under Electra's withering glare. Electra turned on her heel and marched over to the jewel that controlled the portal.

"Tell me they at _least_ have the ducts rigged so they can be sealed off and gassed," Kalen begged of no one in particular.

"Shayla, can this thing get me _inside_ the base?" Lecca asked.

"Certainly." The Princess walked over and began tuning the crystals for her.

The surface of the portal rippled.

"There."

Lecca turned back to the others.

"You guys go down and help those idiots out," she suggested. "I'm going to go try to talk some sense into Sophie. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Angel complied, as the Black Ranger turned and left the temple. "Well, come on," The Gray Ranger suggested, approaching the wall. "Let's go bail out the mortals."

Readjusting the gemstones, he set off through the portal. Troy glanced down at the reflecting pool, making note of where the Gray Ranger emerged.

"About thirty feet North-Northwest of B-Squad's location," he mused. "I can work with that."

Terina sighed.

"What's with you today?" Troy asked.

"Don't wanna talk about it," she grumbled.

"Fine," Troy replied, "But if you feel like picking a fight, pick one with the COGS, huh?"

And with that, Troy ran off through the portal after the others. Still shaking her head, Kalen followed.

Terina stood in silence, arms crossed. It took her a moment to realize that she was being stared at. She turned to see Beth, Diskette, Shayla, and Zoey, all looking at her expectantly.

"Well?" Diskette demanded.

Terina sighed. "All right, all right," she grumbled. "I'm_ going_."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kimberly Foxtooth was a girl of action.

She was a fighter, a scrapper. She was the sort who always had to be active, busy, doing SOMETHING,. Didn't matter whether it was working to stitch up an injured rabbit, or kicking in the teeth of someone who'd said the wrong thing at the wrong time. What she did wasn't really important. At least, not to her. But she couldn't stand to be idle.

It was high time she got out of this cell.

Trouble was, her usual approach…blunt force…was useless in this situation. Whatever those bars were made of, she couldn't touch it. Her powers weren't much use, either…she had tried to morph, and done so successfully (on the second try, a fact that concerned her slightly), but that had only made matters worse. No sooner had her armor materialized than the headache, the itching, burning sensation in her bones, the queasy feeling in her stomach all quadrupled.

She hadn't been able to manifest her weapon, or her grenades, or anything. It had simply failed to work. And when she'd tried to grab the cell door and rip it off its hinges, trusting her armored gloves to protect her hands, her fingers had literally melted away, dissolved and vaporized the instant they touched the metal, sending fresh waves of agony up her arm and right into her brain.

The pain had abruptly de-morphed her, them settled in and made itself at home behind her eyes. Even hours later, it had yet to fade. More distressing still was the fact that the fingers that had dissolved on contact with the bars had failed to reappear when she'd demorphed, leaving her with sluggishly oozing stumps in place of the last three fingers of her left hand.

Her mysterious sickness, whatever it was, was less severe now than it had been when in Ranger form, but it was worse than it had been when she'd first woken up. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but it was obvious that her condition wasn't improving. A visit to the medbay was clearly in order.

Which brought her back to getting out of this cell.

If the break-down-the-door method was out, that meant she had to get creative. Not her strong suit. Different angles, clever solutions, trickety-tricks, those were Jareth's thing. Or maybe Kalen's. Not hers.

Still…her captor wasn't exactly college material.

Surely she could outsmart someone whose skull was, after all, hollow?

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was a distortion in the air as Electra stepped into the dimly-lit halls of the Dekabase. The echoes from her clunky goth-boots filling the halls.

_Funny, _she thought to herself, looking around. _I expected there to be more people. Building this size…_ The Black Ranger made her way down the halls, peering into rooms as she went, but finding all of them vacant. Not only vacant, but mostly derelict…most of these rooms looked as though they hadn't seen use in ages.

_Place must be mostly automated, _she mused. _Now…if I were a lost, lonely, badly befuddled android, where would I be…?_

From the end of the hall came a loud series of smashing sounds, as of metal being violently torn apart and glass shattering.

_Bingo._

A smile on her face, Electra began to run.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"And, it's….done!"

Kat Manx looked up from her workstation, eyeing her partner. Swan was happily snapping shut the casing of the small object she'd been assembling.

"The Accellular? You've got it working?" the feline alien inquired, surprised.

"Well…I think so," Swan replied. She nervously tucked a lock of her dark hair back behind the wing-like devices that covered her ears. "Still needs testing, of course."

"We can have B-Squad give it a field test when they get back," Kat said. "Meanwhile, you should keep it in the lockup."

Swan nodded and moved over to one of the doors, placing her hand against the palmprint scanner that sealed it. She entered the secured half of the R and D room and placed the item on the shelf.

"I just wish I was having as much luck with the DBDS," Kat admitted ruefully, when Swan returned. "Sequencing these logarithms takes forever."

Swan eyes the screen of Kat's workstation. She'd been working on the DekaBase Defense System for over a week now. Never had Swan seen Kat so stuck on a project.

"You'll get it," Swan replied confidently. "Need a hand?'

"Couldn't hurt," Kat mused.

Swan took a seat next to Kat, but before she could get started, the alarms began to sound.

Kat leapt to her feet and rushed over to one of the other consoles.

"What is it?" Swan asked.

Dr. Manx was too stunned to reply. Instead, she tapped a key and brought the image up on the wall-screen.

Swan was equally astonished. The beach outside could barely be seen for all the mechanical soldiers that flooded towards the base.

"How did they get so close?"

A loud, blunt slamming sound abruptly interrupted any reply Kat could have made, dents appearing in the titanium ceiling of the research lab. The distortions in the metal were remarkably fist-shaped.

Kat backed away from them warily. She pressed a button in the wall.

"Doggie? You might want to get down to the lab. We have company."

"On my way, Kat," a confident voice replied.

Swan gripped Kat's shoulder in alarm as a pale fist finally broke through the ceiling. Gripping the torn metal, the hand proceeded to peel it back as though it were foil, widening the gap it had created. A surprisingly slight figure jumped down through the fissure, landing in a crouch before them. As the lights above flickered, their power supply disrupted by the beating the ceiling had taken, the stranger rose to her feet.

"You're her," Swan said. "That girl who was working with Ichthior."

The pale, light-haired humanoid female spared the pair of technicians a glance, then proceeded to move towards the sealed compartment at the end of the room.

Kat's eyes widened. Leaving Swan's side, she leapt, flipping over Sophie's head and landing before her in a feral crouch. She let out an angry hiss, brandishing her claws.

Sophie glared down at her disparagingly. She took an unconcerned step forward.

Kat leapt at her, kicking, but the superstrong android sent her flying into the wall with a single, negligent backhanded slap. The feline humanoid slid down the wall, collapsing into an unconscious heap on the floor.

Reaching the secured wall, Sophie placed her hand against the scanner that would unlock it. Green light played over her palm…then turned red, as the system rejected her palmprint.

"Hm," she said.

Swan jumped as the girl's hand suddenly went _through _the scanner, the ultraglass surface shattering, sparks flying as the android grabbed a handful of circuitry and tore it out, tossing the guts of the electronic lock aside.

There was a hiss, the pressurized locks releasing, the door opening slightly. Sophie grabbed the edge thus provided and forced the door open, further sparks issuing from the hinges.

Swan watched helplessly through the bulletproof glass as the intruder casually made her way through the supposedly secure room, examining the dangerous and experimental equipment that was displayed on the back wall.

Finally, she spotted the Accellular.

"No," Swan whispered, as the mechanical girl gently, almost daintily picked up the experimental anti-Ranger device and placed it against her right wrist. Just as it had been designed to do, the device 'sank' into her flesh, painlessly bonding with her skin at a molecular level.

The engineer jumped again in surprise, this time as the blade of a long sword abruptly sliced through the inoperative electronic door that was the lab's entrance, carving out a large triangular slap of galactic metal.

The blade withdrew, and there was a grunt as the door was kicked from the other side, the chunk of metal falling free. Ducking to fit through the small opening, a blue-scaled, reptilian humanoid dog entered, garbed in the uniform of a member of the Galactic Council. He sheathed his sword, took a look around the room, and immediately rushed to crouch next to Kat, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw that she was still breathing.

"Anubis!" Swan pointed at the figure on the other side of the glass. "She's got the Accellular."

Anubis glanced up, a growl in his throat. He rose, drawing his blade and moving to intercept the thief as she exited the room, fastening another device she'd picked up to her other wrist.

She blinked in surprise when she saw him.

"Anubis Cruger," she said in a soft monotone. "Last of the Syrians."

"Ichthior's mysterious accomplice," Cruger replied. "You're good. No one's ever broken into the Dekabase before."

"Then no one's ever really tried," Sophie replied. "And the name's Sophie." The intruder smiled. "Tell me, Cruger, where is everyone? We were all geared up for a war, but this place is practically abandoned." She smiled cruelly. "Can it be that the mighty Space Patrol Delta is really nothing more than a mangy old dog and a few pathetic children?"

Anubis growled threateningly, but before he could do or say anything, the android rolled back her right sleeve, aiming the Accellular at the floor. As it began to emit a narrow red beam, she spun around, cutting a perfect circle in the floor beneath her feet. The weakened floor gave beneath her weight, and, cackling, she dropped from view, leaving behind only a hole in the floor.

One too small for Anubis to follow…at least until he gave it a few swipes with the Shadow Saber, widening it to fit his proportions.

"Take care of Kat," he commanded.

Swan nodded, jerking her fist to the right in the SPD salute, as Cruger leapt down the hole, pursuing the fugitive down into the lower levels of the Dekabase.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Any suggestions, Squad Leader?" Sky asked sarcastically, as he and the rest of B-Squad found themselves on the losing side of the battle, bruised and battered by the squadron of computerized soldiers.

"Quit losing," Jack replied, snapping his twin pistols together so that they formed a rifle.

"Thanks," the Blue SPD Ranger replied flatly.

Jack powered up his rifle and aimed a blast at the robot directly in front of him, but, moving with surprising speed, the metal soldier rushed forward, ducking under the blast and seizing the end of his blaster. With a painful twist, the COGS unit tore the rifle from the Red Ranger's hand.

Gasping as a metal hand seized him by the throat, the Red SPD Ranger clutched at the robot's forearm as he found himself being lifted into the air.

With a flick of his wrist, the COGS unit tossed Jack's blaster over the edge of the cliff, then, grabbing him by the belt buckle, he sent Jack himself flying after it.

There was an explosion of sand as his armored body collided painfully with the beach below, followed by four more as the other members of B-Squad met a similar fate.

"I think I like it better when _we_ outnumber _them_," Bridge complained, as he and the others pulled themselves out of the craters they'd created.

More sand flew as COGS rained down around them, landing hard on their heavy metal feet, then closing in and backing them up against the cliff.

"Time to take this up a level," Jack suggested.

"About time," Z replied, as she and the other Rangers reached behind their belts and drew forth their Morphers.

"**SPD Swat Mode!"** they invoked, their voices sounding in unison.

Data-energy spiraled out from the boxlike badges, winding around the Ranger's bodies and solidifying as enhancements to their armor, black protective vests materializing over their torsos and kinetic enhancers appearing on their shins and forearms. In the air above each, a high-tech red-and-black rifle materialized, dropping down into their arms. Finally, an advanced sensory and communications apparatus appeared from each helmet, the siren-lights extending to the sides and microphones and antennae snapping into position.

B-Squad stepped forward, Delta Enforcers at the ready. The crowd around them was thick…it seemed that half the army that had amassed to attack the DekaBase had broken off and was now flocking towards them instead.

"Okay," Z said happily, priming her blaster. "Who wants to be first?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The low hum of various mechanisms filled the air, vibrating throughout the lower levels of the SPD Dekabase.

Specifically, the incarceration wing. The walls were lined with cabinets, durasteel doors with ultraglass windows, securing shelves and shelves of filed Containment Cards, each one imprisoning a criminal SPD had apprehended.

Someone to his left blew a jeering whistle. Doggie spun to see the android intruder, aiming at him with the device she had strapped to her right wrist: the Accellular.

Doggie's eyes widened as the adaptable device assessed the situation, anticipated its user's need, and launched a weighted neo-titanium net in his direction.

A few swipes of the Shadow Saber reduced the webbing to a few strands of metal that fell like rain around him.

"It's Sophie, isn't it?" Anubis said, sheathing his blade calmly. "We don't have to be enemies."

Sophie ignored him, assuming a fighting stance.

Sighing, Anubis reached into his uniform to draw forth a small black version of the SPD licenses B-Squad carried.

"**SPD, Emergency!"** he invoked, pressing the trigger atop the device.

There was a second bright flash, and Cruger's body was covered with black neo-titanium armor, reinforced with silver bracers and shinguards. The armored covering across his chest bore the serial number 100, and his canine muzzle had somehow been compressed into a normal humanoid helmet.

"**SPD Shadow Ranger!"** he cried.

Cruger drew the sword from his waist and leveled it at the android.

"This ends. Now."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So what's the plan?" Angel asked calmly.

Troy eyed the battle taking place down on the beach.

"The bots have split their forces…half of them are keeping B-Squad occupied while the others attack the base."

"I suppose we should defend the base," Terina said.

"That's the headquarters of SPD," Troy told her. "It's bound to have defenses of its own."

"We should go after that bot, then," Angel suggested. "The different one, the one that's just standing there. It's obviously waiting for some sort of signal."

"Maybe it's waiting to be attacked," Kalen countered.

"Then let's not disappoint," the Yellow Ranger said. "It's just one bot. We can take it." She grabbed hold of a vine that hadn't been there until she'd reached for it, one that stretched invisibly up into the sky, and swung down from the cliff towards the lone, motionless soldier.

Troy shrugged, ignited his hands with blue light, and projected a slide of ice that trailed from the cliff's edge.

"I really hope she's right about that," he muttered, stepping onto the slide and gliding down it, always projecting the ice further ahead so that there was more to slide along.

"Didn't know he could do that," Angel commented.

With a blurring of his fur-cloak and the armor beneath, the Gray Ranger shifted forms, becoming a monstrous hawk that lifted off, grabbed Kalen gently by the shoulders, and soared off after his friends.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Owww…Mmm." With a groan, Kat blearily sat up, trying to bring the world back into focus.

"Kat? Easy, don't try to move."

"Mmm…Swan? What…"

"Crazy robot lady knocked you for a loop. Remember?"

It came back in a flash.

"Doggie!"

Swan nodded towards the hole in the corner of the lab.

"She went down into the lower levels. He followed."

"She has the Accellular," Kat said.

Swan flinched, not sure how to say what she was about to say.

"That's…not all she has."

Kat's eyes strayed towards the not-so-secure R and D lockdown area.

"Swan," Kat said slowly. "What else did she take?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Far from being intimidated by the large, reptilian canine, Sophie smiled. She held up her wrist, displaying the other device she'd acquired in the R and D lab. In response to her mental command, a small throttle-handle snapped out from the side of the experimental morpher.

"**SPD, Emergency!"** Sophie shouted, seizing the throttle and turning it.

There was a discharge of energy, steams of binary springing forth and swirling around Sophie's mechanical body.

Cruger shielded his eyes against the flash. When it faded, he lowered his arm. Standing before him was the armored form of a Power Ranger, covered from head to toe in polished steel-gray armor with gold trim. Her boots, gloves, and vest were dark blue, and, like all SPD armors, the sides of her helmet bore siren-lights. The helmet's design was more streamlined, more futuristic that most of the other standard SPD helms.

"**SPD Nova Ranger!"** she identified, her siren-lights flashing.

"Uh-oh," Cruger muttered.

Nova reached behind her and drew forth the three-barreled rifle that had been holstered sideways through her belt, leveling it at the commander.

"**Nova Sniper!"** she invoked.

The barrels snapped out to nearly double their length, and a crosshairs snapped up into position near the end.

The Sirian leapt aside as the Nova Ranger fired off an energy blast at his head, rolling to his feet.

Swinging his sword, he deflected two more blasts from the Nova Sniper, catching them on the flat of his blade and flinging them off to the sides to cause small explosions behind him. The third blast he launched back to Nova, who was forced to leap aside.

The blast struck a system of piping on the wall, sparks raining to the ground as cables were burned and broken. The bright overhead lights began to fail, their power supply disrupted.

Taking advantage of the poor visibility, Nova Ranger disappeared into the shadows.

Cruger squinted against the flickering lights, sword in hand. He advanced, remaining on-guard, turning slowly in an effort to be ready against an attack from any direction.

"That Morpher is unstable, Sophie," he called to the shadows. "It's still experimental. It isn't safe. You have to return it."

A low chuckle echoed throughout the holding bay. Anubis tried to listen for its source, but the baffling echoes made it impossible to locate.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Sophie!"

There was a sound, ever so slight, from directly overhead. Pure instinct saved him, prompting him to throw himself aside as a blast shot straight down from the rafters, its impact shattering the finish of the floor where he'd been standing.

With a click of her metal boots against the ruined tiles, Nova dropped back to the ground, pumping her rifle to prime it for another shot.

"Fine," Doggie growled. "Have it your way."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Terina released her vine, backflipping through the air and landing flawlessly in a crouch on the beach before the mysterious, unmoving robot that stood in the center of the beach.

"Hello," she said sweetly, conjuring one of her daggers. "Good bye."

Her hand sliced the air, the enchanted dagger darting forward like an arrow. With perfect precision, the small, bladed weapon raced towards the robot's single, unblinking spherical eye.

With lightning reflexes, the robot moved…but all it did was raise a metal hand, as if it could simply will the lethal blade to stop.

And, apparently, it could.

She may as well have thrown an icicle at the surface of a pool of lava. Her dagger vanished in a hiss, a puff of steam, and the tiniest sparkle of yellow magic.

"Uh-oh."

The robot hefted its strangely-shaped sword and lunged, forcing the Yellow Ranger to go on the defensive, taking advantage of her superhuman speed to dodge its powerful strikes.

Bolts of laser-light peppered the robot from above, but they were nothing to it. Troy landed next to her, having jumped down from his ice-slide, Blade Blaster in hand, continuing to fire.

The robot went for the Blue Ranger, who raised an arm and ignited his light-shield in an attempt to block the metal blade…but the weapon simply sliced through the barrier as if it were nothing more than ordinary light. The Blue Ranger's power-enhanced reflexes were all that saved him, causing him to jerk his head back at the last possible moment, the lethal blade passing within less than a centimeter of his visor.

"Woah!" he cried, leaping back as the robot pursued him relentlessly, its blade slashing with vicious strokes.

There was mighty roar from behind the robot, and it turned to see an enormous gray-furred grizzly bear towering over it. Before the robot could react, the bear raised a paw and swiped.

It was a blow that should have knocked the mechanical warrior's head from its shoulders, but instead, the bear bellowed in agony, drawing back a sluggishly bleeding stump, as though it had just thrust its paw into a vat of acid.

Angel's body returned to its Ranger form, minus a hand, as he staggered back.

"Iron," he said, in a pained voice. "It's made of iron."

"Our powers don't work on iron," Troy recalled. "Any thoughts?"

"It's eye!" Kalen called, presently engaged in fighting the machine…or, more accurately, in dancing around as she tried not to let it touch her. Her hands glowed with purple light as she created solid-energy streaks in the air between her and her assailant…a futile gesture, as the robot's iron blade simply passed through them, but there was always the chance they might do _some _good, somehow. "Shoot it in the eye!"

"Troy? Can you do it?" Terina asked.

"Please," the Blue Ranger replied, insulted. He drew his blaster and, despite the machine's rapid and erratic movements, effortlessly fired off a shot that struck it dead-center in the eye.

The glass-crystal lenses shattered, sparked, and smoked, the robot staggering back. It swung its blade wildly, blinded.

"Now what?" Troy asked.

"Bury it," Angel suggested.

Terina grinned. "On it."

Cracking her knuckles, Terina assumed a running stance, then became a yellow blur, darting forward with blinding speed and racing in circles around the robot, the sand swirling beneath its feet as she spun it into a sinkhole.

The disturbance in the atmosphere ceased as Terina was suddenly standing next to Angel, leaning against his large frame and making a show of calmly examining her fingernails.

The bot was buried up to its head in the sand, fidgeting as it frantically tried to wiggle free, the tiny grains grinding in its joints.

Terina stopped pretending to be smug when she saw that Kalen was glaring at her.

"What?" the Yellow Ranger demanded.

"'It's only one bot. We can take it,'" Kalen said, mimicking the Yellow Ranger's unique Eltarian accent.

"Well…I was right, wasn't I?"

As if on cue, there was an explosion of sand as the robot broke free and leapt into the air, landing on the beach. Fine-tuning its sensors to detect vibrations in the air, the blind machine turned towards them, brandishing its blade.

The Rangers resumed their wary stances.

"Or not," Terina muttered.

They were the last words out of her mouth before the robot zeroed in on her voice, and turned its weapon around, converting it from a sword into a rifle, and a spray of small iron pellets tore innumerable holes through her body, shredding the enchanted armor like foil.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Boo yah!" Fox cried, victorious.

"You conniving little bitch," Rito growled. "You'll pay for that one."

"Ooh, he talks big," Fox teased. "Bring it on, then."

"Just deal."

Chuckling, Fox dealt them both another hand, Rito reaching in through the bars to take the cards she dealt.

Once again, Fox was the winner.

"I hate Euchre," Rito grumbled, tossing his cards back at her. "I don't even understand it."

"It's usually meant for more than two people," Fox allowed, managing to shuffle despite her missing fingers.

"I still say-"

"I am NOT playing strip poker with you," she repeated adamantly. "You're not even wearing any clothes."

"So I've already won!"

The Camo Ranger tilted her head, squinting at him. "Doesn't it mean you've already lost?"

"Does it? Eh. Doesn't matter."

Fox started to deal again. "Now, if you wanted to play for shots…"

"No alchomohols allowed. Not while I'm on guard duty. That would be a violation of the trust placed in me by my superiors."

Fox raised an eyebrow.

"You don't have any booze," she clarified.

"I don't have any booze," he agreed. "Deal already."

_Time to make my move. _Fox thought. She made a show of shifting uncomfortably on the stone floor of her cell. "Ugh. I'm getting sick of sitting on the floor. And dealing through the bars."

"Oh, and I suppose you'd like me to let you out, so we can play at the table?" Rito said. "You really think I'm gonna fall for that?"

"Fall for what?" Fox asked innocently.

"Oh. You'd like me to think you're not trying to escape, wouldn't you?"

_Here it goes. _"You'd like to think that I'd like you to think that I'm not trying to escape, wouldn't you?"

Rito's brain stumbled, but made a valiant effort at keeping up. "You'd like me to think that I'd like you to think that you'd like to…Wait, what?"

_Damn. I was counting on him lasting at least another turn. Improvise, Foxtooth. _"Well, if I were trying to escape, then I'd want you to think that I wasn't. But I'd be expecting you to think that, so what I would actually want is for you to think that I was. Because then you wouldn't be expecting me to want you to think that I wasn't, which is of course what I would want. Right?"

"I guess…"

"So with that as a given, it stands to reason that if you want to outsmart me, and I want to outsmart you outsmarting me, then you'd have to expect me to want you to think that I'm not doing what I obviously am."

"I would?"

"Yes. Which means that the only way to win would be to expect me to do what I'm actually trying to do, otherwise you'd be falling for the trick by expecting what I want you to expect…that I'm not trying to do what I am."

"So…but…wait. You ARE trying to escape."

"Am I?" Fox inquired honestly.

"Aren't you?" Rito asked, hopelessly confused.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," the Camo Ranger replied reasonably.

"You're right," the skeleton agreed, standing, taking the keys from his belt, and opening the door.

There was a pause.

Fox smiled as Rito looked from the still-sitting Ranger, to the keys in his hand, to the open cell door he held in the other.

"Dammit," he muttered. "It happened again."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Shadow Ranger ran a finger along the blade of his saber, energizing the metal.

"**Vega Impulse!"**

Assuming a fighting stance, he rushed forward, his feet unmoving as they frictionlessly glided across the floor. He swung his blade, throwing the full force of his forward momentum into his energized slash…

Nova lifted her right arm, the one that bore the Accelular strapped to its armored wrist. As she did, the device activated, projecting a foot-thick wall of solid green light-energy.

Reacting at the last minute, Doggie jumped, planted his feet against the energy-barrier, and backflipped off of it, sliding to a somewhat unsteady halt.

Before he knew it, Nova Ranger was in his face, her gloved hand clutching the blade of his sword.

Nova wagged her finger in a 'tsk-tsk' motion under Shadow's nose.

With a twist of her wrist, Nova Ranger tore the saber from Anubis' hand and caught him in the midsection with a heavy, backhanded blow that sent him flying into one of the storage cabinets that contained SPD's filed Containment Cards.

Twirling the stolen sword, Nova plunged it into the ground, embedding it firmly between the tiles. She took a few steps closer, drawing her weapon from the back of her belt.

Shadow Ranger quickly rolled back to his feet…only to find the Nova Sniper's sights aimed directly for his visor, fully primed and ready to fire. His eyes narrowed as he stared down the gun's barrel, tightening his muscles ever-so-slightly in preparation to dodge the blast.

Sophie smiled beneath her helmet. Without taking her eyes off Cruger, she shifted her aim, moving her arm to the side…and drawing a bead on the cabinet.

The cabinet. Where dozens of criminals…criminals, but still living, helpless people…were confined.

Doggie was moving before he even had time to think about it, throwing himself between the cabinet and the Nova Ranger's gun. The blast caught him square in the torso, its force knocking him once again into the cabinet. The case's steel doors crumpled, ultraglass shattered, Containment Cards rained down around the Shadow Ranger's body as he fell to the tiles, his armor vanishing in a crackle of electrical discharge.

Chuckling, Nova took a few steps forward, planting one boot deliberately on Doggie's chest, even as he struggled to breathe.

"Pleasant dreams, Cruger," she wished, planting the barrels of her gun against his skull and charging her weapon.


	91. Machinations Part III

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 91: Machinations Part III

Troy gaped in shock as the blinding yellow flash faded, revealing Terina's Eltarian body lying prone on the sand. A thousand questions tore through his mind at once. Did iron affect Eltarians the same way as humans? How fast did they heal? How fast could a Ranger heal from iron damage? Would iron damage translate across to her unmorphed body? Was there any way to save her? How could they delay the murderous iron robot long enough to get her to safety when they couldn't even touch it?

One of his questions was answered almost immediately. Though her clothing was untouched, green liquid began to stain it

from beneath in a dozen places…her blood, welling up from a dozen bulletholes.

"I think now would be a good time to retreat," Kalen suggested.

Immediately, the robot zeroed in on her voice and released a spray of bullets from its weapon, but the Purple Ranger's reflexes proved better than Terina's; she dropped to the ground, allowing the iron projectiles to pass harmlessly overhead. Most of them struck the hoard of COGS and Krybots that flooded the beach, bouncing harmlessly off their superior armor.  
"How can we keep it from following?" Troy asked.

Before anyone could answer, the unmistakable sound of space being torn open was heard from behind them. The four Rangers looked back to see an open portal to the Animarium, but looked too late to catch sight of the figure that leapt over their heads, flipping end-over-end and coming to rest on the beach between them and the robot.

Turning back, they were astounded to find a slender girl of perhaps sixteen, with shocking pink hair down to her waist, standing before them…completely naked. A sphere of purple-pink fire ignited in each hand, and she spared a glance back at them, turning vivid purple irises towards the Rangers. She opened her mouth, revealing rows of white, surprisingly sharp teeth.

"Get her back to the Animarium. Now!"

Turning her attention back to the robot, the girl hurled her fireballs, one after the other, the balls of strangely-colored flame bursting on impact, liquefying the construct's iron body.  
Troy may have been stunned speechless, but Angel wasted no time in picking up the wounded alien and rushing through the rift, Kalen quick on his heels.  
"Who _are_ you?" the Blue Ranger demanded.  
"Are you still here?" the girl asked with exasperation. She shook her head. Then, taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth wide in the robot's direction and appeared to scream...but instead of sound, a long bolt of purple-pink fire blasted forth, melting the iron menace to slag before his very eyes.  
"Come on!" the fire-wielding nudist insisted, turning and shoving Troy through the portal, which quickly closed behind them.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Looks like the Cyclobot's down, my queen," Klank said in his inexplicable, thick Scottish accent, optics zoomed in to watch the battle.  
"Taken down by an unforeseen factor," Orbus agreed. "I would still call this a successful field test. The Cyclobot proved effective against the Rangers."  
Archerina's leaned on her sword/bow, gazing down at the morass of cybernetic soldiers that littered the beach.  
"What is taking Sophie so long?"  
"Perhaps she encountered resistance," Klank suggested.  
"Unlikely," the monarch replied. Her gaze fell on the five armored soldiers still fighting on the sand below, gradually cutting a path through her footsoldiers towards the Dekabase. "Although she will, if B-Squad is allowed to reach that base."  
Her CPU made a few irate grinding noises as she processed the situation.  
She turned to her minions. "Klank. Orbus. Go down and restore the Cyclobot. Instruct it to attack the base."  
"But your highness…Sophie is still inside!"  
"Do not question my orders," the pink-armored android commanded dangerously. Go."  
Klank bowed, took hold of Orbus, and teleported to the beach below, a safe distance from the fighting, concealed by a patch of sea oats.  
"Ready?" he asked his ever-present companion.  
"Always!"  
"Then 'round and 'round and away ye go!" Klank yelled, grabbing Orbus' handle, extending the chain and spinning him like a flail, releasing the chain at just the right moment to send the small spherical robot soaring towards the slagged Cyclobot.  
Orbus' hull struck the destroyed machine with a loud clang, attaching to it magnetically.  
"You've looked better, friend," Orbus told it. "How about a pick-me-up?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"She took one of our Gen II prototypes?!" Kat demanded. "AND the Accellular? Doggie doesn't stand a chance! I can't believe you let him go alone!"

"What was I supposed to do, put him on a leash?" Swan demanded. "You know Doggie."

Kat leapt to her feet, rushing into the secure area that held SPD's experimental equipment.

"Tell me she didn't get the other Gen II as well."

"No, we've still got it. What are you doing?" Swan demanded, following. She glared as Kat yanked open a drawer and began rifling through it, tossing random gadgets over her shoulder. "Please tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing."

Instead of replying, Kat pulled out a large box, keyed a code into its digital lock, and flipped the lid open.

"That better not be what I think it is. You _know_ those things won't work for you," Swan argued. "Your DNA isn't-"

"I've customized this one," Kat reassured her, pulling a device from the box that was slightly different from the rest, its casing white instead of black. "Should give me an hour, at least."

"It could kill you," Swan stated. "They kill everyone _else_ who uses them."

"I have to try!" Kat insisted. "Doggie needs all the help he can get."

Both scientists jumped as the air rippled, space ripping open before their eyes.

A humanoid girl stepped through, the portal vanishing behind her, a cocoa-skinned female in blue jeans and a black tank top under a jean jacket.

"Glad to hear it," she said. "How can I help?"

Kat narrowed her eyes, recognizing this person from B-Squad reports as the person who'd first encountered the Encryptor upon its arrival on this planet.

She came to a quick decision. Grabbing the remaining Gen II prototype from its place on the wall, Kat tossed it to the human.

"Strap this on," she said. "And follow me."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Wandering the desolate halls of the SPD Dekabase, Electra had somehow managed to get herself hopelessly lost. The corridors she was now aimlessly strolling were even more abandoned than the rest of the station. Fortunately, her ninja-like abilities enabled her to see in the dark...there was next to no lighting on this level. Apart from herself, the only movement came from small dome-shaped cleaning droids, about the radius of a standard trash-can lid, that meandered through the corridors, emitting whirring noises as they kept the level clean.

Wondering why the upper levels hadn't had such service, the Black Ranger continued to make her way through the Dekabase, following the ever-present noises of battle that came from the lowest levels, pausing only when she reached a sealed chamber that turned out to contain two rows of five enormous glass tubes.  
"Creepy," she said to herself, sheathing the ninja-to she'd used to slash her way in. She moved over to one of the tubes and tried to peer inside, but her darkvision couldn't penetrate the tinted glass. "Hmm."  
While she normally would have moved on to the more pressing matter of finding Sophie before she hurt herself (or someone else), Electra found herself distracted. Acting on a hunch, she demorphed, her armor disappearing in a flash. As soon as her natural magic was no longer overpowered by her Ranger powers, a number of identities began idly brushing her mind, muted personalities that felt somehow...familiar. When she tried to touch them, however, they melted from her thoughts, lacking any sort of substance.  
As though they were…dreaming?  
Someone was sleeping in these tubes. And it was…had to be...someone she knew?  
Curious, she moved closer to the small flatscreen console that stood on a column that rose from the floor next to the nearest tube. The monitor seemed to display vital stats…heartbeat, breathing, body temperature, brain chemistry…of a human(oid) male the screen referred to as 'SPD-B-BC7'.  
Some sort of cryopod? She'd seen such suspension pods on the Oasis. Terina had supposedly spent five centuries sleeping in one, but that pod had been connected to all sorts of coolant tubes. The tubes running to these pods were clear, and through them flowed some sort of yellow-green fluid.  
Coolant tubes would have been insulated, not clear, and they wouldn't have been as warm to the touch as these were. Nutrient fluid, then. Healing tanks. The Oasis had those, too, although their use has never been necessary. They did, come to think of it, look something like this.  
But then why weren't these in the Dekabase's medbay? This place didn't look anything like a medical facility, and it was too discreetly located to be easily accessed in an emergency. And shouldn't it be labeled with a name, instead of a number? Did that number stand for something? Or was it just a serial number? The 'SPD' in it implied the former.  
Pausing to examine the other consoles, she found names such as 'SPD-B-ST9' and 'SPD-A-MR3'. In fact…the entire row on the right listed 'A' as the middle letter, while the row on the left listed 'B'.  
A-Squad and B-Squad?  
Returning to the SPD-B-BC7's tube, she examined the panel again and this time found something useful. She pressed one of the buttons, and the tube in question lit up, displaying more or less what she expected...a human male, nude, floating unconscious in a suspension of bubbling nutrient fluid.  
She let out a gasp of surprise…not because this was the first naked male she'd seen, but because, even despite the breathing apparatus covering his nose and mouth, she recognized his face. And she suddenly had a sneaking suspicion that she knew what the 'BC7' stood for.  
The only question remaining in her mind was this: If this was the seventh Bridge Carson…what had happened to the first six?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bridge waved his arm before his face, peering through the green energy-haze it left behind. The images he observed through it were slightly out of synch with the world as it was...they were, in fact, a few steps ahead. Quickly memorizing the movements of the mechanized soldiers, Bridge readied himself as the green glow faded.

"This is not," he said, ducking a punch he knew was coming and retaliating with a blow to the robotic soldier's metal stomach. "The way I envisioned," he continued, leaping over a spinning kick and chopping at the next assailant's spine. "Spending my weekend," he finished, coming face to face with a third Krybot. He calmly sidestepped one blow, then another, and finally a third before drawing his Delta Striker and blasting the robot point-blank in the face.

"I know exactly what you mean," Syd agreed.  
There was a wail as something yellow was thrown through the air, colliding with Jack and bringing him down.  
"Hello, Z," he said.  
Z pulled herself up and looked at the Ranger she'd fallen on. "Jack. This isn't going well."  
"How about a little breathing room, Sky?" Jack asked.  
The Blue Ranger gritted his teeth, then moved his arms in a wide, circular motion, leaving behind trails of blue light. When enough of the woven energy filled the air, he thrust his arms out to the sides, a dome-shaped bubble of blue force expanding to cover the Rangers, forcing the mechanical minions away.  
The five multicolored warriors regrouped in the center of the hemisphere.  
"Now," Jack said, panting. "At exactly what point did we lose control here?"  
Z looked around at the hoard of robots hammering away at Sky's shield. A number of identical Yellow Rangers…replicants of herself…were still outside, combating the soldiers. Whenever one was struck, it was dispelled, but the clones were making more of themselves at every opportunity.  
"I don't have a lot fight left in me," she admitted.  
"Me neither," Bridge agreed.  
"And I can't keep this shield up much longer," Sky added, sweat running down his face despite his climate-controlled helmet.  
A deep rumbling shook the ground, and a vast shadow blocked out the sun.  
The five members of B-Squad looked up through the translucent blue surface of their shield.  
"Perfect," Jack said. 'Just perfect."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox rushed down the dingy, barely-lit halls of Zedd's castle. Normally, she'd be alert, efficient, eyes open for any signs of alarms or booby-traps, scoping out the ceilings and floors, not making a single move without first checking for hostiles or escape routes.

Instead, she ran blindly, head throbbing, vision blurry, sick to her stomach, and slightly anemic, just hoping that she wouldn't run headfirst into anything sharp.

After far too short a time, she stopped, exhausted, her lungs burning and sweat pouring off her face. She slumped against the wall, trying desperately to catch her breath.

Voices echoed down the corridor, and she pressed herself flat against the wall, trying to fade into the shadows. For once, it seemed, her choice of clothing was actually appropriate…the passers-by took no notice of her. Her head was still swimming, but her vision was beginning to clear, so she clearly saw the forms of both Lord Zedd and DECA as they passed through the hall.

"Query. Why do you seek such objects?" the droid inquired.

"They are essential to my overall plan," Zedd replied. "That is all you need to know."

DECA's gear ground with irritation, but she didn't press the point further. "Affirmative. I shall acquire for you the following: One broken wheel from a rollerblade, one shark's tooth, one garden trowel, and one zippo lighter."

"Just make sure that you get the specific ones I told you about. Just any old zippo will not do."

Fox made the most puzzled expression her face could generate, but it was quickly replaced by one of cautious alarm as Rito's loud footsteps announced his arrival.

"Ed! Er…Hi!"

Zedd glared at the skeletal warrior. "Rito. What are you doing here? Weren't you instructed to stand guard over the Ranger we captured?"

"Well, uhh…." Seeing no way out, Rito hung his head contritely. "It happened again. Sorry, Ed."

"She escaped," Zedd stated. He sighed. "Rito, Rito, Rito. What am I to do with you?"

"This unit can offer numerous suggestions-" DECA began.

"Just find her," Zedd ordered. "And quickly. We can't have her learning about the Project, now can we?"

"No. I mean, yes. I mean…you got it, Ed."

Rito saluted, then took off running down the hall once again.

Zedd shok his fleshless head, sighed once again, then continued on down the hall, DECA floating alongside him as he went.

Fox eased her way out of the shadows, peering after them.

_Project?_

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"She's injured," Angel said, as close to upset as he ever came as he laid the wounded Yellow Ranger's body down on the picnic table.  
"I saw," Shayla said, concerned. "We were watching in the fountain. Will she be okay?"  
"She's not doing well," Diskette reported, light playing across Terina as the droid scanned her inert form. "Luckily, the iron pellets tore straight through...there aren't any left burning away her insides. But she's losing a lot of…blood. And we can't transfuse any, human blood would reject. Tissue regenerators won't work, either…not on her." The construct turned to the other Rangers, worry in her voice. "I don't think we can save her."

"And Stephen and Jareth are both gone…," Troy mused. "So magical healing is out of the-"  
"Duh," the pink-haired girl said. "Throw her in the fountain."  
"That could work," Shayla agreed eagerly. "Iron injuries are usually resistant to magic, but the fountain's healing power is strong. But…" the Princess bit her lip. "What if it affects her the way it affected-" she shot a glance at the Purple Ranger, who rolled her eyes.  
"It won't," Kalen assured her.  
This was good enough for Terina's friends. Angel grabbed one side and Troy the other, and between them, they picked her up and unceremoniously dumped her into the pool, leaving a trail of green blood-spots on the temple floor as they went.  
"Probably best to leave her in there for a while," Shayla commented. "Let the water do its work."  
"Someone hold her head, so she doesn't drown," Troy suggested, as he and the others demorphed with a brief multicolored lightshow.  
"Don't be dense. You can't drown in a healing spring."  
All four Rangers turned to the pink-haired girl.  
"Yeah, okay, back to my original question," Troy said. "Who are you?"  
The girl smirked, showing off her pointed teeth. "Come on, guys. Don'tcha recognize me?"

There was a pause.  
Angel squinted. "Zoey?" he asked dubiously.  
"Bingo."  
"I'd heard that dragons could take human form," Kalen mused. "Always wondered if it was true."  
"This is the first time I've done it," Zoey said. Then she frowned, examining herself. "Not sure I did it right. My hair's still pink, my teeth are still fangs…and if you look closely enough, I've still got scales. Teeny tiny ones."

"Your eyes are also purple," Kalen informed her. "It's rather fetching, really."

"…And it occurs to me that I have no idea how to change back," the wyrmling finished, now sounding somewhat distressed.  
"So why do it?" Kalen inquired.  
"To help you guys. Why else?"  
"Couldn't you have helped us just as well in your natural form?" Troy asked, running his fingers over his badge thoughtfully.  
"Nope. Not against an iron robot."  
"For iron to disrupt magic, the magic has to fall within a certain range," Shayla explained.

Everyone turned to stare at her.

"Don't follow," Troy said flatly.

"It's all about concentration," Zoey said, eyeing her long, sharp nails. "Uh…the percentage kind, not the mental kind. Suppose I make a magical effect…say, a fireball." She demonstrated, creating a softball-sized sphere of dragonfire in the palm of her hand. "Part of that effect will be mundane energies…fire, heat, light. But the rest, the forces that sustain and hold it together, that'll be magic. Most mages can never manage a magical effect that's more than…oh, say, about seven percent magical. That doesn't mean they're spells are any weaker. Just that less of the forces that they're using are actually magic."

"The magical concentration of an enchantment has to fall within a certain range for iron to be an issue," Shayla agreed. "If the magic isn't concentrated enough, then the iron doesn't react. And strong enough magic can overwhelm the iron's disruptive properties."  
"Dragonfire is one of the strongest magic forces in the universe," Zoey said, not without a hint of pride. Then she deflated. "But…because I'm still a wyrmling, my fire falls neatly into the iron-threat range. Just like you guys do. It wouldn't have affected the robot at all. In this state, it's just as hot, but less magical."

"So…what percentage is the iron-threat range?" Angel inquired.

"Oh, I dunno," Zoey mused. 'Somewhere between…twelve and twenty percent?"

"That sounds about right," Shayla agreed.  
"We owe you big for this. Especially Terina," Angel said.  
"You look about my size," Kalen surmised. "I suppose I could lend you something to wear, for the time being."  
"Clothes?" Zoey wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Erm, thanks, but no thanks. Clothes are for humans. I'm already stuck wearing one ridiculous-looking skin. I'd rather not put on a second."  
Kalen nodded. "That's what I thought you'd say. Just figured I'd make the offer."  
"So we've got a pink-haired, fire-breathing nudist amongst our ranks now," Troy quipped.  
"Yep," Zoey agreed.  
"Well, at least this improves the scenery around here," Angel chimed in, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.  
"Glad you approve," the dragon shot back, narrowing her violet eyes. "Just remember, you can look, but don't touch. I don't swing your way."  
"Towards males?" Troy asked, confused.  
"No," Zoey corrected. "Towards mammals."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So Diskette tells me you guys are the Enforcers of the galaxy," Beth said conversationally, as she followed Kat through a winding series of passages. Apparently, the fighting down below had cut power to many of the station's functions, requiring them to scurry down several flights of stairs instead of just taking the elevators.

"That's right," Kat said distractedly, her long, limber legs carrying her forward as she powerwalked along, trying to get there as fast as she could and still have some stamina left for the fight. Dr. Manx's species was an athletic one, true, but she herself spent most of her tab in a lab…and it WAS a big station.  
"No it ain't," Beth countered.  
Kat grimaced, but managed to bite back the hiss. Damn humans. Always too inquisitive for their own good. "What makes you say that?"  
Beth grinned, racing to keep up with the speedy alien. "Well, first of all, you countered with 'What makes you say that?'. No one says that unless the other person's really right."  
Kat winced as the human continued, "Second, this is supposed to be your home base, but it seems to be abandoned, 'cept for five soldiers, two techs, and a commander. If this were really the headquarters for the outer space version of the enforcers, it'd have a lot more people."  
"Maybe we just left them all somewhere else when we came here," Kat countered.  
"You found a place to drop all of your people, and brought your headquarters on a mission? I don't buy it."  
"All right then. Let's hear what your explanation is."  
"A'ight," Beth replied. "My guess is that you're independent. A vigilante group. This place looks like it cost some serious coin…government-funded, maybe, but since it's mostly disused, I'd say that you prob'ly stole it. Am I close?"  
Not having the patience to come up with a good cover story on the spot, Kat replied, "Yeah. Pretty close."

"Then how do I know you're not after Sophie just because you wanted to use her yourself, the way Ichthi-whatever did?"  
"_I'm_ after Sophie because she's stolen two very dangerous prototypes and is currently trying to kill my…friend."  
"I was talkin' 'bout SPD. Not you personally."  
"What SPD wants with her is the Commander's business. Not mine." She paused, aware that Beth had stopped following. Kat turned to see the human girl glaring at her, arms crossed.  
"I want the whole story. What's your group really about?"  
"We don't have time for-"  
"Cliff's Notes version, then. Gimme the bullet points."  
Cliff's Notes? Bullet points? Whatever, Kat grasped what the human meant, even if the phrases themselves meant nothing to her.  
She sighed. _What's it matter? We're going to wipe her memory anyway._

"Fine. The truth is, the SPD project was terminated shortly after this base was built. Blue Senturians were found to be cheaper, more efficient, and easier to construct than actual Rangers. Cruger disagreed, he felt that the human element was too important to discard, but the rest of the Council overruled him. So, he went behind their back, stole the Dekabase and the Zords that had been constructed, and…recruited…a few promising agents to serve as Rangers. The Rangers don't know any of this, by the way, so I expect you to keep your mouth shut. They think SPD is acting with full Council approval."

Beth nodded, absorbing this. "And you run around capturing criminals…just because?"  
"Doggie's got a grudge against the criminal element. Power Rangers especially. After what happened on Sirius, I don't blame him. Now can we please get moving?"  
And before Beth could object again, Kat was moving. With a sigh, the human girl shook her head and rushed to catch up.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Not ready to return to action until Terina recovered, or at least until they formed a strategy for defeating an iron foe, the team had decided to stay where they were and observe for the time being. With the fountain otherwise occupied, the Rangers, Zoey, and Shayla were forced to observe the actions on the beach below via a hologram that Diskette projected onto the table. The tiny image displayed the five SPD Rangers, standing beneath a blue energy-dome that the Blue Ranger had produced. The army below hammered incessantly at the shield, sending ripples of energy through its surface. It seemed unlikely that the barrier would last much longer.  
"Remind me again why Beth went down there?" Troy asked.  
"I'm sorry!" Shayla repeated for the umpteenth time. "When she asked me how the portals worked, I thought she was just curious! I didn't know she planned to _use_ them."  
"I did," Zoey replied. "Did. Di-duh. Aiyye did-duh. Heh." The dragon ran a long tongue over her sharp teeth. "This 'making-words-with-sound' thing is kinda cool."  
"Why didn't you stop her?" Troy asked.  
Zoey shrugged. "It honestly didn't occur to me."  
"How many is she up to?" Kalen asked, eyeing the Yellow Rangers that danced across the tabletop, fighting the holographic robots.  
"Twenty-two," Diskette replied. "How many replicants of herself do you suppose she can produce?"  
"We can ask, after this is all over," Angel replied, disconcertedly running his fingers over the stump of his left hand. It was the first time a limb lost while in Ranger form had ever failed to reappear when the Ranger demorphed, further proof that injuries caused by iron translated across between forms. A dip into the healing water had stopped the bleeding and caused skin to grow back over the stump, but it hadn't restored the missing hand. He had to admit, he missed it already...although he wasn't too concerned, fairly certain something in the Oasis' medbay could help.  
The sounds of splashing and sputtering interrupted his thoughts as Terina suddenly sat upright in the pond, coughing great spurts of water, the enchanted liquid pouring off of her. She looked around frantically, eyes wide, panicked, sucking in lungfuls of air.  
"What..." She swallowed and took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. "What happened?"  
"What usually happens when someone gets shot," Kalen replied. "Which is pretty unusual, in our case."  
"You nearly died," Angel informed her. "How do you feel?"  
"I..." Terina paused. She felt…good. No, she felt great! Her skin tingled, her blood felt carbonated, she was full of energy. She felt…effervescent. In fact, she hadn't felt so alive since…  
Since she'd died.  
That thought sobered her pretty quickly. "Fine," she said, pulling herself from the fountain. She pulled off her sweater and began to wring it out. "Who's the new girl, and why isn't she wearing anything?" she asked, spying Zoey.  
"It's me," Zoey said. "Zoey. And only humans wear clothes."  
"_I_ wear clothes," Terina countered.  
"Well, you're trying to pass yourself off as human, aren't you?" Zoey argued. "I have no such goal."  
"I wore clothes even when I wasn't."

"Fine. I amend my previous statement: Only insane humanoids wear clothes."  
"Children? Do you mind?" Troy broke in, not taking eyes off the miniature battle.  
"Fine," the Eltarian said, approaching the table. She tossed down her sweater and stood in her jeans and tank-top, proceeding to wring the holy water from her dirty-blonde hair. She shook her head, sending water droplets everywhere, prompting indignant cries from the other Rangers, particularly Kalen.  
"Sorry," she said contritely.  
"Not as sorry as you'll be if you do that again," Kalen sniped.  
"Look," Angel said, gesturing towards the hologram with his stump, determined that the limb should still be of some use.  
Everyone glanced towards the tabletop. The robot that had so easily defeated them appeared to have been revived and enlarged to titanic proportions.  
"Wow," Terina said. "That's a lot of iron."  
"Will iron affect our new Mythica forms?" Angel asked curiously.  
"Let's not find out," the Purple Ranger moved.  
"Yeah, I say we leave this one to SPD," Troy suggested.  
No one disagreed.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Eyes on the enormous machine that towered over the beach, Jack raised his badge to his mouthplate.  
"Kat, we need the Runners," he said. "Now."  
"Jack?"  
Jack looked down at his morpher in surprise. "Swan? Where's Kat?"  
"Kat's...busy. Why do you need the Runners?"  
"Have you looked at the scanners?" Syd asked incredulously.  
"The scanners sort of...aren't working."  
"Then look out a window!" Jack cried.  
"What am I looking…oh."  
The inaudible sound of five Rangers rolling their eyes at the same time filled the gap.  
"Um. Right. Runners. Okay, I've seen Kat do this a thousand times…ah. Here we go. Runners away!"  
A second wave of rumbling sounds shook the beach. Massive hydraulic doors slid open and five enormous, high-tech vehicles rushed out, their wheels kicking up clumps of  
wet sand.

"All aboard," Z said, rushing forward through Sky's shield, the blue dome shattering as she did.

The rest of B-Squad rushed forward, breaking through the ranks of mechanical soldiers that had amassed against the shield and rushing towards the Zords.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Doggie!"

Sophie's head snapped up…just in time to see Kat's foot as the feline alien performed a flying kick to the android's head, knocking her…and her gun…away from the commander of SPD.

Sophie's helmet shielded her from the impact, but the blow was nonetheless effective at separating Nova Ranger from the fallen Anubis. The Nova Ranger regained her footing, glaring daggers at Kat, who crouched next to Doggie.

"You should have stayed down, pussycat," Sophie snarled. "Now I guess this shot goes to you."

Nova lifted the Nova Sniper, training it on Kat, but her target wasn't going down so easily.

Kat jumped and spun, kicking the blaster from Nova's hand, then, with the force of the same spin, brought down her hand, raking her claws across Nova's visor.

Nova cried out, jumping back, then glared viciously at the doctor through the four deep slashes in the darkened ultraglass of her helmet.

Raising her right hand, she pointed the Accellular…

There was a whizzing sound as something launched itself from the shadows, a thin cable dragged by a strangely-shaped hook. The cable wound itself around Sophie's legs, then was pulled taut, snapping her feet together and yanking them out from under her. The Nova Ranger found herself being dragged across the floor, pulled back from Dr. Manx.

The Accellular's energy field reappeared, becoming blade-shaped. It practically pulled her arm forward, parting the cable, which receded into the shadows.

Sophie rose, disentangling herself and tossing the ruined grappling hook aside.

The Black Ranger appeared, literally, the air rippling as she shimmered into view.

"This place is just _infested_, isn't it," Nova muttered.

The Black Ranger's helmeted head tilted. "Sophie? Is that _you_?"

Sophie held her hand out the side. There was a hum and a ripple of magnetism, and the Nova Sniper leapt across the room and back into her palm.

"Sophie, it's me," Lecca said. "Electra. Your friend?" The Black Ranger took a step back as Sophie smoothly aimed her blaster at her face. "Damn," she muttered.

Electra backflipped away as Sophie launch blast after blast in her direction, barrels and containers exploding and/or melting as the Nova Sniper's attacks struck them instead of her.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Kat moved to Anubis' side. Spying Beth crouched in the shadows, the feline humanoid beckoned her over and, between them, they managed to drag the large-framed commander to the relative safety of the shadows.

"Now what?" Beth whispered, eyeing the fight between Electra and Sophie.

"We wait," Kat replied, checking Doggie's vital stats with the device she carried.

"For what?"

"For the opportune moment."

Beth tilted her head. "You have no idea what we're waiting for, do you?"

"Not a clue," Kat confessed.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Query," DECA said, hovering after Zedd as he made his way down the filthy halls of his palace. "Why did you detail your plan with the Camouflage Ranger present?"

The small droid immediately went up in Zedd's estimation. He hadn't thought it had noticed Fox standing there. Rito certainly hadn't.

"Because I know Rito, and his incompetence."

"You intended the Ranger to escape," DECA surmised.

"Of course. Otherwise I'd have set Scorpina or yourself to guard her."

"Why?"

"Because I predict one of two possible scenarios," the warlord replied as he and Diskette entered his throne room. "Either she escapes, informs her fellow Rangers that I am preparing a full-scale invasion, and they all come to put a stop to it…or she fails to escape, and they all come to rescue her." He sat down in his throne, running his clawed hands delicately over the wrought-iron armrests. "Either way, they all come."

DECA processed this.

"Well?" Zedd suddenly snapped impatiently. "Don't you have items to gather?"

"…This unit had assumed that that errand was a fabrication to arouse the Camouflage Ranger's interest."

"Oh, no," Zedd replied. "I have plans for those objects. Go."

The small, hovering droid gave a nod, turning and whizzing from the room.

Rising from his throne with satisfaction, Zedd crossed to his balcony, laying his hands on the railing.

"So good," he said, as his visor lit up to view the battle on the planet below. "To have competent help for a change."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hold _still_!" Nova hissed, continuing to fire as Electra jumped back, sticking to the wall behind her, then leapt over the android, curling into a ball and flipping over her head. The Black Ranger landed in a crouch, extended a leg and spun, once again knocking Nova's legs out from beneath her and bringing her crashing to the ground.

Nova recovered, kicking back up to her feet…but Lecca was gone, invisible again.

Bringing a finger to the side of her helmet, Sophie started flipping through filters. Nothing on infared, nothing on ultraviolet…but eventually she came to a vibrational-wavelength frequency that revealed a Ranger-shaped figure in the shadows.

A spear of pain lanced up through her leg. She glanced down to find a four-pointed metal star embedded in the gray armor of her thigh.

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!

Faster than even her eye could follow, shuriken after shuriken shot forth, sinking into her body.

Biting back a hiss of pain, Sophie raised her arms towards the shimmering figure revealed by her visor. Electromagnetic waves rippled forth from her gauntleted fingers, and the next shurikens to fly her way slowed, remaining suspended in midair.

With a swipe of her arm, Nova sent the ninja stars flying back at Electra, who drew the short machete from its sheath at her back and twirled it, deflecting the projectiles. Pipes burst, glass shattered, cables sparked as the sharp-edged stars embedded themselves into whatever they struck.

"Sophie!" someone shouted from behind Nova Ranger.

Sophie spun to face the speaker. There were two humanoids standing behind her, their images unclear due to her visor's anti-invisibility filter. To judge from her feral stance, one was Kat Manx. The other was standing uncertainly, apparently untrained.

Kat addressed the person next to her, not taking her eyes off Nova. "You remember how to work that thing?"

The girl nodded, bringing a hand to the device strapped to her wrist. "I think so," she replied, her voice strangely familiar to the android.

"Good. This should be an interesting experience for both of us. Ready?"

"Ready!"

**"SPD-Emergency!"** They invoked together, Kat snapping open the cover of her white-plated SPD License, and the other revving the throttle of a morpher not unlike Nova's.

There was a blinding burst of energy, streams of data solidifying into two unique dekametal suits.

**"SPD Kat Ranger!"** Kat sounded off, flicking her fingers to unsheathe the metal claws in her gloves. Her orange-and-white armor was streamlined, form-fitting and sheer, with the exception of the armored vest that protected her upper torso. The siren lights on the sides of her butterfly-shaped helmet flashed a warning.

**"SPD Omega Ranger!"** the other girl called, her eyes skimming the streams of data that flowed across the inside of her visor. Her armor was platinum-white, trimmed in gold, a stylized VI worked into its pattern. Her helmet was swept-back, modeled according to the same futuristic design as Sophie's.

Before Sophie could react to the presence of two more Rangers, Electra was behind her, her motions swift and silent, her ninja-to held against her throat.

"Give up, Sophie," she said softly. "We don't want to hurt you."

Sophie's eyes narrowed as she weighed her options.

"Well," she said coldly. 'That would be the difference between you and me."

There was a tremendous crash as the entire Dekabase shook on its modular foundations, the already unstable lighting flickering, then cutting out altogether.

An elbow to the stomach sent Electra staggering away from the android, Nova's other hand grasping the Black Ranger's ninja-to and tearing it from her grasp.

Sophie spun around, swinging the stolen weapon in a series of wide sweeps, forcing the Black Ranger to employ a series of impromptu acrobatics to open being sliced apart.

**"Kat Stunners!"**

Nova spun around to face the oncoming attack, just in time to take a series of brightly glowing projectiles to the face, all of which burst, creating brilliant, blinding flashes of light.

Beth revved her morpher's throttle as Sophie staggered, blinded and dazed.

**"Electro-mode,"** she invoked, arcs of electricity dancing over her fist. Slamming her hand into the ground, the Omega Ranger channeled a blast of lightning through the metal floor, electrocuting her opponent.

Nova Ranger stood stunned for a moment, then fell to her knees, finally collapsing entirely, her armor steaming.

There was a pause, during which the Black Ranger reappeared next to them. Kat ran to Anubis' side, checking that he was still okay, her armor vanishing in a flash.

"Did we win?" Electra asked. She demorphed as well, her Ranger armor being replaced by her usual gothic-style attire.

Kat opened a compartment at her belt and drew out a small capsule. She held it under the unconscious Doggie's nose and cracked it open, filling the entire room with a terrible stench.

Cruger immediately convulsed, recoiling from the smelling salts and covering his sensitive nose.

"Kat!" he cried, sneezing, eyes watering. "You know I hate those things."

Kat made a partially successful attempt to conceal her relief. "How are you feeling, Commander?"

"Like my organs are made of broken ultraglass," he replied flatly. "Everything hurts."

Beth looked him over, her visor's scanners processing his vital stats.

"I don't see any permanent injuries," she said.

"Beth?" Lecca asked with a surprised smile. "Is that _you_?"

"Yep! I'm a Ranger, too. For now, anyway."

Under Doggie's questioning glare, Kat squirmed. "I, ah, deputized her."

"I see," Cruger said, rising to his feet. He approached Omega cautiously. "SPD thanks you for your assistance. But now that the battle's over, I think it's best that you return that morpher." He held out a hand expectantly. There was an implied 'Or else' in his manner.

Beth hesitated, laying a hand on the device strapped to her wrist. "I guess…," she replied hesitantly. It _was_ theirs, after all…but before she could say anything more, a bright white light illuminated the room.

The four Rangers turned to see a shrouded figure standing next to the fallen Nova Ranger, the brilliant radiance emanating from a shining white longsword he held in his hand. Apart from his hands, nothing of his body was visible, his cloak and hood covered everything and his face was concealed by what appeared to be a one-horned, ceramic wolf mask.

"Who are you?" Cruger demanded.

The stranger gestured to Nova, chanting a strange word that vibrated with power. A milky white glow briefly surrounded the downed Ranger, then faded.

Nova twitched, then, apparently as surprised as everyone else, rose to her feet.

"Why," Cruger demanded quietly, "didn't anyone get the Accellular from her while she was down?"

Kat winced.

Nova glanced, confused at the Stranger, who gestured towards the group of Rangers, as if saying, "Help yourself."

Sophie didn't need to be told twice. Summoning her Sniper back into her gauntleted hand, she drew a bead on Beth and fired.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The sounds of grinding metal and shifting machinery rang out over the beach as the five enormous Enforcer vehicles contorted and snapped together, forming a colossal construct somewhat resembling a giant Blue Senturian.

"Giant robots," Jack muttered, causing the Delta Megazord to draw its blaster from the compartment inside its leg. "There's always giant robots."

The Megazord aimed its blaster, but paused.

"Um…why isn't it moving?" Syd inquired, for the robot in question seemed completely immobile.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Why isn't it moving?" Archerina demanded, as Klank and Orbus reappeared next to her.

The two techs looked up at the robot in surprise, then performed a quick scan.

"It's because it's made of iron!" Orbus declared.

"This is the first time we've tried to enlarge something that wasn't made of neo-titanium," Klank agreed. "The thing's too dense to move!"

Archerina's gears ground as the Delta Megazord blasted the rigid android, causing it to fall over backwards, crashing into the Dekabase and shaking the building.

"Shrink it," she commanded. "Before they destroy it." Once destroyed, that would be it…Orbus' repair-and-enlarge process only worked once. After that, the subject's molecular structure became unstable, and attempting to repeat the process resulted in complete disintegration. "Order it…and the army… to enter the base and assist Sophie."

"As you command, my queen," Klank saluted, taking hold of Orbus' handle once again and preparing to send him flying.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Delta Megazord produced its saber and prepared for the final blow, but before they could attack, the Cyclobot dropped out of sight.

"Hey!" Z cried, trying to regain the Megazord's balance as its blade passed harmlessly through the air where its target had been.

"Where'd it go?" Jack inquired.

"Down there," Sky reported, tapping a few keys and bringing a view of the ground below to life on one of the Megazord's screens. The Cyclobot was leading the flock of mechanical soldiers into the base, smashing their way through the doors, windows, vents, and any other access point they could find.

"How come it's suddenly so easy for them to get in?" Syd demanded.

"They weren't _trying_ to get in before," Bridge realized. "They were just trying to keep _us_ out."

"Let's get down there," Jack ordered.

The Rangers began to unfasten their seat belts and rise from the cockpit, but just as they did, a bright pink flash strobed from the ground below, and another robot grew from the sand, reaching Megazord-proportions in less than a second…Archerina herself.

The Machine Queen conjured her bow and, with a flash, transformed it into a sword.

"Sky, you and Z get down there and try to clear those drones out of the base," Jack commanded. "Syd and Bridge, stay here with me and-"

A voice broke in over the comm system. "All of you go!"

"What?" Jack demanded.

The Delta Megazord turned its head, spotting the Terran Rangers standing, fully morphed, on the nearby cliff that Archerina and her minions had until recently occupied.

"You get in there and save your base," Troy said, his ear pressed against the side of his helmet, transmitting his voice to the Megazord. "Leave Archerina to us."

Jack didn't hesitate. He unbuckled his seatbelt. "You heard him, guys. Let's go."

"Do we trust them?" Z asked, as she and the others moved to follow.

"To do what Power Rangers do and destroy any giant evil robots running around on their planet?" Jack inquired. "Yeah. We trust them. Now move!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Well. Time to see what our new toys can do," Troy said. "Ready, guys?"

The others answered in the affirmative.

**"Keys of Ascension!"** they invoked in unison, the crystal key-wands materializing in their hands. Thrusting them towards the sky, they gave the keys a sharp twist, the tips flaring to life. **"Galwit Mysto Prifior!"**

Four runic circles of glowing, Ranger-colored light appeared in the sky above, spinning as they descended towards the Rangers. As the glyphs passed down through their bodies, they were transformed, their human forms becoming those of robotic-looking beasts, growing to colossal proportions as they passed through the Mythica-seals.

Troy's blue-armored humanoid body became that of a colossal blue horse, its streamlined body trimmed in gold, matching its short, stiff mane. A pair of miniature wings grew from its back, and there was a small blaster on its forehead, almost like a horn.

_**Unforgiving as ice! Mythica Pegasus!**_

Terina's slight form was converted into a beast not immediately recognizable by most, a creature something between a dragon and a unicorn. Its design was almost identical to Troy's, but for the color and shape of its head. It had no wings, but like Pegasus, it pawed at the ground with four enormous cloven hooves.

_**Shifting as the sands! Mythica Kirin!**_

Angel's large frame became a colossal metal monster that looked like a cross between a dog and a lion. Great armored plates covered its body, and a large, spherical green gem sat atop its back like a dome.

_**Deep as the shadows! Mythica Fu!**_

Kalen's cloaked body didn't just grow…it erupted upwards in a burst of great flaming wings, purple metallic feathers fanning out as she soared overhead. Her head was tapered, crested in the back, and her golden beak, like her talons, was lethally sharp. Her long, elegant tail fanned out behind her like that of a peacock.

_**Sharp as paper! Mythica Phoenix!**_

The four paused to examine their new forms.

_Not bad, _Troy commented, flexing his wings, his words echoing as thoughts in the minds of his fellow Rangers.

_Not bad at all, _Terina agreed.

_'Sharp as Paper'? _Kalen repeated to herself, craning her long, slender neck to examine her tail. _What in the…_

_Shall we see what they can do? _Angel suggested, pawing at the sand.

The four beasts turned to face the giant Archerina, who calmly shoved aside the newly vacated Delta Megazord and nocked an arrow, drawing a bead on the Mythica beasts.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

B-Squad paused as the Rangers transformed, staring up in awe at the massive metallic beasts they had become.

"Woah," Jack whispered.

"Suddenly really glad we decided to let those guys off with a warning," Bridge agreed.

The sounds of forced entry drew their attention to the Dekabase, where COGS and Krybots were tearing enormous holes in the Dekabase's hull.

"Let's get to work," Sky said tersely, cocking his Delta Enforcer.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Diskette let out a low whistle from her speakers.

"Gotta hand it to Kite," she said. "He does good work."

"I thought there was supposed to be a dragon," Zoey said, sounding disappointed. She frowned down at the images in the reflecting pool, now that it was available for use again. "I wanted to see that one."

"Oh, quit whining," Diskette admonished. "We're winning."

"Hey. I just shed my skin for these guys. I think I deserve to see a dragon Zord that doesn't look like something out of a lame Godzilla movie."

Diskette snorted. "Like shedding your skin is new to you. You've been dropping little pink scales all over the ship since the day you showed up."

"At least I don't smell like hoverjet exhaust and machine lubricant."

"At least _I _don't smell like sulfur and lizard droppings," the droid retorted.

"Souped-up soup can."

"Overgrown reptile."

"Recycle-bin fodder."

"Carnivore-bait."

"Scrapheap."

"Meatsack."

There was a pause.

"This is _so_ much more fun when I can hear you talking back," Diskette said happily.

"Oh, I agree," Zoey replied, smirking over at the drone.

Shayla shook her head. "Children," she swore to herself, smiling.

A cold wind blew through the temple, wiping the smile from the princess' face. She turned in the direction of the Oasis, running her fingers along her pendant.

"Something's wrong," she said softly.

Zoey and Diskette exchanged troubled glances.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox's eyes went wide as she entered yet another room of Zedd's endless palace. Dozens of shining crystal orbs floated in lazy circles through the air, each one a different color, orbiting a pedestal in the center of the room.

Inching her way inside and closing the door behind her, she reached out and caught one as it drifted by. Examining it closely, she caught sight of a tiny armadillo, sealed in the center of the bright pink sphere.

_Our Zords, _she realized. _This is where they went…_

Releasing the orb, which immediately resumed its floating, She did a quick count and realized that almost all of them were here…all thirteen Wild Zords, and six of the seven available Dinozords. The only one that seemed to be missing was Myk's Eagle.

Two of the orbs, she noticed, seem to be trying to drift towards her…both of which appeared to be her color, a green-mottled-brown. Reaching out, she plucked them from the air. One contained the tiny figure of a crocodile, the other a miniature deer.

Smiling at the warmth that flowed up her arms from the crystals, she held them up happily.

"Hello," she said. "Did you miss me?"

With a sparkle, the Crocodile crystal vanished, melting into a stream of glittering green-brown light that flowed up her arm and infused her body, seeming to settle into her very bones. A profound feeling of being whole surged through her as she realized that she and her Zord had been reunited.

Tucking the Deer crystal into her pocket, and wondering if she had enough room in her pockets to carry them all out of here, she approached the pedestal. Standing atop it was a fist-sized green gem, flawlessly cut and polished and somehow balanced on its point, the flat surface on top shaped like a four-pointed star.

She was in the process of reaching out for it when a sudden voice stopped her, causing her to jump.

"I wouldn't touch that."

The voice came from a girl who stood near the entrance to the room opposite the one she herself had used. The girl was stunningly pretty, dressed head to toe in bronze armor. There was a predatory gleam in the eyes of her asian-featured face.

"After all, It's not wise to handle magical artifacts when you don't know what they're for," she finished, striding forward, her walk that of a carnivore stalking its prey.

"I don't believe we've met," Fox said, moving to the side, keeping the stone pedestal between herself and the stranger.

"No, we haven't," the girl agreed. "How rude of me. Scorpina," she bowed. "At your service. And you…"

"Kimberly Arwen Genevieve Miranda Catherine Foxtooth," Fox replied.

"Truly." Scorpina's face registered genuine surprise.

"Yep."

"I think I liked it better when I just thought of you as 'Intruder'."

Fox loosened up her shoulders and cracked her neck. "Can we fight now?" She asked plaintively.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Angel leapt in, swiping with an enormous metal paw, but Archerina leapt back, dodging the blow and countering with a swipe of her enormous pink sword.

The Gray Ranger managed to jerk his head to the side, catching the blade between his canine/leonine teeth, but the force of her swing was still enough to lift the enormous Fu up off the ground and send him flying through the air.

There was a colossal slam of metal against metal as his Mythica body collided with the side of the Dekabase, the entire building rocking on the less-than-stable, sandy beach. His armor scraped the building's walls as he slid to the sand.

He rose to his four golden paws, shaking his enormous head.

Terina and Troy charged the enormous pink droid from either side, kicking at her with their forehooves, but they were still unsteady, unused to their new forms, and Archerina twirled her blade, easily knocking their slender legs out from under them. As they fell, Archerina leapt forward, raising her blade to smite the still-reeling Angel.

An earsplitting avian screech split the air, and the next thing the monarch knew, Kalen was on her, her enormous wingspan filling her entire field of vision as the Phoenix pecked at her face and tore at her plating with its talons.

_I hate hooves, _Troy muttered telepathically, struggling to rise.

_Tell me about it, _Terina agreed.

The two regained their footing…er, hoofing…and faced the giant robot, who was still struggling to throw off the enormous phoenix.

_**Pegasus Iceblast!**_

From Troy's eyes erupted an iridescent neon-blue beam, swirling with white fog, that struck Archerina's legs, encasing them in an enormous crystal of ice.

Suddenly unable to move her feet, Archerina lost her balance and fell over backwards, Kalen still clawing at her face. A wild swing of the pink android's sword came a bit too close for comfort, and the Phoenix broke off, flying off and circling to gain altitude.

_We get special attacks? No one told me we get special attacks!_ Terina cried. _What's mine, what's mine? Um…__**Kirin Sandstorm!**_

A blinding cyclone of beach sand whipped up from nowhere, lifting the still-immobilized Archerina and throwing her towards the ocean.

_Not bad_, Troy conceded.

_Thanks._

The zords returned their attention to the fight, facing Archerina as she staggered at the water's edge, flailing as she desperately tried to keep from falling in.

_Anyone else catch that? _Kalen called from the air.

_Someone can't handle the water, _Terina confirmed, satisfaction in her mental voice.

Pawing at the sand with its hooves, the Mythica Kirin rushed at the android, ramming her with the metal crest atop its head.

Shrieking with something surprisingly close to terror, Archerina tumbled, falling over into the ocean.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Nova Sniper…Maximum Burn,"** Nova intoned, the barrels of her blaster snapping out to full length and the sight popping up. The gun made high-pitched powering-up noises as it built up a charge.

**"Arctic Axe…Cosmic Cannon,"** Electra countered, summoning her black battleaxe and reversing it into its blaster-configuration.

The two circled each other, blasters trained on one another's head.

"Put the gun down Sophie," Electra begged. "You're….you're malfunctioning. But we can fix you. I'm your friend, remember? We saved you from SPD? Brought you to our floating island? Fixed your arm?"

Nova tilted her head curiously, wondering what in the name of alternating current this human was babbling about.

"I've never seen you before," she said.

Electra frowned, put off by the certainty of Sophie's tone.

"It was just yesterday…don't you remember?"

"I was built on an assembly line by Archerina, Queen of the Machine Empire," She countered. "I was finished this morning. I don't know why you think I'm the same Sophie who apparently let you repair her in the past, but it couldn't have been me."

"They've played with your mind, Sophie," Electra insisted. "Archerina kidnapped you from our friend's bookstore, remember?"

Something sparked in Nova's head.

"_She's hiding something," Terina declared. "Why should we protect her when she obviously can't be trusted?"_

_"I can't believe we're even discussing this," Electra protested. "This girl came to us for help. And we want to just fork her over to people who ordered our execution? And what's wrong with YOU?" Electra demanded, glaring at Terina. "Since when are you so cold?"_

_"She's a robot," Terina repeated. "For all we know, SPD wants it because Ichthior stole it from them in the first place."_

_"Oh, so now she's an it?"_

_"She's ALWAYS been an it!"_

Sophie shook her head, automatically running a quick diagnostic…only to find that her self-diagnostic subroutines had been disabled. Puzzled, she tried to check the time and date on the fragment of memory file that had just played in her head, only to find it missing. Her system had no records of it ever having existed.

Confused, she brought her hands to the sides of her helmet.

"What…what are you _doing_ to me?" she demanded.

Electra lowered her Cannon slightly and took a step forward. "Sophie…it's not me. It was Archerina. She…"

"Stop calling me Sophie!" the android screamed, her arm jerking forward to train her Sniper's aim on the Black Rangers faceplate once again. Electra stopped short, her weapon likewise assuming its position.

"My name is Nova," the mechanical Ranger insisted. "Archerina is my mother. She created me. She gave me purpose. She…"

_The bell above the door jingled as it opened, letting another customer into the store._

"_Welcome to Kobeki Books. How can I help-" Beth froze when she saw who'd just walked in._

_Sophie looked over at her ruefully, her face the picture of sorrow. _

"_I had nowhere else to go," she said sadly._

Nova screamed, dropping her blaster and clutching at her helmet again.

"Sophie, _please_ let me help you," the Black Ranger begged. She dispelled her axe, which vanished with a flash, and took a few more steps towards the pained machine.

"No!" Nova cried, the Nova Sniper flying back up into her grip again with a hum of electromagnetic energy. It drew a bead on Electra's chest as though laser-guided, its sight projecting a tiny green dot over her heart. "Stay away from me! You're the one corrupting my files…You're the enemy!"

There was a pause.

"Then why haven't you fired yet, Sophie?" Electra asked. "Why are you talking to me instead of fighting?"

Nova shook her head desperately, her entire body shaking.

Electra hesitated, then demorphed, a flash of magically black light briefly illuminating the corners of the room.

"It's because you know I'm telling the truth. You know I'm your friend."

"Are you insane?" Nova demanded, now sounding horrified. "Stay _away_! I'll _kill_ you!"

"No, you won't," the blue-haired girl insisted. She continued to approach until the barrel of Nova's gun was pressed against her chest. "Whether you know it or not, you're _my _friend, too." Electra smiled, shaking her head. "You won't hurt me."

Nova lowered her head, still shaking, and it seemed as though she was ready to collapse at any moment.

"E…Electra?" she asked softly.

"Yes, Sophie?"

Nova's helmeted head snapped up, suddenly steady as a rock.

"You're wrong," she said coldly, and fired.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kat Ranger and Omega Ranger danced nimbly around the cloaked Stranger as his shining blade flew around him in blinding patterns, doing their best not to be decapitated.

Kay flicked out her claws and made a swipe at him, but he effortlessly caught her hand by the wrist.

"Ah-ah-ah," he chastised, wagging a finger at her, then planted a foot against her abdomen and spun sideways in midair, twisting her off her feet and, with a kick, sent her flying, spinning, into the wall.

**"Cryo Mode,"** Omega activated, twisting the throttle of her morpher.

She fired a blast of icy energy from her fist, freezing the Stranger solid in an instant.

"I _love_ this thing," she mused to Kat, as the feline alien rose back to her feet.

A blast rang out from nearby, followed by a strangled cry. The two Rangers looked over to see Electra fall to the ground with a gaping, gory hole through her chest, Nova Ranger holding the smoking gun. The android looked stunned by her own actions, not moving.

"Lecca!" Beth cried. She held a hand over her mouthplate, trying to quell the vomit-rising sensation, the cold horror growing in her bones. Being a Ranger was a lot less fun, she decided, once you saw the blood. "We've got to help her," she said immediately. "Isn't there anything you can do?"

Kat shook her head. "We can avenge her," she offered.

"Not good enough!" Beth demanded. "You people have giant cars and lasers and come from outer space….you tellin' me you ain't got a clinic in this base?"

"Beth and I will keep the Nova Ranger occupied," Cruger said. "Kat, get that Ranger to the medbay. Now. Do whatever you can for her."

Kat turned to him, baffled. "But sir…"

"Now!" the Sirian demanded, rushing forward and delivering a flying kick to the side of Nova's head, knocking her away from Electra's prone figure.

Shaking her head at the notion of desperately trying to save someone that had been slated for termination just yesterday, Kat rushed in and picked up the Black Ranger's (_corpse) _body , rising to her feet, her boots slipping (_blood)_ as she rose and ran rushing from the room.

Her armored feet made loud, echoing footsteps that rang throughout the empty _(tomb) _walls of the station as she raced through the nearly empty building towards the _(never gonna make it)_ medbay.

After what seemed an eternity (_way too late), _Kat got where she was going and laid the _(blood everywhere) _inert Ranger on one of the slabs.

"Swan?" she called, opening her comlink. "Get to the medbay immediately. We have an emergency."

"On my way," Swan said confidently.

Kat breathed a sigh of almost-relief. Swan would help. She was good with this sort of thing. The whole biological aspect. Kat mostly handled the tech.

While she waited _(girl's already dead) _Kat went through the pointless motions of running the diagnostic scanner over…what was her name? Lecra? Lycra?

_Gaping hole through the chest. You don't say, _Kat thought, studying the readout.

The doors swooshed open. "I'm here. What's…holy shit," Swan said, rushing to the bedside. She gaped for a moment. "This girl has no heart," she stated flatly.

"I'd noticed," Kat said dryly.

"Kat…we…she's _gone_," Swan said, shaking her head sadly. "There's no way…even if we HAD a spare heart lying around, she'd never stay viable long enough to transplant."

Kat nodded sadly. "Yeah...I figured. I-"

Something on the readout drew her attention.

"Swan…take a look at this."

The other tech came to stand beside Kat, examining the printout. "She…has a chip in her head?"

"Not just any chip…a synthorganic chip. The most sophisticated communications device I've ever seen." Kat fiddled with the controls on her helmet, trying to scan the girl's chip. "If she has access to that sort of technology, then maybe _it_ can help her." Kat continued fiddling. "I can lock down the frequency…got it!" she announced triumphantly. "Hello? Can anyone hear me? This is Dr. Kat Manx of Space Patrol Delta…"

"Greetings, Dr. Manx," a deep, cultured voice responded in her ear. "This is Zord-1, primary computer of the Eltarian flagship Oasis. What can I do for-"

"We have an injured girl down here…one of yours, I think. Black clothes, pale skin, blue hair…"

"Electra?" Zord-1's voice suddenly lost all traces of humor. "Please stand by…"

Both Kat and Swan jumped in alarm as bright light flashed all around them, their surroundings changing dramatically.

They suddenly found themselves in a sophisticated medical facility. The floors beneath their feet hummed with electrical activity and the air had the distinctive smell of having been run through at atmosphere recycler.

"Where are we?" Kat demanded.

They both jumped again as a spherical eye on a mechanical arm descended from the ceiling to observe them.

"You are in the medbay of the Oasis. Please stand by…"

Lights switched on at one end of the room, and they turned to see Electra's prone form lying on a padded slab.

"Can you save her?" Swan asked, she and Kat approaching the slab.

"We can keep her alive for a time," Zord-1 replied, the arm following them along tracks in the ceiling.

Both sets of eyes went wide as the girl's blood began to circulate within her chest again, flowing from veins and arteries to float inside the empty cavity. The mass of floating fluid assumed the size and shape of a human heart, much of the fluid turning blue, the shape beating in perfect rhythm. If a person's heart and part of her chest had been rendered completely transparent, with only the blood left visible, it would have looked something like this.

"That's amazing," Swan said, glancing over at Zord-1. "How…?"

"I am using forcefields to simulate a pump-and-valve chamber to circulate her blood," the computer replied. "However, the medbay's anti-intruder systems were not intended for such a complex application. I estimate that I can only maintain this effect for approximately four minutes and thirty-eight seconds before the ionic relays overload and burn out, causing the forcefields to fail."

"What happens after that?" Kat asked.

There was an imperceptible pause while Zord-1 calculated their options. "I can place her into stasis," he offered. "However, in her current condition, this would be unsafe. If she were not removed from stasis and her blood made to properly circulate again within three minutes, she will suffer irreversible brain damage due to lack of oxygen."

"Just clone her a new heart," Swan suggested. "That shouldn't take more than five minutes or so."

"You can make it with two minutes to spare," Kat agreed.

There was a pause. "Unable. The Oasis is not a medical vessel. While we have the necessary resources to clone tissues, entire organs are beyond our capacity."

Kat and Swan exchanged glances. "The biolab," they said together.

"We can get you a heart," Kat assured the computer. "Send us back."

"You will need a sample of Electra's DNA…" Zord-1 began.

Kat held up her gloved hands, both of which were still covered in the Black Ranger's blood.

"That'll do," the computer conceded, teleporting both of them back to the Dekabase's medbay in a flash.

Swan ran to the closet and procured a cryocase, and tossing it to Kat as she rushed out the door.

"Good luck," she whispered.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**"Crocodile,"** Fox invoked. To her immense relief, it worked, her human form being replaced by her Ranger body in a flash. She didn't feel up to full strength yet, but still…it had worked!

Drawing her Thundermax blasters, she leveled them at Scorpina, only to have the girl raise a finger. "Not here," the bronze-armored woman suggested. "Don't want to damage the Zords or the Chaos Emerald."

Scorpina calmly strode to the door as Fox stood there, dumbfounded.

"Well?" Scorpina said, holding the door open. "Shall we?"

Shaking her head, Fox lowered her guns and strolled out of the room.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Doggie got in a few hits before Sophie regained her senses, raising her hands in his direction and activating her electromagnetic powers, sending every metal object in the room that wasn't bolted down hurtling at him. The Shadow Ranger was rapidly buried underneath an ever-growing pile of scrap.

Omega Ranger approached the android angrily.

"I can't believe you'd _do_ that," she growled. "She was your friend."

"Oh, now don't _you_ start," Nova said, raising her gun and delivering a rapid-fire volley of blasts in her direction.

Omega's hand moved faster than the eye could follow, not a single one of Nova's blasts actually hitting her.

Nova paused, tilting her head curiously as Beth held out her fist and opened her fingers, allowing innumerable little glowing beads to fall to the ground.

"Yeah, that's right," Beth said. "Girl can catch bullets. What else you got?"

"Those weren't bullets," Nova argued.

"Well…laser-pellets then. Whatever."

"'Laser pellets'? Nova repeated. "That has to be the _dumbest _thing I've ever heard."

Beth revved her throttle, channeling energy into her fist.

"All out of quips?" Nova taunted. "Good. Talk was beginning to bore me, anyway."

Moving with lightning speed, Nova blasted a pipe above Beth's head, causing steam to shoot down into her face. Blinded, the Omega Ranger was unable to dodge as Nova rushed forward, delivering a flurry of blows to her solar plexus and finishing the combo with a kick to the chest.

Omega flew back, sparks flying from her feet as she skidded to a halt. As Nova pressed her advantage, leaping forward and continuing to swing, Beth dodged, once again marveling at the enhancements her armor provided to her speed and agility. Ducking and weaving, Omega neatly evaded Nova's strikes until she saw her opening. Then, with one quick motion, she slammed the palm of her still-energized hand against Nova's helmet, shattering her ultraglass visor and causing the Dekametal to crumple. Her helmet destroyed, Nova's head recoiled, the android Ranger falling onto her back, some of the synthetic flesh stripped from her face. She lay on the ground, unmoving, one eye tightly closed and the other reduced to little more than a high-tech camera lens, a damaged optic sensor made of metal and crystal.

Beth sighed, not feeling very victorious for someone who'd just won. She stepped over to the fallen android and knelt down next to her, gently running one of her gloved hands along the girl's damaged face.

"Sophie…," she began sadly.

Sophie's remaining eye snapped open, her face contorting in cold fury. The Accellular on her right wrist sprang to life, and before Beth could react, Nova moved with all the speed of an android, planting the anti-Ranger device against her stomach. There was a massive surge of electrical discharge that melted its way through Beth's armor, sending a pulse of voltage through her body that was just this side of fatal.

Beth collapsed to the ground as Nova rose to her feet, dusting herself off fastidiously. Slowly, deliberately, the Nova Ranger drew her weapon, leveling at the Omega Ranger's head.

"Looks like you-"

Nova's next word would have been "Lose", but before she got that far, Beth demorphed, her armor vanishing in a burst of data…and Sophie saw her opponent's face for the first time.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

In the shadows nearby, a cloaked figure watched the battle between Nova and Omega, idly wondering how long before his intervention would be necessary.

Something moved, quickly and quietly behind him, but not quietly enough. Sensing an attack, he spun, swinging his sword.

There was a loud clang of metal as the Stranger's dazzling blade's flight was brought to an early halt, a brief shower of sparks raining down to the floor.

"Hello there," the Stranger said, eyeing the Shadow Ranger, whose weapon was crossed with his own.

Three more deafening clangs rang out, though the blades moved so fast it was hard to tell that they'd moved at all.

"Good," the cloaked figure said, sounding impressed. "Very good. Now, try this…"

Five clangs this time, the shadows dancing violently as the Stranger's sword, the brightest light source in the room, flashed through the air.

"Most impressive. A bit slow defending your left side, though….you may wish to work on that."

"Who are you?" Doggie growled, as the two drew back and began to circle one another.

"Me? No one of consequence," the wolf-masked Stranger replied. "Just the future ruler of this and all possible worlds, exterminator of the race of man, et cetera, et cetera…" He stuck the tip of his sword din the ground and leaned against it, tilting his head. "And yourself?"

"I'm the one who makes sure that doesn't happen."

"Ah." The Stranger now sounded disappointed. "Another one of _those_."

"I am Anubis Cruger," Shadow Ranger added.

"Ah! Commander Cruger. Last of the Syrians. The Guard Dog of Hell. I've heard of you." There was a smile in the Stranger's voice as the two began to circle one another. "They say you're unbeatable." The light of the Stranger's sword surged still brighter, as though it was glowing with joy at the thought of fighting a worthy opponent at last. "Let's put it to the test."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kat rushed into the biolab, her blood-and-dust covered boots screeching to a halt.

There were only the ten growth tubes, and she'd need to use one. Moving as quickly as she could, she checked the stats on each specimen and some quick mental math. SPD-B-JL8 was the currently active Ranger least likely to reach fatal burnout before they could grow another replacement.

Sighing, she approached the tube containing SPD-B-JL9.

"Sorry, Jack," she said. "Nothing personal." Striking a few keys, she terminated life support and flushed the specimen, sending it to the incinerators. "Two months of carefully observed and nurtured genetic engineering, down the drain," she muttered, quickly moving to the DNA scanner they regularly used on the Rangers. "I hope you appreciate this, Electra." She made a quick mental note to design a system that could digitally store a DNA pattern, or to at least preserve a few cells from the earliest models she could…this business of making each clone from the last was a bad idea. Each successive model burned out earlier and had more flaws than the last.

But later for that. She placed her blood-covered hand against the scanner, letting the green laser-light play over her palm. While her armored glove shielded her own DNA from the sensors, the DNA from Electra's blood was quickly scanned into the system.

Immediately, something began to form in the center of the tank. Kat adjusted the controls, restricting the growth to cardiac cells, making sure that only the heart was cloned.

Question was…would it be finished in time?

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Not for the first time, Cruger wound up flipping end-over-end and landing flat on his back as the cloaked swordsman tossed him effortlessly.

Kicking back up to his feet, Anubis ran a hand along his blade, charging it with power.

**"Vega Impulse!"** he invoked, his feet skimming across the ground as his power propelled him forward, bringing his blade around in a dazzling slash…

…which the Stranger simply caught in his bare hand, the energy on the blade fizzling out abruptly. With a twist, the Stranger snatched the Shadow Saber from its owner, sending it flipping into the air and neatly catching it by the handle with his free hand. With his own weapon, he quickly butted Cruger in the stomach with the pommel, then snapped his leg up, kicking the Shadow Ranger beneath the chin and sending him stumbling back.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask…why do all you Rangers shout out your attacks before you execute them? It's like you _want _your opponent to know what you're about to do. Quite stupid, really."

Anubis caught his breath, straightened out, and glared at the Stranger…then blinked in surprise as his sword was tossed back to him, catching it reflexively.

"Now, give it another try, and this time, keep your mouth shut, hmm?"

Growling deeply, the Shadow Ranger instead stamped hard on the ground, sending a section of the floor grating flipping end-over-end into the air, then with a sideways kick, sent it flying at the Stranger.

The wolf-masked figure's shining sword effortlessly passed through the steel grating, but one of the two halves nonetheless struck his shoulder as it passed…the first blow Shadow Ranger had managed to land.

To Anubis' surprise, the Stranger began to laugh. "Now that's more like it!" he said. "Creativity. The element of surprise. I honestly did _not_ see that one coming. Well done, Cruger."

Shadow Ranger rushed forward again, the blows from his blade ringing out as the cloaked stranger parried them all.

"All in all, though, you disappoint me, Commander. I expected more of the infamous Guard Dog of Hell. You're not much better than a common human." The Stranger caught a glimpse of Nova and Omega from the corner of his eye, noticing for the first time that Beth had been defeated. "Ah…and it seems as though my attention is required elsewhere. I'm afraid I'll have to cut this short…no pun intended."

A line of fire cut through Anubis' shoulder, and he dropped his sword, clutching his shoulder in pain, falling to his knees as his left arm landed on the metal floor several feet away.

"Aaah!"

"See now, what did I say about your left side?" the Stranger taunted. White lightning lanced out from the point of his blade, a powerful surge of energy that raced through Anubis' body, the pain overloading his nervous syetem. His Shadow Ranger armor vanished in a burst of digital data, flowing back into his morpher. Fangs bared, head swimming with pain, he clutched at the stump of his left arm and tried to focus his blurring vision on the cloaked figure before him.

"But since you've been such a sport…and since you're not one of those pathetic monkeys…I'll let you live. After all…" Here the Stranger delivered a solid thump to Anubis' skull with the pommel of his sword, knocking him out cold and sending him sprawling to the ground. "You've got potential."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"B-Squad, fan out!" Jack yelled, as he and his Rangers entered the Dekabase in pursuit of the machines. "Make sure none of them reach the ops center!"

"Jack, something's wrong," Z said, looking around. "Where is everyone? The lower levels…they should be full of people. The engineers, the cadets…where are they?"

"They must have evacuated," the Pink Ranger surmised.

"But it looks like no one's been down here in…ever," Bridge objected.

"We'll work it out later. Split up. Sky, take Bridge and Syd. Z, you're with me. Keep in touch. Go!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I….Beth?" Nova asked, what remained of her face screwed up in confusion. Why did she feel like she knew this person? She'd just been built this morning, she was fresh off the assembly line…her mother had told her as much. How, then, could she and this girl have possibly met before?

"_I can unravel the riddle of your existence, young one. I can help you discover why you are hounded by patrols, and unwelcome wherever you go. Come with me."_

"_She stays," Beth growled._

_There was a glimmer of pink as an angular, high-tech bow appeared in Archerina's hand, then another as it transformed into a sword. She pointed it at Beth._

"_I said I would not kill you," she said. "But I will remove that offensive tongue of yours if you do not let her speak for herself."_

Shaking her head, trying to throw off the confusing images, Nova primed her gun, this time pressing the barrel right against Beth's temple. She put all the willpower she had into pulling the trigger and just ending this, already.

"_I'm not going with anyone who'd threaten my only friend. I'm staying with Beth."_

"Rrrrgh!" Nova growled. She backed away from the figure on the ground and began pacing back and forth. Again and again, she tried, but each time another inexplicable vision stopped her.

"Problem?" the cloaked figure asked, approaching.

"I…" Nova said hesitantly. She looked helplessly over at the Stranger. "I can't kill her."

"Out of ammo?"

"No. I just…I don't _want_ to kill her," she said, sounding more confused about that fact than anything.

"Well," the cloaked figure said. "We don't _have_ to kill her."

"We don't?" Nova asked hopefully.

"No," the Stranger said. "She could be…useful."

The Stranger reached up and removed his wolf-mask, walking over to where Nova stood over the unconscious girl. He rested his hand on hers, which still held the Nova Sniper pointed at Beth's head.

"Put it away," he suggested softly. "Let me handle this."

Nova took a step back and holstered her gun through the back of her belt, watching intently as the Stranger knelt over Beth.

"Time to wake up, friend," he said, gently placing the wolf mask over the girl's face, then rising and stepping back to stand near Sophie.

For a moment, nothing happened…then white light began to play around the edges of the mask, sealing it to the girl's face, shafts of brilliance pouring from the mask's eyes. The girl's body, inert before, suddenly sprang to life, contorting in pain, an earsplitting scream echoing down the halls of the station.

And, his face made ghastly by the contrast of brilliant light and shadows, the Stranger smiled.


	92. Machinations: Endgame

_Author's Note: See? New chapter! NOT ABANDONED!_

_It's been a while…a long while…so a lot of you might want to back up and re-read a bit to get back into the groove of the story…and with that in mind, I took the opportunity to go back and update, edit, proofread, change a few things. Nothing major, plot-wise, but a lot of little details have been…altered. _

_Yes, Jared's name is now Troy. The real-life person who inspired Jared's character chose it himself, and I agreed because he knows where I live and, at some point over the last 20 years or so…not sure when exactly…the little bastard managed to actually get bigger than me. I take no responsibility for it._

_Also, anyone who's curious about what the Rangers who got lost in Oz have been up to can find out by reading Jareth's blog. He's on Livejournal, under the name goldlionranger._

Power Rangers Nexus

Chapter 92: Machinations: Endgame

A dark figure approached Zedd's back as he stood on his balcony, beams of red light shining down from his visor as he observed the battle on the beach.

"I'm curious," the figure intoned, his cape swishing around his feet as he stepped into the light.

"Are you." Zedd didn't turn his glowing eyes from the fight down below.

"Yes. How did your brother-in-law come to learn Vile's dimension-cutting technique?"

"Vile taught him, of course. He's Vile's son. Although he goes by 'Vile' these days."

The Magna Defender tilted his head curiously. "You married Vile's daughter?"

"Don't sound so shocked, Mahan," Zedd replied. "The age difference ceases to matter after the first few centuries."

"I'm more shocked that Vile _had _a daughter, to be honest."

"Why not? You had a son."

The Magna Defender's mood darkened.

"No hard feelings over that, I trust?" Zedd asked lightly.

For a moment, the Magna Defender neither moved nor spoke. Finally, he replied, "Hard feelings profit no one."

"Happy to hear it."

Another pause.

"Incidentally, if you're here, who's guarding Magna?"

Mahan didn't answer.

"Tell me you didn't leave the vault unprotected," Zedd said.

Still no answer.

"Interesting. Very interesting. I may just have to make a little trip to Hayden after this Nexus business is over."

"The contents of that vault are not for the likes of you, Zedd."

"It seems to me as though you've given up any right to say that, now haven't you?" Zedd accused. "Besides, better me that someone who doesn't have a clue how to use them."

Another pause.

"How are the others these days? The old team?" the Defender asked.

Now Zedd cut the lights from his eyes and turned to face him.

"Well, let's go down the list." He started ticking names off on his fingers. "Barza is trapped in a time warp, forced to send packs of children to fight his battles for him. Joryk's gone slightly insane from spending the last few millennia alone, pacing around the bottom of a flowerpot. Ivan got locked in an egg for a few millennia, and when he was finally released, he got struck by a comet, and is now floating aimlessly through the Milky Way as a cluster of slime globules."

"Ouch," the defender commented.

Zedd waved the sympathies aside. "He had it coming. Bastard turned me into a snow globe. And Dulcea…I'd say Dulcea's the best off of any of us. You know she's actually managed to retain her natural form? Come to think of it, that's probably why she's the only one of us that never bothered to change her name…"

"How did she accomplish THAT?" Mahan asked, bewildered.

"By hiding her Power Coin somewhere, instead of keeping it with her. Of course, she has to stay near it, or crumble to dust. So maybe she's not so well off after all." Now Zedd looked inquiringly at the Magna Defender. "And Mythica? Have you heard from him?"

"Dead," the Magna Defender replied curtly.

"Ah, well. C'est la vie," Zedd replied, not too troubled. He turned his attention back to the fight, the red glow firing up from within his eyes. "Never liked him anyway. 'Never trust a man in pink', my mother always used to say…"

"I remember your mother fondly," Mahan said, turning to walk away. "Her story ended before its time."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So, what's your poison?" Fox asked, as she and Scorpina found a large, more or less empty chamber and stood facing one another. "Sword? Spear? Whip? You strike me as a whip sort of girl."

Scorpina tilted her head curiously. "Not really sure what to make of that comment." She twisted her wrist, a curved sword appearing in her grasp. "Sword. I use a sword."

"Stealth Cutter," Fox invoked, her double-ended sword appearing with a flash. "Well, look at that. So do I."

The two combatants eyed one another appraisingly for a moment…and then, so quickly that neither of them could have said who attacked first, their swords were crossed, magical sparks flying as enchanted blade met enchanted blade.

Scorpina's eyes narrowed as she adjusted to Fox's fighting style. The Camo Ranger wielded her weapon something like a cross between a sword and a quarter staff, attacking with both ends, but using slashing motions instead of blunt strikes. Jumping back, Scorpina allowed a slice aimed at her boots to instead carve a gash into the marble floor.

"You're quick," Fox commented, the dim light glinting of the blades of her Cutter as it twirled through the air between them.

"Not bad yourself." Scorpina parried a downward strike, countering with a blow to Fox's torso that sent the Camo Ranger staggering back. Pressing her advantage, Scorpina leapt in, her body spinning sideways through the air as she performed an elaborate series of slashes, punches, and kicks that looked as much like an intricate dance as it did like an attack.

Fox's Cutter went flying from her hands as one of Scorpina's kicks landed. A line of fire traveled across her stomach as the bronze-armored warrior's scimitar carved a slice into her dark green scale-plating.

Fox gritted her teeth as a kick to her chin sent her sprawling onto her back.

"But I'm better," Scorpina added confidently.

"Think so?" Fox inquired, a circle of faint green light appearing on the floor where her hand touched the marble.

The tiny glimmer immediately faded from sight, going completely unnoticed by Scorpina. The villainess advanced, swinging her blade at the prone Ranger.

Fox convulsed, performing a back-handspring and drawing the Thundermax Blasters from their holsters inside her jacket as she landed. Scorpina's blade, suddenly deprived of its target, sank into the marble.

Grimacing, she braced her leg against the ground to pull it free, inadvertently stepping into the circle of invisible energy Fox had left on the ground. A ring of bright green light immediately lit up, the snare contracting around Scorpina's leg and shooting up into the air, leaving the surprised fighter dangling by her ankle from the ceiling.

Fox chuckled, taking a few steps back and leveling her blasters at her disadvantaged opponent.

Unfortunately for the Camoflage Ranger, Scorpina had kept her grip on the handle of her sword, her sudden flight towards the ceiling providing more than enough upward thrust to pull the blade free from the floor. Fox's blasters fired off a volley of shots, and the upside-down Scorpina let her blade dart back and forth, deflecting them all, the blasts of dark-green light carving pits and scars into the walls and floor of the room. With a growl, she delivered a quick strike to her ankle, shattering the ring of energy. Freed, Scorpina flipped over as she fell, landing neatly on her feet.

A gold sparkle ran along the edge of Scorpina's blade as it changed in shape, becoming longer and more crescent-shaped. Drawing back her arm, she threw it like a boomerang, forcing the Camo Ranger to duck, lest she be decapitated by the keen edge. No sooner had she drawn her head back up than Scorpina was on her, once again appearing as a whirling blur of bronze armor, gashes appearing on Fox's armor as she struck out with the clawed gauntlet on her left arm.

Bolts of light flew from Fox's firearms as she counterattacked, but, as guns were considerably less effective in melee combat, she quickly changed tactics, converting the Thundermax Sabers into their sword-like configurations with a flick of her wrists. The twin blades whirled, flashing through the air like propellers as she used them to deflect Scorpina's strikes.

Fox grinned victoriously as one of her blows finally struck home, a sideways, horizontal slice that caught Scorpina at the waist, right between the plates of her armor. A surge of elation coursed through her she felt her blade penetrate her opponent's body…but it quickly changed to distress when she realized that the texture was all wrong…this was not the way a body should have felt when severed by a blade.

Fox drew back cautiously as Scorpina's body shattered into innumerable fragments of varying sizes, her mouth falling open in disgust as each tiny chunk uncurled, revealing six many-jointed legs and a hooked, segmented tail.

The phalanx of scorpions scuttled across the ground around Fox's combat boots, scurrying around her and forming a new pile some ten feet away. From the ground up, they began forming a pair of columns that joined and became a single trunk. In less than a few seconds, Scorpina had re-formed, smirking, effortlessly catching her blade as it finally completed its circuit around the room and returned to her grasp.

"Okay," Fox said, shaking her head. "Now that's just gross."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Swan gazed anxiously through the viewports on the front of the Dekabase's command deck, eyes on the battle taking place outside between the four enormous Mythica Beasts and the giant Archerina. Every so often she shot a glance down at the internal monitors, keeping an eye on the battle between B-Squad and the machine army, as well as Kat's progress in the biolab. In the back of her head, she was also stressing over what cover story they'd have to give B-Squad to explain the derelict lower levels of the station.

She jumped as the doors to SPD's command center hissed open as the Nova Ranger's armored body strolled through nonchalantly, idly tossing the Accellular from hand to hand.

"Nova," she whispered.

"Well, hello there," Sophie said happily.

Before Swan could so much as open her mouth, the Nova Ranger reached back, drew her blaster, and fired three shots…two through the girl's torso and one through her head.

"Goodbye," she continued, as Swan collapsed, like a puppet whose strings had been severed.

Holstering her gun, Nova nonchalantly kicked the engineer's lifeless body aside. Whistling, she plunked down into the Big Man's chair and tapped a few keys, aiming to bring up the station's self-destruct.

She found something infinitely more interesting.

"DBDS, hmm?" Sophie mused. She tapped a few keys, then frowned, evidently dissatisfied with what she'd seen. "Logarithms incomplete. Poor thing. Well," she smiled beneath her visor, cracking her gauntleted knuckles. "We can fix that."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"And…done!" Kat said triumphantly, as the tissues finished growing, a living, beating heart clearly visible through the bubbling fluid of the biotank.

Dr. Manx quickly released the seals and opened the tank, transferring the heart to her cryocase while it was still viable.

"Computer?" she asked, activating the comlink in her helmet. "It's done."

There was a pause. "I am unable to lock onto it…or you."

"What?"

"I cannot teleport you," Zord-1 clarified.

"Why not?"

"Much of the Oasis was damaged in a crash not long ago, including the sensory apparatus. Without the proximity of Electra's comchip, the ship's scanners are unable to penetrate the Dekabase's hull with sufficient accuracy to isolate-"

"I'll get it outside," Kat interrupted, seizing the case and rushing out the door.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I'm telling you, we're wasting our time," Diskette complained, as she, Shayla, and Zoey passed through the portal that opened just feet away from the Oasis' hull. The access hatched opened automatically before them as they entered the ship. "The Oasis isn't detecting any intruders…"

"_I _detect an intruder," Shayla countered, looking around curiously as the group made its way down the halls. She'd never actually been on the Rangers' ship before…for some reason, she'd been imagining some sort of enormous galleon with wings. But this…thing…was more like a giant, slightly squashed egg, and it appeared to have been wondrously forged as a single piece, no seams or joinery visible anywhere.

Reaching out, she idly ran a hand along the smooth, warm, faintly humming surface of the wall.

"Is this…metal?" she asked in bafflement. "Or flesh?"

"Little of both," Diskette replied. "Mostly neo-titanium, but with semiorganic cells integrated at a molecular level. Helps it to heal minor damage on its own, see?" As she spoke, the droid produced a long, many-jointed metal arm equipped with a curved, sharp blade and made a long, shallow scratch on the wall. Almost immediately, the scratch healed, leaving the wall smooth and pristine once more. "Eltarians were big on synthorganics."

The three of them stopped short, jumping in surprise as a spherical eye abruptly descended from the ceiling in front of them on a mechanical arm.

"What manner of intruder do you detect, princess?" Zord-1 asked.

"Okay, you have _got _to stop doing that," Diskette chastised.

Shayla tried to quell her rapid heartbeat, concurring with the construct. "It's something…familiar, somehow. Not to me, but it…knows this place."

"It would have to, to know how to cloak itself from Zord-1's sensors," Diskette agreed.

"I'd like to know how they're shielding themselves from my telepathy," Zoey muttered. "Apart from Shayla and myself, I can't sense a living thing anywhere on this ship."

"It could be our mysterious Rogue Ranger," Zord-1 began. "Rangers, being pure magic, do not transmit thoughts across telepathic wavelengths."

"It's not," Shayla said, looking away, as everyone peered at her curiously.

"Well, let's think about this," Zoey said. "How many of the Rangers' enemies have ever been inside the ship?"

"That are still active?" Zord-1 qualified, his mechanical arm moving along its track in the ceiling to follow along with the group as they traveled the hall. "And discounting our mysterious Rogue Ranger?" Zord-1 ran the numbers, a process that took but an instant. "One."

"Who?" Shayla asked.

Zoey and Diskette both stopped short, coming to the same realization. They exchanged a worried glance.

"What?" Shayla demanded, witnessing the wordless exchange. "Who is it?"

As if on cue, the nearest door opened and out floated at chest-height a small droid, the size and approximate shape of a squashed soccer ball. It was as if they were looking at a slightly rougher version of Diskette, but with blue plating instead of black.

Realizing that it was not alone, the disk abruptly halted, swiveling to face them.

DECA regarded the three for a moment. They stared back in astonishment.

Without warning, without a word, the droid spun around and darted off in the other direction.

"After her!" Diskette yelled.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kat Ranger's armored boots rang out loudly against the steel-grate floor as she tore down the Dekabase's halls once again, this time in search of the nearest exit….but those same boots quickly screeched to a halt as a shadowy figure stepped out of one of the nearby rooms, stopping in the middle of the hall and turning sharply to face down Kat.

Kat's eyes narrowed as she surveyed the strange character. It was clearly female, covered in black leather armor, her face bearing a vague resemblance to the wolf-mask the shrouded figure from the lower levels had worn. A long mane of smooth, snow-white hair emerged from the back of her wolflike head, reaching all the way down to her waist. Her eyes shone like golden lanterns, and a long, spiral horn grew from her forehead.

A long, elegant katana was clutched in her right hand, and it was this that she held before her challengingly.

Kat sighed, gently placing the cryocase down on the floor at her feet.

"I do NOT have time for this," she muttered.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Gotta say, I am impressed," Fox said. "Most people are dead by now."

"How's the saying go again?" Scorpina wondered, smirking. "'You ain't seen nothin' yet.'"

"Neither have you. Check this one out," the Camo Ranger shot back, vanishing from sight.

"Invisibility," Scorpina said, sounding slightly impressed. "Not very original, but tried-and-true. Wait…no. Not invisibility. Camouflage. You're just blending, aren't you?" She frowned, peering around the room. "But that shouldn't hold up so well under scrutiny. A passing glance, sure, but…Why can't I see you?"

A well-placed kick found Scorpina's posterior, prompting her to stumble forward. She quickly regained her footing, spinning around and slashing at the air behind her, but Fox had already moved on.

"I'm not really sure how it works," Fox's voice admitted. "Magic, I suppose."

Scorpina rolled her eyes. "Well, I can trump this one. But if you thought my last trick was gross…"

So saying, she reared back her head, took a deep breath, and made as though to scream, but instead of sound, a thick jet of orange goo squirted forth from her throat. With a jerk of her head, she sent the stream of liquid spraying out in a wide ark…part of which splashed against an object that could not be seen.

"Eugh!" Fox exclaimed, fading back into visibility, a trail of slime coating her front. "That's disgusting! You spit _slime_?"

"In many varieties," Scorpina said, wiping the corner of her mouth almost daintily. "Acid, adhesive, fast-hardening resin…but you're okay. That was just brightly colored, smelly goo."

"Okay, I get why a species would have the others, but why the plain goo?" the Camo Ranger demanded, trying without success to brush the slime off her armor. "Or are you some kind of magical monster, and not an alien at all?"

"I am a natural creature that has been magically enhanced," Scorpina replied. "The slime is for territorial markings. And before you ask, no, I don't intend to keep you. I've had humans as pets before…the novelty wears off but the mess remains."

Fox leapt at the girl, swinging her double-ended blade, and Scorpina parried without difficulty.

"Although once you're dead, I may devour your corpse," she continued. "Less wasteful that way." She gracefully leaned her upper body back, allowing a sweep of Fox's weapon to pass over her harmlessly. "I'll say this much for your species…you go well with ketchup."

Fox shook her head. "You know, I was just going to kick your ass and leave, but now I think I just might kill you."

"Well, there's a refreshing attitude. You wouldn't believe how many Rangers out there get all squeamish over the idea of killing their enemies," the fighter replied, parrying another strike. "One wonders what they imagine their swords are _for_."

"I know what _my_ toys are for."

"Then prove it."

Fox's gaze shifted slightly, her body language registering shock as she peered over Scorpina's shoulder. "Zedd," she whispered in horror.

Scorpina turned in surprise to see…an empty doorway.

In the blink of an eye, Fox leapt into the air and slashed at the ceiling, causing the rough-hewn granite to cave in, rubble collapsing onto the bronze-armored warrior and partially burying her.

"I cannot _believe _you fell for that one," Fox said, vanishing her Cutter and placing her hands on her hips. She calmly strode over and kicked Scorpina's sword, which had fallen from her grasp, neatly out of the woman's reach.

"Neither can I," Scorpina grudgingly admitted, coughing a bit in the dust-filled air. She struggled to pull herself free from the heavy debris that had completely covered her lower half.

"Well, it's been fun," the Camo Ranger said. "But I really do need to be off. Later!"

"There you are!"

Fox spun around, spying Rito in the very doorway through which she'd been about to exit.

"Rito! Don't let her escape!" Scorpina commanded.

"Woah. Hey. What happened to you? I keep tellin' Ed to get some real contractor's in here. Buildin' a place by magic's a lot faster, I know, but it's just not reliable."

Fox rushed over to Rito, pressing a small object into his hands.

"Here, hold this for me," she said.

"Huh? Oh, sure, no problem," the skeleton replied, as she scurried through the door behind him.

"Rito!" Scorpina cried in aggravation, gesturing after the Ranger.

"What?" Then, realizing what he'd just allowed to happen, "Oh. Sorry. Uh, should I go after her? Or do you need a hand getting' outta that?"

Scorpina sighed, shaking her head.

"Help me out of this, then _I _will go after her. You can't be trusted to chase down a….What. Is. _That_?"

"Hmm? Beats me," Rito replied, looking down at the spherical device in his hand. It was dark, olive-green, its surface covered with tiny etched rectangles, like a pineapple.

Scorpina placed her head in her hands.

"Oh, you stupid-"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fox paused in her escape, her black combat boots scraping to a halt, leaving trails in the thick dust and trash that littered the floor. Grinning behind her helmet, she leaned back and placed a hand to the side of her head.

_Three…two…one…_

BOOM.

Wincing as the sounds of a large explosion echoed down the narrow halls, Fox chuckled to herself.

"_That's _what my toys are for," she muttered.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_I really need to get myself a weapon, _Kat thought to herself as she dodged her opponent's strikes, wishing that she had something more with which to strike back than simply her claws. She also wished that she wasn't encumbered by the cryocase, but she couldn't risk putting it down…if anything happened to the heart, there wasn't time to grow another.

Ducking yet another swipe of her sword, Kat materialized a small cluster of energy packets in the palm of her hand.

"Kat Stunners!" she cried, flinging them into the leather-armored woman's masked face. The small pods burst open, creating a dozen tiny, blinding flashes of light.

The sword-wielding fighter staggered back, shielding her eyes with one leather-gauntleted hand, and Kat took the opportunity to back up a few steps, picking the case up from where she'd dropped it.

"I don't know who you are, or what you want…but like I said, I don't have time for this."

"Crescent blade," the wolf-warrior invoked, assuming a wide stance, her blade glowing.

Kat seized her opportunity and rushed forward, diving into a crouch and sliding between her opponent's legs, passing through the long leather flaps that hung behind her armor like curtains. Smoothly rising to her feet, Kat seamlessly melted into a run, her armored boots tapping against the floor.

"Crescent Wave!"

She felt it before she heard it…a buildup of heat and static in the air, followed by the sound of projected energy. At the last possible moment, she dived forward into a somersault, a wave of burning golden energy shooting past over her.

As she rose to her feet, Kat staggered to a halt. Her plan had been to keep running, turn the corner ahead, and make for the nearby stairwell…but that was before she spotted the fire extinguisher mounted to the wall. The one full of highly-compressed antioxygen. The one that the wolf-warrior's energy wave was headed straight for.

Hugging the Cryocase tightly, Kat turned away from the wall ducked, curling into a tight ball, trying to make herself as small as possible and at the same time protect the case with her armored body. Had she not had her eyes tightly closed, she would have seen the Duke Org advancing on her confidently, oblivious to the danger.

BOOM.

There was no fire…there couldn't be, not with all the oxygen nearby being neutralized by the contents of the extinguisher. There was just a violent shockwave, an ear-shattering sonic boom, and a spray of shrapnel that would have been lethal to anyone not covered head-to-toe in highly durable body armor.

The sword-wielding woman was blown back by the force of the explosion, her leather-clad body thrown against the far wall and peppered with shards of metal.

Kat faired slightly better, having been braced for the impact…her tightly curled body merely rolled a few times before she stopped herself by sinking the claws of one hand deeply into the metal grating of the floor.

Her head throbbing, Kat cautiously rose to her feet, blinking as her slitted eyes took in the bright afternoon sunlight that filtered in through the massive hole in the wall. Torn pipes and sparking wires lined the edges of the gap, likes threads from a piece of fabric that had just had a section ripped free. Motes of dust…particles of metal, insulation, and flame-suppressant chemicals…drifted through the air, illuminated and brought to light by the sunbeams that filtered in.

Feeling as though she'd been tenderized, it was a moment before Kat thought to check the cryocase. All the readouts said that the heart was just fine.

Good. If she'd gone through all this for nothing, she'd have been very, very annoyed.

Her sensitive ears had taken a pounding, and she could scarcely hear anything apart from her own pulse pounding through her eardrums, but the rustling sound of debris being shifted aside did not escape her. She turned to see her enemy rising, shards of metal, glass, and who knew what else falling from the folds of her armor.

Kat muttered a few choice curses as the horned assailant stepped free and picked up her sword, advancing again.

"This is not in my job description," she mumbled, shaking her head.

Turning, she threw the cryocase as hard as she could, sending it flying out into the air hundreds of feet above the beach outside, then turned and delivered another spray of Stunners to her opponent's face to buy some time. As the wolf-faced assassin staggered back, blinded, Kat raced for the gaping hole in the Dekabase's wall, jumped and grabbed a conveniently-placed exposed pipe, and swung, flinging herself after it into the bright afternoon sky.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Okay, remember the plan," Jack said, as he and his team entered the base. The halls were suspiciously empty, but they had seen hoards of the robotic warriors enter just moments before. "Z, you're with me. Sky, take Syd and Bridge and-"

"D.B.D.S. Activated," A mechanical voice announced. "Report to safe zones immediately."

B-Squad abruptly grabbed at the wall, trying to steady themselves as the entire Dekabase shuddered beneath them.

"Okay, what was that," Z said, the sentence coming out more as a demand than an inquiry.

Jack bit his lip beneath his helmet. "D.B.D.S," he replied.

"What?"

"Dekabase Defense System. The entire station is designed to transform into a giant battle platform. But Kat said she hadn't worked the bugs out of it yet."

"Looks like she figured it out," Z said crankily.

Jack exchanged a glance with Sky, managing to convey their thoughts despite the concealment afforded by their helmets. The girl had been surly and out of sorts for some time now. They'd all noticed her recent tendency to snap at the slightest thing, but when asked if she was feeling alright, Z had just complained of headaches. And at the moment, her attitude was understandable…she had to be under a lot of stress, splitting her focus among dozens of doubles and trying to fight off an army essentially by herself.

"No one's supposed to be in the halls when it happens," Jack continued. "All the cadets are supposed to report to the secure areas and strap themselves in, and we're supposed to be up in the bridge, helping to pilot it."

The base lurched again, mechanical grinding sounds emanating from the floor beneath them.

"What happens if people are in the halls?" Syd asked.

There was another lurch, and this time the floor before them split, gaping open along a smooth divide, giant engines driving two sections of the base to split apart.

"Nothing good," Jack replied.

"Any idea where those safe zones are?" Bridge asked.

"I'm not even sure they've been constructed yet," the Red Ranger admitted.

"We have to work fast," Sky said. "Find those robots and clear them out of here before-"

"No," Jack broke in. "We have to leave. Now."

A faraway clanging sound drew their attention to the end of the hall, where a metal door had just slid down from the ceiling. Another followed, then another, as door after door closed, compartmentalizing the hall…and heading straight for them.

"Before we get crushed by our own base," Sky finished.

The five turned and ran.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Archerina staggered back to shore, jagged arcs of electricity running across her pink armored plating, her movements halting and uncoordinated as her servomotors spasmed and her circuits shorted out. She finally reached the dry sand of the beach, falling to her knees, leaning on her sword-bow for support.

Mythica Phoenix stooped and dived, streaking down through the air like a missile, heading straight for the disabled machine.

_Phoenix Firescroll!_

Its tail bursting into flames, a long, spiraling ribbon of purple light trailed behind Phoenix, a scroll of energy engraved with cryptic runes. It flew a series of quick circles around Archerina, wrapping her in the scroll, then broke off, the end of the script detaching from its tail and coiling tightly around the android.

Archerina struggled against the effects, but the scroll clung to her tenaciously, constricting her tightly, her servomotors straining as they fought the ribbon's pull. The ribbon tightened mercilessly, crushing her plating in a series of short jerks as she strained to resist its grip.

_Fu Shadowbreath!_

Angel opened Mythica Fu's jaws and spat forth a fiery torrent of darkness that slammed into the monarch and forced her up against the rocky wall of the nearby cliff.

When the wave of shadowy flames subsided, Archerina's optical sensors took a moment to adjust, finally taking in the sight of the four massive, semimechanical beasts that had her cornered.

_What say we finish this?_ Troy suggested, as he and the other Mythica Zords gathered around the reeling Archerina. Sparks flew from her damaged joints as she struggled to rise, the fading but still present energy ribbon burning into her casing.

_I say about time,_ Kalen agreed, her talons scratching at the sand in anticipation.

_On three, then, _Troy said, readying another iceblast. _One._

_Two, _Terina followed.

_Three! _Angel called.

The four zords prepared to strike in unison, a four-element attack that would have certainly reduced the android to slag, but a tremor shook the beach, knocking them all off-balance.

_What was that? _Troy demanded.

_Ummm…guys? _Terina said, nodding Kirin's head in the direction of the Dekabase. _Is it supposed to do that?_

The four beasts all turned to stare at the base as it separated along a horizontal joining halfway up, splitting into two distinct sections. The top half shunted forward, rotating down so that it was twice as long, but half as tall…an enormous, mobile battletank.

_Good, _Troy said with satisfaction. _Let's let SPD finish her off._

_Somehow I don't think it's after her, _Kalen said warily.

_What makes you say that? _Terina asked.

Explosions sent enormous plumes of beach sand hurting into the air as the giant energy canons on the back of the Dekabase fired…not at Archerina, but at the four Mythica beasts. The giant magimechanical animals found themselves flung through the air, three of them coming to a painful crash facefirst in the sand, only Kalen managing to flutter to a respectable landing.

_Any more brilliant questions? _The Phoenix asked scathingly.

Terina groaned, laying Kirin's reeling head back down onto the sand.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was a flash of green-and-brown light as the Camo Ranger materialized in the Oasis' lounge, and a second one as she demorphed, collapsing onto the sofa with an exhausted sigh.

"Whew," she muttered, unbuckling one of her combat boots and turning it over, a generous pile of lunar dust pouring out onto the table. "What a day."

Placing her feet up on the table and resting her arms along the back of the couch, Fox leaned her head back and closed her eyes, more than ready for a nap.

Her eyes shot open as the door to the lounge opened and something small and round shot into the room.

"Get her!" Diskette's voice yelled.

Fox jumped off the couch as the other droid entered, followed by Shayla and a naked girl with hot pink hair.

"What in-"

"Don't let her reach the-" Diskette began.

DECA shot into one of the round openings on the other side of the room.

"Jumptubes," Diskette finished lamely. "Well, what are we waiting for? After her!"

Diskette threw herself into the tubes after her sibling, but the other two were briefly interrupted when Shayla tripped over Fox's discarded boot and Random Naked Chick tripped over Shayla.

"What is going on? Who are-"

"Hi Fox! Bye Fox!" the naked girl waved to her, as she and Shayla picked themselves up and followed Diskette across the lounge, swinging themselves into the tubes.

Fox raised an eyebrow.

"Okaaayyy…"

"Camouflage Ranger. It is good to see you home and unharmed."

"Good to be back," Fox replied, turning to face Zord-1's mechanical eye. "I think."

"Please report to the infirmary. You are needed in surgery."

"Of course," Fox sighed. "Why not. Do I have time to put my boot back on?"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kat performed a series of aerial acrobatics, managing to catch the flying cryocase containing the frozen heart, spin herself around, and angle her fall so that she landed against the sloping outer wall of the base.

_Ha. Not as out of shape as I thought, _she thought to herself, sinking her claws into the metal surface in order to slow her descent, raking three narrow furrows down the side of the building until her boots encountered the sand of the beach.

Turning, she put as much distance as she thought necessary between herself and the base, which, she noted with some dismay, had begun _moving._

"Okay, computer," she said, keying open her comlink. "I'm outside the base. Can you-"

The cryocase vanished from her grip in a flash.

"Magnificent," she said, daring to relax for a moment.

Then she turned towards the base.

"Oh, no," she muttered, watching as it assumed Crawler formation and began to tread its way across the sand, attacking the native Rangers' mechs. _It couldn't have been that short when I jumped out of it, _some corner of her mind was grumbling. _No, that would have been too easy. The universe just LOVES to make life difficult for me._

As if on cue, something came flying out of the hole that had been previously blasted in the base's hull, hurtling through the air and falling the ground, sending up a blinding spray of sand as it landed. When the sand finally settled, there sat the wolf-masked woman she'd fought earlier, curled into a warrior's crouch. Kat gaped as she stood, drawing her sword and leveling it her way.

"Thank you, The Universe," Kat Ranger muttered, readying her claws.

"Freeze!"

Both Kat and the wolf-faced girl turned to see who has spoken.

Standing not far away on the beach were four costumed figures. Two of them Kat had never seen before; a man in a garish multicolored outfit, brandishing a long sword, and a woman dressed in exotic garb vaguely reminiscent of a shark. Both had long horns growing from their helmets.

It was the other two that had Kat baffled. One of them was the Blue Terran Ranger, the one she had previously assumed to be piloting the large blue mech that was currently doing battle with the Dekabase's Crawler Mode. The other was the Black Ranger, the one she'd just busted her tail trying to save...the one who couldn't possibly have been off the operating table yet, no matter how advanced their ship's technology was.

"What...how...? she sputtered. Hardly her brightest moment.

"Sorry we're late," the Black Ranger said. "Had to pick up a couple friends."

"Jindrax! Toxica! You!" the wolf-masked girl accused, turning her blade on the newcomers...specifically, the two horned non-Rangers.

"Us!" the clown-costumed one confirmed brightly.

"When we found Merrick's corpse in the woods, we thought we'd seen the last of you, Zen'Aku," the shark-girl chimed in. "Or is it Zen'Akara now?" she asked, eyeing the cursed Org's new form.

"You'll soon wish you had! Crescent Wave!"  
The two Duke Orgs leapt into the air as the golden wave of energy shot forth from Zen'Akara's sword, streaking straight at them. The Blue Ranger brought up his arm, projecting a red, rectangular light-shield, drawing the Black Ranger behind him with his free hand, protecting them both from the blast.

Kat discreetly drew back from the fight as the two strangely-garbed not-Rangers engaged Zen'Akara. She made her way towards the native Blue and Black.

"What is going on?" she demanded, of Black specifically. "How are you here? I just…"

"Sent my new heart to Zord-1. I know. We'd have stepped in to help sooner, but we had to stay out of the way until that got done. If we'd interfered, I might not be standing here now."

Kat looked at her for a moment as if she'd grown a second head, but her eyes soon widened in comprehension. _Gods, not more time travelers. Anachronisms give me such a migraine._ "You're from the future," she accused.

"Told you she was smart," Lecca said.

"I never doubted that she was smart," Troy argued. "She just grew a heart in a tube, of course she's smart."

"Ow! Hey! No kicking sand! That's fighting dirty!"

The three of them paused to glance at the battle between the two Duke Orgs and Zen'Akara.

"Think we should help?" Electra asked.

"We brought them here," Troy said. "I think that's enough interference from us."  
"Heads up!"  
The three Rangers turned at the sound of Jindrax's voice, barely ducking in time to avoid the form of Zen'Akara as she was thrown over their heads.  
The org let out a savage howl as she came crashing to the sands. Pulling her mask out of the dirt, she turned to glower at the Duke Orgs as they moved to stand alongside the Rangers.  
"Now you're REALLY starting to annoy me."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Sealed," Sky said bitterly, landing a useless kick against the main entrance hatch.

"Guess it can't be opened while the station's mobile," Jack surmised. "Kat, Swan, Commander?" He called into his communicator. "Anybody?"

"Jack?"

"Kat! Am I ever glad to hear from you. You need to stop the base! We're not in the safe zones, we're going to get killed if parts keep shifting around in here."

"I'm not driving," Kat said. "You guys really need to get out of there."

"Then who is? Swan?"

There was a pause.

"Somehow, I really doubt it," Kat said bitterly. "I'm pretty sure it's Nova. Or Sophie, or whatever her name is, because the base is attacking the native Rangers."

"What?" all of B-Squad demanded at once.

"Yeah. Things have gotten…a little weird out here."

"Where are you?" Syd asked.

"Outside, on the beach. Are there any C.O.G.S. left inside there?"

"Don't seem to be," Bridge replied.

"That's because they're all out here. Archerina shrank back down and summoned them to help fight us."

"I thought Archerina was fighting the native mechs?" Jack asked. "And who's 'us'?"

Another pause.

"Kat?"

"Sorry, a little busy. Archerina quit fighting the mechs when the Dekabase started. Seemed to think they were well in hand. And 'us' is me, the future incarnations of the native Black and Blue Rangers, a clown, and a shark."

"WHAT?!"

"Told you things had gotten weird. Look, you need to get to the command post. Stop whoever's piloting that base, before they activate the program advance."

"The what?"

"Just GO!"

B-Squad's training kicked in and they all snapped to attention, ready to follow a direct order.

"On it Kat," Jack confirmed. He turned to his team. "Let's move."

The five Rangers began racing down the halls.

"How are we going to get to the command post with all the corridors sealed off?" Z demanded, panting.

"We'll find a way," Jack assured her. He paused, taking notice of the fact that the Yellow Ranger was staggering slightly. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yes," she snapped. Then, in a more subdued tone, "No. I don't know, Jack. My head is swimming."

Jack scanned his friend using the sensory equipment in his helmet. "Your temp is soaring. You must have picked up some kind of Terran virus."

Z shook her head. "I was immunized before we set foot off the base, just like the rest of us."

Jack shook his head. Normally, he'd have her taken off active duty until Swan gave her a clean bill of health…but that wasn't exactly an option this time. "Come on. Let's get this mission over with so we can get you checked out."

Z nodded, but said nothing.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sophie grinned, gunning the controls and having the Dekabase advance, targeting the Mythica zords and lancing out with the station's lasers. Plumes of sand exploded up with every blast, half of which weren't even intended to hit, just to chase the giant beasts around the beach like the helpless little things that they were.

"Having fun?" a voice from behind her asked, sounding amused.

Recognizing the shrouded figure who'd saved her having to slaughter her friend, Sophie smirked. "You know it."

"That's not all I know," the sword-wielding figure in the dark cloak said, moving to stand beside her. "You, my dear, have an infestation."

"What?" Sophie glanced at one of the internal monitors, which currently Displayed B-Squad, trying to cut through one of the inner partitions with their sidearm lasers. "Blast. And we just sprayed last week."

"You're getting better at the whole humor thing," the Stranger replied.

"Thank you," Nova Ranger replied. "Would you be a dear and…" She gestured at the monitor.

"Happy to help," he replied, vanishing in a pulse of white light.

"Good riddance," Sophie muttered, turning back to the controls. As she did, something in the corner of one of the screens caught her eye. "Program advance," she read. "Hmm."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The small blue droid rocketed recklessly down the halls of the disabled flagship, at times almost striking the walls, other times actually doing so, sparks flying as her casing scratched at the semiorganic metal. Two pairs of footsteps followed behind her, one bare flesh and the other leather sandals, as well as the whir of an antigrav engine not unlike her own.

While she had little concern regarding the later model of herself (which appeared to be somewhat depowered, likely in an effort to offset any recurrence of the threat she herself posed), the clothed human female had already proven herself capable of distinguishing her true self from her solid-holographic decoys. The three had not stopped chasing her, no matter how many phantom selves she generated. Further, the humanoid reptilian had demonstrated remarkable energy projection abilities, able to destroy her holographic replicas effortlessly, despite the structural forcefields that gave them solidity.

DECA calculated her odds of surviving a direct confrontation with her pursuers at 13 percent, with a 5 percent margin of error given the unknown identities of her opponents and unknown nature of their abilities...not an acceptable scenario.

Her goal then became a strategy of evade-and-avoid: complete the mission, retrieve the items she was sent to locate and escape without direct engagement. She already had three; only one remained.

And, unless the Rangers had dramatically rearranged the interior of their ship…unlikely, given their unwarranted confidence regarding their security…she knew exactly where to find it.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"This does not look good," Troy summed up, as he, Lecca, and Kat stood back to back, surrounded by a small army of COGS. Archerina stood nearby, bow-in-hand. Not far off, Jindrax and Toxica were still battling Zen'Akara, ignored by the mechanical footsoldiers, Archerina's order of "Destroy the Rangers!" clearly not applying.

Unwilling to draw in too close due to their large numbers, the COGS were relying on ranged attacks, firing blasts of metal shrapnel from beneath their retractable faceplates.

"Kat, you're the smart one," Electra said, drawing her ninja-to and swinging it in wide circles, deflecting the metal shards. "Any suggestions?"

"We could try going after Archerina," Kat recommended. "If we take her down…well, one of two things could happen."

"Yeah?" Troy prompted, using his riot shield in much the same manner Electra was using her sword. Both were attempting to shield Kat, who, though armored, had no apparent additional defenses.

"All the little bots shut down without their commander…or, with no one to tell them to stop, they keep going forever, obeying the last command they were given."

"So, what…they'd try to destroy all Rangers, everywhere?" Troy surmised, firing a few Blade Blaster shots into the crowd.

"Yup."

"I'm willing to take that chance," Lecca said. "Kat, if we handle the COGS, think you can take Archerina?"

"I can try. If I can get to her. Wish I had a weapon, though…"

Electra conjured her own little-used Blade Blaster and handed it to the alien Ranger. "Here. Don't go dying and losing it; I'm gonna want it back."

"I'll do my best to oblige," Kat said dryly.

"You ready?"

Kat examined the curious sidearm, pretty sure she could figure out how to operate it. If nothing else, she knew what the trigger was for. "Ready."

"Then go!"

So saying, Electra crouched low, then leapt straight up into the air, spinning rapidly, conjuring shuriken after shuriken and throwing them down into the hoard of robots, the blizzard of metal stars shooting down in all directions, striking sparks off of metal casings as they struck without fail.

As COGS all around them staggered back, the enchanted projectiles penetrating their armor, disabling servos and severing circuits, Kat raced forward, swerving, leaping, and flipping, weaving her way through the flock with a grace unknown even to most felines, darting this way and that but ultimately heading in the pink-plated monarch's direction.

"Show offs," Troy muttered.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Troy! Get UP! _

The Mythica Pegasus struggled to rise to its hooves, its head still swimming from the force of the blast it had just suffered. Kirin tried to help, a difficult task for one without hands.

Phoenix flew at the massive base, scratching at the main viewports with her talons and fanning out her wings in an effort to block the pilot's view, as Fu leapt at the thing from the side, climbing up the base's hull and sinking its heavy metal fangs into one of the crawler's cannons, tearing pieces of metal free from its casing.

_Ow, _Troy sent weakly, wobbling on its long legs like a newborn colt.

_Come on, keep moving, _Terina thought, nudging him.

Troy shook Pegasus' head, finally clearing it. He unfurled his Mythica form's deceptively small wings and took off, Mythica Kirin likewise leaping aside as another blast struck the beach where they'd been standing.

_Thanks, Ter_, Troy sent, alighting slightly further away, his hooves in the water.

_No problem_, Terina replied, pawing nervously at the sand, ready to dodge the next blast. _So does anyone have, you know, a plan?_

_For now, I'm sticking with 'Don't die.', _Troy replied tensely.

Abruptly, the base stopped moving, the powering-up noise from its canons dying down. The Mythica beasts paused.

_Um. What happened? _Terina asked.

_Out of gas? _Troy surmised.

"Program advance activated," the Dekabase announced, in a booming voice that bellowed out across the entire beach.

_Or not, _he muttered, he and the others backing away as the base began yet another transformation.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"It not much farther," Jack said, as he and his team made their way down the dim, dusty halls of the Dekabase. "In another 300 meters or so, there should be a maintenance hatch that we can take to get to-"

As they ran past an intersection of hallways, Jack's words were interrupted as a blast of brilliant white lightning struck from the side, clipping Bridge and sending him flying sideways into Syd, the two of them tumbling off down the intersecting hall for a few meters before rolling to a painful halt.

The rest of B-Squad skidded to a halt in the middle of the intersection, turning to face the shrouded, sword-wielding figure that approached them from the side, his stride fluid as though he were floating. The three Rangers still standing drew their sidearms and leveled them at their attacker, immediately firing off a volley of laser blasts, but the cloaked figure continued moving forward, undeterred, his long blade darting back and forth in front of him, effortlessly blocking the deadly attacks.

Jack glanced over at his fallen friends, just in time to see them rise to their feet and scramble to get back to the group...But, just as they got to their feet, the base shook again, causing everyone to stagger…everyone, that is, except for their mysterious assailant, confirming Jack's initial impression that he was actually levitating.

Doors began sliding shut at the end of the hall.

"Formation!" Jack ordered, trying to group his team together before the closing partitions could separate them.

Sky and Z immediately assumed their places next to him (Z staggering slightly as she did so), but Bridge and Syd were too far away. The doors slid shut, sealing the intersection in all four directions, cutting them off from the others.

The cloaked figure entered the intersection of hallways just in time for the door to slide shut behind him, sealing him in the 10x10 area with the remaining three Rangers.

"Well now. Isn't this cozy?" he asked smugly.

Jack's eyes narrowed.

"Take him down."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"No!" Syd cried, slamming her armored fist into the barrier with all of her Ranger-enhanced strength. She made not a dent.

"Come on," Bridge urged, pulling her into step behind him as he raced down the corridor in the opposite direction of their friends.

"Where are we going?" Syd demanded.

"We've got to keep moving," Bridge replied.

Loud slams echoed behind them as the partitioning process continued, solid neo-titanium doors closing sequentially down the hall and threatening to seal them away in a tiny 8-foot-cubic chamber. "If I remember the layout of this level, we can still get to that maintenance hatch Jack was talking about. All we have to do is-"

Bridge staggered as the base gave a mighty lurch. He stumbled and nearly fell. Just as he was regaining his balance, he heard the resounding THUD of the door just behind him closing, and, with a terrible feeling of foreboding, realized that he was standing directly in the path of the next one.

He glanced up, just as the heavy door began to fall.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

DECA's antigrav engines whirred as she shot free of the jumptubes into a large chamber filled with long, low planters, bright lamps suspended from cables hanging above each one. Stopping midair, she turned and faced the wall just as Diskette emerged into the room.

"Hi sis," Diskette said brightly. "How's it going?"

DECA didn't reply. The two service droids began circling one another slowly.

"My systems are superior to yours," DECA said finally. "You cannot win, should you choose to engage me."

"I'm surprised you're not trying to convince me to join you."

"I have calculated the odds of such an endeavor's success at 7 percent," DECA replied. "In any case, you would be a greater liability than an asset."

"Yeah. Okay. See, now it's on, bitch."

DECA obligingly opened a panel on its casing, producing a small laser cannon which it proceeded to fire at Diskette. The blue beam illuminated an invisible egg-shaped bubble around the other droid, accomplishing nothing.

"Ooh, a _laser_," Diskette mocked. "Didn't see that one coming. I am in awe of your superior technology."

"Your vocalizing serves no purpose. You cannot win."

"It does too, you said that already, and I don't have to," Diskette replied.

With a _woosh_, Zoey and Shayla finally emerged from the jumptube, both looking a bit off-balance from having done so for the first time.

"I just had to keep you busy until my friends could catch up. Having feet must be SUCH an inconvenience."

"You have no idea," Zoey grumbled. "You two have a nice family reunion?"

"It was getting a bit stale, actually. Feel free to liven it up."

The three fanned out, encircling the small droid.

"Zord-1, seal the room," Diskette commanded, as Zoey conjured a sphere of pink-purple flame in each hand. Shayla, unsure of just what she was expected to do, muttered a simple spell to make her hands glow white and tried to look threatening.

DECA slowly rotated, taking in the positions of its three adversaries.

"Zoey, take her down," the droid called.

The dragon-girl combined her fireballs into one extra-potent sphere and launched them at the construct, which abruptly shot straight up, allowing it to pass beneath her.

Shayla, seeing the sphere flying straight at her head, thought fast. She gestured straight ahead, and a hole in space opened directly in front of her, swallowing up the fireball.

DECA detected a surge of oncoming heat as the exit portal opened nearby, redirecting the fireball so that it was once again flying directly at the droid. With computer-fast reflexes, it launched a magnetic tether at Diskette. As the tether anchored to her casing, DECA rotated, whipping the other droid around into the path of the fireball.

Diskette let out an electronic screech as the blast overloaded her energy shield and knocked her flying into DECA, who spun end-over-end with the force of the collision. As Diskette clattered to the corner, smoking, Zoey leapt forward with a reptilian screech, hands flaming.

DECA righted itself in time to spot the oncoming wyrmling. It fired another long, metal cable, this one equipped with a tip that burst open into a tangle of tethers that coiled around the human-shaped missile. At the same time, DECA shot an identical cable from its other side and likewise ensnared Shayla, and then, detaching herself from them both, she shot across the room, allowing the two to collide, hopelessly entangled.

Not wasting any time with words, the droid hovered over to the table in the corner of the garden, picked up a trowel, and teleported away in a crackle of red lightning.

Aware that their prey had escaped, Zoey abruptly stopped struggling against her neo-titanium bonds and went limp, against Shayla, sighing. She glanced over at the twitching Diskette, who was busily trying to re-route her damaged circuitry.

"That went well."

"Oh, shut up."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Z jumped back as the cloaked, sword-wielding figure surged forward, attacking with a downward stabbing motion. Deprived of anything to hit, his blade sank into the floor, a few sparks visible as the shining bar of metal severed out-of-sight circuits.

Attempting to catch him off-balance while his sword was still stuck, Z created a pair of clones that flanked him on either side, weapons drawn. She herself moved forward, aiming to box him in.

Unfortunately, the enemy's weapon was not as 'stuck' as expected. He pulled it free of the ground effortlessly, leaping straight up into a flip just as Z and her two clones attacked, their blades striking each other instead of him.

As her carbon-copies vanished and Z fell to the ground, clutching at the newly-formed gash in her armor, B-Squad's assailant landed neatly in a crouch, rising smoothly and swinging his weapon at Jack.

Jack ducked, avoiding the swipe of the blade, then used one of his favorite tricks, one that no one ever expected; he dived forward, passing headfirst _through_ his opponent's torso, landing into a somersault, then sticking out one of his legs and spinning into a sweeping kick that knocked the cloaked figure's legs out from beneath him.

It almost always worked…but not this time. His enemy, instead of falling, simply spun end-over-end briefly. The Red SPD Ranger didn't have time to berate himself for not realizing that a levitating opponent didn't need to actually _stand_ on his legs, before the mysterious character re-oriented himself in mid-air and delivered a powerful kick to his chest, sending him crashing back into the neo-titaium wall.

While the swordsman was occupied with jack, however, Sky moved his arm in a wide circle, forming a shield of bright blue energy and rushing at him from behind. Jack leapt aside as Sky slammed into the enemy's back with his shield and roughly forced him forward, slamming him into the wall.

His shield shattering with the impact, Sky backed off and regrouped at the other side of the small chamber with the others, as the figure turned to face them, seeming a bit dazed.

Surprising them all, the sword-wielding stranger paused, the brilliant light of his longsword flickering and going out.

"What....," he began, looking around him in confusion, pulling down his hood to reveal ashen skin, honey-colored but bloodshot eyes ringed by dark circles, and hair that had been gelled into horns. "Where am I?"

His gaze fell on the three injured, panting Rangers that lay scattered before him. His gaze fell to the smoking gash in Z's torso. "It happened again, didn't it? I did this."

Sky and Jack exchanged a glance, then turned back to the stranger and nodded wordlessly.

The sword in his hands vanished. "I....apologize." he swallowed. "I'm sorry. It happens to me sometimes...and it's been getting worse. Are you okay?"

"No, we're not okay," Z snapped. "We're trapped here now. How are we supposed to stop Nova?"  
"I can still go on," Jack said.  
"You can't take her by yourself, Jack," Sky said.

"There's no choice," Jack replied fatalistically. "I've got to try. Wish me luck. And keep an eye on him. We still don't know his story."

"Jack, wait-" Sky began, grabbing the Red Ranger's arm, but Jack ignored him, phasing through his hand and moving forward, the wall rippling as he walked effortlessly through it.

The Blue SPD Ranger crossed his arms, glaring at the spot on the wall through which Jack had departed.

"I hate it when he does that."  
"Guys?" Bridge's voice suddenly called over the comm. "I think there's something you should know."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Bridge?" Jack's, Sky's, and Z's voices replied at once.

"Report," Jack demanded, as he made his way down the halls, effortlessly passing through any partitions he encountered.

"Where are you? Are you two okay? Syd?"

"Syd..."

_The entire station shook beneath them, causing Bridge to stumble._

_"Bridge!" Syd's voice had cried._

_The Green SPD Ranger found himself flying forward as something struck him from behind, knocking him forward , out of the way of the door. Having sprawled to the ground, he lifted his head, aware of a terrible squelching sound from behind him, followed by a brief, gurgled cry._

_He turned to see..._

"Bridge?" Jack called insistently.

Bridge took a moment to work up the nerve to say what had to be said without choking on the words.  
"Syd's dead."  
There was a long pause.  
"We'll cry when there's time," Jack decided. "For now, where are you? Can you get to the command post?"  
"I don't think so," Bridge replied. "But I've found something else."  
"We're a bit busy now, Bridge," Sky's voice replied. "Is it important?"

Bridge turned towards the large glass tube in front of him, the one containing a dormant figure identical to the one that just spoken.  
"Depends on your point of view, I suppose," he replied.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Troy! You were there. How did we win this?" Electra asked, dual-wielding her axe and ninja-to, the COGS having long since abandoned their ranged attack patterns and now opting for melee.

"We didn't!" Troy replied. "A great big black hole in the sky opened up and sucked away all the COGS, and then..."

"A _what_? How did THAT happen?"

"I don't know!" Troy insisted. "It just did!"

"You never found out where it came from?" Electra demanded. "A rift in space tore open the freakin' sky, and you lot couldn't be bothered to think, 'Huh. Don't see that every day. Wonder what could have caused it?'?!"

"Well, if it had kept happening, sure, but it just sort of…went away once it was done. And it never happened again. Anyway, is NOW really the best time for this?" Troy demanded, stowing his gun and shield and producing his lance.

"No, probably not," Lecca agreed. "Just one more question, though."

"Yeah?"

"If we know that a black hole's going to appear and suck up everything on the beach…is this really the safest place for us to be standing?"

Troy paused. "You know," he said finally. "I liked it better when we just shot things."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Program advance activated. Initiating DBDS Megazord Mode," the base announced loudly.

_Oh, I do not like the sound of that, _Terina said.

_All in favor of going home? _Kalen asked.

_We can't just give up, _Troy argued. _We've got to stop that thing._

_All it's doing is attacking US, _Kalen pointed out. _Leaving seems like a very good way of stopping it from doing that._

_Yeah, but what might it do with us out of the way? _Terina asked. _We need to keep it busy until SPD gets control back. Zedd or the Machine Empire will just use it to attack Terra._

_Because SPD is SO much more trustworthy, _Kalen thought to herself, spreading her wings and taking off. From above, she had a very good view of the base as its crawler mode somehow stood up, arms and legs making themselves evident as the battle station became one of the largest megazords she had ever seen.

_Well, _Angel replied. _More so than Zedd, anyway._

Kalen blinked. _Didn't actually mean for you to hear that, _she muttered.

Angel paused. _Nor did I. That's a bit disconcerting._

_We'll deal with it later, _Terina said. _For now…biggest Megazord ever! Let's fight, people!_

"Delta Command Megazord online," the Megazord announced, taking its first few uncertain steps in the shifting sand.

_Woah, _Troy said. _Catch that?_

_Not too steady on its feet, _Terina replied.

_You three go high, _Kalen suggested. _I've got low. Phoenix Firescroll!_

Once again invoking its Special Attack, Mythica Phoenix flew a series of rapid circles around the enormous Megazord's legs, binding them together. _Now! _Kalen called, releasing the scroll from her tail.

Kiring, Pegasus, and Fu braced themselves and darted forward, leaping into a powerful tackle.

_Bonzai! _Terina yelled, as all three of them struck high on the Megazord's chest, the impact from their metallic paws and hooves ringing out across the beach.

The Delta Command Megazord leaned back precariously, tilting at a dangerous angle.

_Timber! _Troy yelled, as he, Angel, and Terina turned their Mythica forms around and prepared to kick off from the Megazord before it toppled.

The Megazord's legs strained against the scroll that bound them, desperately trying to regain the colossal construct's balance…and, to everyone's surprise, the scroll gave, shredded by the strength of the powerful mechanical limbs. The Megazord staggered a bit, but managed not to fall. Its arms shot out and grabbed Fu and Kirin, plucking the Zordlike entities from midair, only Pegasus managing to land back on the beach.

_Or not, _Troy thought dismally, turning around to realize that their ploy had failed.

_Hey! _Terina cried, kicking futilely with her hooves, one of her slender legs caught fast in the Zord's iron grip. _That doesn't bend that way!_

_Guys? _Angel called, Fu's teeth gnawing uselessly on the metal fingers that held it. _A little help would be appreciated at this point._

Troy blinked up at them _Um. Okay, Plan B._

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"We're...clones?" Sky asked incredulously.  
"Looks like," Bridge's voice agreed over the comlink. "Engineered from prime genetic stock, if that's any comfort."

"But...I can't be a clone," Sky said. "If I were created by SPD, how could I remember everything that came before? And I had a family...my father..."

"And Jack and I lived on the streets for years before we joined up," Z chimed in. "And we all had parents...they worked on the SPD Henshin project; that's where our powers came from."

"False memories, implanted during biogenesis," Bridge said. "Our powers were engineered, just like the rest of us. Hard to swallow, I know, but it's all here in front of me."

"It's got to be a trick, a test...the Commander's tested us before. Like that time he stood there and refused to help us..." Sky trailed off.

"Not even the Commander would test us at a time like this," Jack's voice replied.

"So what does this mean? Sky demanded. "That my father never existed?"

"Nooo...he was real," Bridge said, scrolling through the information in front of him. "It says here that your memories of him were patterned after one of the original Ranger candidates for SPD. Some of your stock DNA came from him, too."

Sky shook his head silently. "It's not true," he muttered.

"Sky..."

"It's not true!"

"Sky. I don't want to believe it either, but...you're not the one standing down here, looking at naked copies of everyone you know floating in big ultraglass tubes."

Silence.

"If it helps, your 'father' was top of his class-"

"Bridge, that's enough," Jack said, phasing through door after door as he ran towards the command post. "It doesn't matter if it's true or not. Not right now."

"But Jack-" Bridge began.

"No. We have work to do. If this whole cloning thing is fake, then it's our job. If it's true, then it's our purpose. Either way, we get it done."

"Right, but Jack-"

"Cut the chatter, Bridge. Close those files and try to find a way to get to the command post, I could use some backup. Sky, Z, same goes for you too. Now move!"

With that, Jack cut the comlink.

Bridge sighed, taking one last look at the screen displaying all the information on Fatal Burnout.

"Oh, well," he said. "I guess they can always make more," he said. Closing the program, he turned and ran from the room, not at all sad to be away from the ghastly light from those tubes.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Jack? Jack! Just HOW are we supposed to..." Z trailed off, realizing that he was no longer listening. She sighed, pulling off her helmet and running a hand through her sweat-soaked hair. "Great."

"It can't be true. I remember everything...an entire lifetime. I remember my first dog...I remember playing catch with dad...my fifth birthday party…everything."

"Will you stop reminiscing and focus?" Z demanded. She swayed on her feet for a moment. Shaking her head to regain her

equilibrium, she laid a hand on Sky's armored shoulder. "We....we have to find a way out of here," she croaked.

Sky snapped back to the present. He looked down at Z, who, he thought ruefully, had never looked worse. Jack was right...clones or not, they had more important things to worry about right now."

"Right. Sorry," he said. He glanced around the small metal cube in which they were trapped. "There must be some way out," he reasoned. "These partitions were designed for structural support, not entrapment..."

"Maybe if you can make a shield thin enough to act as a blade…?"

Sky shook his head. "I can't control it like that."

"Perhaps I can help."

The two SPD Rangers spun around to see the cloaked figure standing behind them, on his feet once again, shining white sword in hand. His hood was now drawn back, revealing sickly, sallow skin, sunken, bloodshot eyes, and hair in disarray that had once been carefully gelled.

In Sky's opinion, he looked little better than Z.

The Yellow Ranger reached for her blaster, but Sky, taking in the contrite expression of the man before them, stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"How?" he asked cautiously.

The man advanced, and Sky an Z drew apart, keeping their distance as the man passed between them, stepping up to the wall. With four smooth swipes of his blade, he effortlessly cut a large section from the metal shutter that had resisted all their attempts to penetrate it.

Despite her blurred vision and pounding headache, Z smiled.

"And we're back in the game," she said.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"We don't have time to wait for any black holes," Lecca muttered. "We're getting clobbered here." She knocked a COG's legs out from under it with a low, sweeping kick, then backflipped away and snared another with her grappling hook, swinging it around her head like a bola to take out the remaining units nearest her.

Aware of a sound overhead, she turned to see one of the COGS standing above her, atop one of the large rocks that littered this part of the beach.

"Gravity Burst!" she invoked, a sphere of black energy appearing around her outstretched hand as the robot leapt at her.

The droid flailed helplessly in midair as it was held suspended.

"Wait a minute…" the Black Ranger whispered, staring at her hand in comprehension.

The COGS unit she was holding made a few whirring, grinding noises and opened its faceplate, spraying the Black Ranger with a flurry of metal pellets. Her concentration broken, Gravity Burst's effect faded and the droid resumed its downward fall, landing a kick to her torso.

Lecca managed to regain her stance by performing a backward somersault, finishing in a crouch. Drawing her machete from its sheath and producing her axe, she made a low cross-slash that removed her assailant's legs, fuel and coolant leaking out to be soaked up by the sand.

There was a wail and a brief shower of sand as the Kat Ranger landed near her.

"Kat? You okay?"

"I think so. Damn, that robot packs a whollop…"

"Come with me. I need your help with something," Lecca said.

Kat blinked, gesturing back at Archerina. "But I have to-"

Too late. Lecca had already wrapped an arm around her, anchored her grappling hook to something atop the nearby cliff, and reeled them both up, off the beach and away from the battle.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nova glanced over from the controls in surprise as the automatic doors to the command post opened with a pneumatic hiss. The gynoid barely had time to dive aside as the Red SPD Ranger stormed in (fully intending to issue an ultimatum, but abandoning that strategy in favor of outright termination when he saw Swan's blast-ridden corpse on the round), guns blazing, his blasts peppering the chairs and consoles that filled the room.

Drawing her own blaster from its holster at the back of her belt, She returned fire from behind the cover of one of the consoles. To her dismay, the blasts passed harmlessly through him, as though he were nothing more than a hologram. Holstering the Nova Sniper, she raised a hand at the Ranger, attempting to turn her electromagnetic powers on him, but…either because his neo-titanium armor was non-magnetic, or because he was immaterial…there was no effect.

Thinking fast, Sophie once again drew her blaster, this time taking out the ceiling conduit that fed the lights. She then grabbed a lever on the nearby console and yanked, slamming closed the shutters on the front viewports, plunging the room into darkness.

It only took a fraction of a second for Jack's helmet sensors to compensate and switch to night-vision mode…but that as all the time it took for Sophie to get the drop on him, slamming her mechanical fist into his helmeted face with enough force that the neo-titanium formed a mold of her fist. There was an audible SNAP, a stabbing pain, and an unmistakable flood of wet warmth down Jack's face, all of which told him that his nose had been broken. His visor shattered completely, taking his all-too-temporary green-tinted night vision with it, the room once again plunging into total blackness.

A kick with all the force of a speeding truck slammed into his torso, once again bending his supposedly indestructible armor and sending Jack's slender human body slamming up against the wall.

There was a hiss, and a sudden flood of artificial light as the doors opened once again, allowing illumination from the hall to pour into the room. The harsh, pale light was immediately followed by bursts of brilliant blue, green, and yellow that arced across the still comparatively dark room, catching Sophie in the side and driving her away from the downed Ranger.

"Jack! Are you okay?" Z croaked, her voice gravelly.

Jack had never heard a more beautiful sound in his life. "I'll lib," he gurgled.

There was an electronic whirr, and natural light spilled into the room…someone had flipped the switch to open the front shutters. Jack's bleary vision focused to find Z holding him up, removing and discarding his destroyed helmet, as Bridge and Sky stood, weapons ready, between them and Nova.

Jack staggered to his feet, picking up his guns and combining the two smaller pistols into single rifle-type blaster, then trained it on Nova, who was now standing quite still, apparently calculating her chances, eyeing B-Squad the same way one might eye an apple they were about to eat that has suddenly and unexpectedly grown teeth.

"Bridge," Jack said, tenderly feeling his damaged nose. "Cad you ged codtrol of de base?"

"I think so.

"Do id."

Bridge moved over to one of the few undamaged control panels and began fiddling with it.

"Sophie," Sky began. "You are under arrest for…more offenses than I can count, honestly."

"Let'z stottt wid muder of SPD pusonnel ad werk aw way down de lizt from dere," Jack suggested.

Z snorted.

"Wot?"

"You should hear yourself."

"Nott de time, Z."

"In accordance with SPD guidelines," Sky said, glaring at Nova. "I am _required_ to ask whether you have anything to say in your defense."

Sophie cocked her head to the side. "Actually…I do."

"And what's that?" Z asked resignedly.

Sophie moved so quickly that not even Ranger-enhanced reflexes or senses could have followed it, the energized blast from her gun that she'd been charging behind her back deafening in the small room. It was a split second before they could register that she'd fired, another before they realized that her gun wasn't pointed at _them_…and then a third as they followed its trajectory.

At which point, Bridge's body had just begun to slump over the console, most of his head missing entirely.

"Bang," Sophie answered.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What are we doing up here?" Kat demanded. "The fight's down THERE. Not that I'm not glad for the breather, but…"

"It's me," Lecca said, taking off her helmet. "I cause it."

"Cause what?" Kat gave Electra the most puzzled expression her face could generate, as the Black Ranger closed her eyes and began taking deep breaths. "What are you DOING?"

"Trying to get as worked up as I can. They only work when you're under great stress."

"What do?"

"Limit Breaks."

"What's a Limit Break?!" Kat demanded. "And why is it important enough to abandon the others?"

"Long story. Let's just say some of our Rangers play way too many video games."

"Video games," Kat repeated calmly.

"I've never used mine before, which is why I didn't recognize it when Troy described it, but I throw gravity around, so it makes sense, right? It's got to be me."

"Used your _what_?" Kat asked becoming more and more confused the more the Black Ranger babbled. "What about gravity?"

"Make me mad."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not upset enough! Not now that I know how we win. I mean, even though I know I can't seem to do it, which really _should_ make me more upset, but somehow knowing that we'll win if that makes me upset enough makes me NOT upset. You know?"

Kat just stared, wondering if her universal translator was on the blink.

"So I need you to make me mad."

"I'm becoming more and more convinced that you already are."

"Angry!" Electra corrected herself. "Make me angry."

"And how," Kat asked slowly, "am I supposed to do that?"

"Hit me."

"Hit you."

"Yep. Punch me in the face. As hard as you can."

"Gladly."

Kat made a fist, drew back her arm, and delivered a devastating Ranger-powered punch to the highly annoying anachronism's jaw.

It was a blow that would have reduced a normal human's bones to dust. On Lecca, it only succeeded in knocking her to the ground. She lay sprawled in the sand, eyes tightly closed, holding her throbbing face tightly.

"Are you…"

Kat was about to follow with the word 'okay', but she trailed off when the golden coin in Electra's belt began to glow with something Kat hadn't really thought possible…genuine black light.

Electra rose…literally, floating up off the ground. When she opened her eyes, they, too, were shining black.

"Hold on to something," she said in a dangerous tone.

Kat shuddered, the Black Ranger's normally quiet voice, while still low in actual volume, now causing reverberations throughout the air that made her bones vibrate and her teeth ache. She found a nearby rock that seemed stationary enough and obeyed for all she was worth.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sophie magnetically tore sections of the floor loose and wrapped them around her hands and forearms, forming a pair of impromptu blades and using them to parry the barrage of strikes that the Rangers were sending her way.

Oh, yeah. They were pissed.

Good. If there was one thing she'd learned about humanoid emotions, it was that being pissed made people sloppy.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before she started to notice errors. Strikes were less accurate than they could have been, openings appeared where they were carelessly leaving themselves vulnerable. And of course, she began to take advantage. The hardened universal steel of which the floor had been made proved to be a match for neo-titanium Ranger armor, and splashes of blood belonging to Z and Sky joined that of Jack and Bridge on the walls, floor, and terminals of the control room.

The air rippled with pulses of heat as blasts from Jack's rifle joined the melee attacks, forcing her to either dodge, or try to block with her newly acquired blades…an unwise choice, she quickly learned, as the steel used to make the floor panels was hardly weapons-grade. Too quickly, her advantage decayed as the weapons belonging to Z and Sky started to shave curls of metal from the red-glowing, softening blades.

_Time to get creative, _she thought to herself. Applying her magnetic powers to herself, Nova jumped, flipped, and spun upside-down, hovering, blades out, becoming a lethal fan, the bulk of her body out of striking range. The Blue Ranger managed to parry one of the whirling blows, but the next two caught him across the chest, carving deep gouges into his armor and adding to the blood spray on the walls. Sky fell back, clutching at his wounds, leaving Z alone to tend the front line. To compensate, she quickly created a pair of clones…

Which immediately vanished in a thick, murky yellow haze, accompanied by a bloodcurdling scream of agony from Z, who feel to the ground, demorphing.

The battle ground to an abrupt halt, even Nova being stunned by the unexpected development. The Yellow Ranger, her pupils burning a dingy saffron, writhed on the ground in agony, screaming bloody murder, her cries reaching a pitch of which no one present had thought human beings capable. Streams of blood began to trickle forth from her nose, ears, eyes…

Her screams quickly stopped, becoming a feeble, bloody gurgle, not because the pain had faded, but because her lungs had run out of air and she honestly couldn't remember how to refill them. She began desperately clawing at her clammy, sallow skin; her bones were on fire and the only way to end the pain was to _tear them OUT._

"Is that normal?" Sophie asked innocently.

Her words jolted Jack and Sky out of their horrified fascination. They started towards the squirming, silently screaming Yellow Ranger, only to stop when Nova produced her gun and leveled it at the incapacitated Z.

"Ah ah ah. Not another step."

Both froze.

"That's better. Now, kick over your weapons."

"We give you our guns, and you'll kill us all," Jack countered, leveling his rifle at her. He paused. "Promise me she'll live, and you can have them."

Sophie considered. "I promise I won't kill her," she finally conceded. "Whether she'll _live_ seems up for debate at this point."

"Her temp's gone critical," Sky muttered, his helmet scanning Z's vital signs. "It's twelve percent above normal, and climbing. Her brain is boiling alive, Jack."

"Do it."

Sky placed his sidearm on the ground and kicked it over. Nova stepped on it, looking over expectantly at Jack, who seemed preoccupied with his bloody friend, whose cries had devolved into a pathetic keening.

"Yours too, Red."

Jack hesitated, but only briefly, before tossing his gun her way. She deftly holstered her own weapon and caught his, leveling it back at them.

"You promised," he reminded her.

"So I did," Nova allowed. She absently delivered a kick to Z's side that sent the incapacitated Ranger rolling across the floor towards them, something inside of her audibly snapping as she did. Z coughed, blood and vomit coming up, but she barely seemed to notice.

Jack immediately demorphed and dropped down to hold her up so that she wouldn't choke. He grimaced as he lifted her, she was unnaturally light, had gone completely limp, and Sky was right, she was burning up, her skin under his fingers so hot that it was almost painful to touch

"Now then. I think that's more than enough trouble out of you two. It was less than a pleasure being hunted by you, have a nice day."

Raising the rifle, she took aim at Jack's head and pulled the trigger.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Come on,' Lecca," Troy muttered, his lance striking blue and pink sparks as it was parried by Archerina's sword. "What's taking so long?"

"You cannot win, meatsack," Archerina spat, putting the full force of her servomotors behind her sword.

Troy pushed back for all he was worth. "Heard that before," he replied tensely. "Well…except for the 'meatsack' part. That's a new one."

"Organic life is in all ways inferior to the technological," the pink-armored robot recited. "Your refusal to accept this is only further validation of-"

"Shut UP!" Troy said, sparing a hand from his weapon's grip to aim it at Archerina's face, blasting her with a spray of cryogenic energy that covered the front of her head in a thick layer of ice. "You know, for someone who goes on and on about how inefficient _I _am, you sure do waste a lot of energy babbling." Planting a foot against her chestplate, he kicked the monarch back a few feet. "You want efficiency? I got your efficiency right here," he continued, stowing his lance and drawing his Blade Blaster. "One target, one shot, one kill."

His finger found the trigger, but before he could squeeze off his shot, an unearthly scream tore across the beach, followed shortly afterward by a strange surge of energy.

"Toxica!" Jindrax's voice cried.

Troy glanced over towards the part of the beach where the duke orgs had been battling, only to see Zen'Akara, standing to the side, her long katana resting on her shoulder, watching smugly as Jindrax cradled a fallen Toxica.

Oddly, though she was behaving as though she'd been mortally wounded, Toxica did not appear injured, apart from the fact that her horn had apparently been severed.

Troy raced over, mowing down the COGS in his way as he went. Once he drew near, he turned and blasted with both hands, forming a wall of ice as a barrier to keep the COGS away…for the time being, anyway.

"Is she okay?" he asked, turning back to the orgs.

"She…she'll be fine," Jindrax insisted. "Right, Toxica?"

Toxica shook her head, smiling weakly. "Jindrax…you know better."

"No," he replied stubbornly. "You'll be fine. It'll…it'll grow back."

"Jindrax…"

"No! I can't lose you!"

"Jindrax." It was Toxica's cut-the-crap voice.

Jindrax shook his head. "What will I do without you?" he asked in a small voice.

"I'm sorry, Jindrax," she said softly. "I'm so sorry."

"Toxi-"

She pressed a finger to his porcelain lips, silencing him, then, laying a hand gently against his face and pulling back her veil, rose up and delivered a gentle kiss before falling limp in his arms, her eyes fluttering shut.

"Toxica?" he asked quietly, astonished.

She didn't respond.

"Toxica!" he repeated more loudly, shaking her.

Nothing.

"She's gone, man," Troy said, laying a hand on Jindrax's shoulder. "I'm sor-"

"NO!"

Jindrax rose to his feet, spinning, sword suddenly in hand, and Troy found himself flat on his ass in the sand, six feet away, a deep horizontal gash in his torso.

"You. You!"

"Me," Zen'akara confirmed simply, idly tossing something small and red into the air and catching it absently with her free hand.

Jindrax's eyes narrowed, recognizing Toxica's horn. He let out a furious roar, more like that of a lion than an angry humanoid, before rushing in sword-first.

Troy let out a low whistle as he climbed to his feet, the slice in his stomach healing.

"I think I'm just gonna stay out of this one," he mused to himself. "Yeah. That's what I'll do."

He glanced towards his ice wall, which was nearly gone, partially due to having melted in the high heat, but mostly due to the relentless metal fists of the COGS.

"That's okay," he said brightly. "More than enough to keep me busy over he-"

"_**EVENT HORIZON!"**_

__Save those of Jindrax and Zen'Akara, who were otherwise engaged, every head on the beach turned towards the sky, even those of the COGS.

A single figure, dressed in black armor but with brilliant, eye-catching blue hair, was levitating just above the clifftop, black light shining like a beacon from both her eyes and the coin in her belt.

As those down on the beach watched, she lifted her hands to the sky, then drew them apart to the sides, as though opening something.

Right on cue, a tiny speck of blackness appeared in the fiery-colored sky, a spot so dark that it seemed to suck in the light. As Electra's hands parted, it widened into an enormous disc, an impossibly deep hole in the air.

Savage winds began to howl as the rift in the sky began to draw in every loose article within range, beginning with the very air. Sand began to fly, turning the world into a gritty haze as the tiny particles were drawn up into the vortex.

"_There_ it is. Okay, Troy. Think fast. Ummm….Ah!"

Pointing his glowing blue hands at the ground, Troy quickly encased his own feet in an enormous chunk of ice, then went deeper, forcing his power down into the ground, the ice penetrating through layers and layers of soil as a long, permeating spike. Thrusting his arms to the sides, the Blue Ranger caused more spikes of ice to branch off from the sides of his 'root' deep within the earth, firmly anchoring himself in place.

"Whew," he muttered. "There. That oughtta do it."

All around him, the wind howled more and more ferociously, picking up larger and larger stones from the rocky beachfront, until it finally began lifting the COGS, the metal soldiers rising up off the ground and whipping past as they spiraled up into the air.

Troy's mind jumped back to Jindrax. Through the howling sands, the Blue Ranger could just make out a huddled form not too far off, making itself as small as possible in an effort not to catch the wind.

"Jindrax!" he yelled, but the words were lost even to his own ears.

The shadowy, huddled shape suddenly lost to the wind, lifting up off the ground and whipping past.

Thinking quickly, Troy aimed his arm and launched a small metal cuff from his wrist. It flew through the turbulent air, dragging a long, slender chain behind it, leaving sight as it ventured into the haze of sand.

Troy closed his eyes tightly, hoping…

The line went taught.

"Ha!"

The Blue Ranger triumphantly retracted his cuff, hauling in his prize: Jindrax, still clinging to the body of Toxica.

"Gotcha. Sit tight, buddy," he called to the org. "We're gonna ride this out."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The weapon emitted a shrill noise as Sophie pulled the trigger, powering up for a deadly blast of fiery energy. That blast came…but not, as Sophie expected, in the form of a projection that would destroy the object at which the weapon was pointed. Instead, the rifle exploded with a deafening roar, lifting the mechanical Ranger bodily from the ground and throwing her. Even through her high-grade armor, Sophie felt the ultraglass viewports shatter against her back as she was propelled from the base, twisting midair as she arced high over the beach. A blinding storm of sand was blowing, spiraling up into the air above, but such was Sophie's momentum through the affected area that the upward suction barely affected her trajectory at all.

Activating her magnetic fields, she attempted to arrest her flight, or at least control it, but only succeeded in making her eventual collision with the sand slightly less lethal.

After a few moments, when her diagnostic programs had declared it safe to do so, she pulled herself to her feet, demorphing, and dusting herself off. Her armor had taken the brunt of the damage, her own internal auto-repair systems could handle the rest.

Sulkily, she glared up at the Dekabase, standing stoic and immobile amidst the fading sandstorm. What a useless gesture, setting the gun to self-destruct. The stupid Ranger had tried to kill them all, to take her down with them. They could have kept fighting…they'd still had a .00079 percent chance of victory, after all…instead they chose to die. And it hadn't even worked, there she stood, still alive.

She shook her head, uncomprehending.

Well. If worthless gestures were the way to go…

Patching in to the station's central core through her still-functioning internal modem link, she cued up the controls for the reactors and set them all to critical mass, smirking.

After all, there was always the chance…Sophie calculated it as about .023 percent…that they'd lived. They'd blown her up; it only seemed fair that she blew them up back.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As abruptly as it appeared, the rift in the sky sealed itself shut, causing a hail of pebbles, followed by a rain of sand, to fall down onto the beach as all the debris that had been lifted into the air, but had not yet reached the rift, once more fell prey to Terra's gravity.

Kat finally dared to open her eyes, gradually releasing her death grip on her rock. She gingerly flexed her limbs, which were stiff from having been tensed for so long, and, as the danger was apparently passed, demorphed, fully aware of the dangers of prolonged morpher usage.

She glanced up into the air, as expected, saw the Black Ranger, gently lowering herself to the ground. To her surprise, the girl instantly demorphed, her blue hair looking almost black in the orange rays of the setting sun, her skin seeming more pale than normal.

"Okay," Kat said. "I'll admit it. _That _was impressive."

Electra responded by passing out and falling facefirst into the sand.

"And that was considerably less so," Dr. Manx added in a matter-of-fact tone. She approached the downed Ranger cautiously, checking for a pulse. While no medic, and certainly not a specialist in humans, she was fairly certain that the time-traveling Ranger was unharmed, merely unconscious.

"That always happens when we use our Limit Breaks," a calm voice informed her.

Kat turned around to see the Blue Ranger, just having crested the cliff on which they now stood.

"Limit Breaks?" Kat asked, wanting clarification on that point.

"It's…a future power. Something the current team of Rangers hasn't developed yet. They will."

"Speaking of the current team," Kat said, eyeing the four enormous mechs as they milled uncertainly around the now-immobile Dekabase megazord. "I should go warn them off before they obliterate my base. It's probably in bad enough shape as it is."

Troy nodded. "Just don't tell them about us. Space-time continuum and all that."

Kat nodded.

"On that note, she and I should probably make a discrete exit right about now." Troy walked over and laid a hand on the unconscious girl's shoulder.

"Well. Thanks for the help," Kat said.

"Thanks for the heart," Electra replied softly, here eyes still closed.

Troy touched the side of his head behind his right ear, and the two of them vanished in twin streaks of black-and-blue light.

Kat chuckled, shaking her head.

"**Dekabase self destruct has been activated," **a booming voice announced, resounding across the entire beach and, likely, out a good ways over the ocean.

Kat's smile vanished like a lightbulb blowing. She spun on her heel and gazed, wide-eyed, at the base.

"What."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jack hadn't dared to open his eyes yet, but the abrupt shift in the light, from blue to white, and the sudden influx of ashes and fumes told him that Sky had dropped the shield with which he'd surrounded them.

Coughing slightly, Jack managed to open his eyes, the first thing to greet them the bright blue flash of Sky demorphing. He was peripherally aware of the scorched, charred, and melted ruin that had become of the command room, but couldn't really bring himself to care. It could all be fixed later.

"Gut reflexez," Jack said.

"I thought you liked that gun?"

Jack shrugged, then turned his attention to the fallen Ranger in his arms. Sky excused himself, feeling that whatever was about to happen, it was between Jack and Z. He busied himself looking over the carbon-streaked consoles.

"Z?" Jack asked. "Can you hear me?"

There was a long pause.

"Jack?" The Yellow Ranger asked faintly. "I can hear you…"

"It's over, Z. You're gonna be fine."

Z chuckled, a faint laugh that quickly devolved into a bloody cough. Jack waited anxiously for the fit to pass.

"Could always tell when you were lying," Z replied. "It's weird, Jack. I can feel….everything. Shutting down. You know how your body has all those parts, working all the time, and you think you never even feel them?"

Jack nodded.

"You do feel them. You're just used to it, is all. Once they stop, you can tell the difference…"

"Z, you're scaring me."

"Oh, like I'm not scared," Z snorted. She opened her eyes, trying to get them to focus on the face above her. "Hey. When they…make a new one. A new Z. You think she'll remember this?"

Jack squirmed at the notion of an assembly line just cranking out a new version of his best friend. "I…"

"Jack..," Sky said, examining the controls.

"Probably not," Z mused. "They probably back up our memories somehow, but I'll bet everything that happened lately…today at least…isn't in there. In the backup. So this is it, for me. For this me."

"Jack, I hate to interrupt-"

"Then don't," Jack snapped. "Go on, Z."

"Don't tell the new me about this, okay? Or the new Bridge, or Syd. We were all happier not knowing. The new me won't want to know that you watched me die. And…she'd die of embarrassment if she knew I said this. Jack…I love you. You were the best friend and the best brother-"

"Shut up," Jack said lightly. "You know I hate it when you get all sappy."

Z smirked. "Yeah, well…it seems like that kinda moment, you know?" Her eyes suddenly grew wide. "I can't…Jack, I can't feel anything. Everything's all…are you still there? Where-"

"I'm here. I'm right here."

"Don't let me go, Jack. Don't let go 'til I'm gone."

"I won't," Jack promised.

And he didn't.

"Jack," Sky said a few moments later. "You REALLY need to see this."

"Yeah," Jack said, laying his friend aside with a sigh.

"Tell me I'm reading this wrong."

Jack peered over Sky's shoulder at the indicator on the barely-functioning console, labeled REACTOR STATUS. The readouts indicated that the reactors were overheating and about to go critical.

"Could…could just be a faulty sensor," Jack offered. "Or a short in the console."

"It's certainly damaged enough," Sky agreed. "Still, maybe-"

"**Dekabase self destruct has been activated," **A deafening voice announced, the external speakers clearly audible due to the lack of glass on the front viewports.

Jack and Sky exchanged wide-eyed glances.

**"Reactor core will melt down in four…three…two…"**

Neither of them had time to consciously process the thought, but both of them were already racing towards the shattered window and leaping out into the air, pulling out SP licenses and yelling as they fell.

"SPD – EMERGENCY!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Alien bunkers do not explode on terrestrial beaches without the locals taking notice.

Those living in the nearest town would later attribute the distant sound to a thunderclap. Those in the closer suburbs would describe it as a solid wave of sound, and many would claim to have seen the fiery plume on the horizon, or the enormous greenish-black mushroom cloud that rose into the air. For weeks after the incident, the rain that fell over the area would have a bitter, acrid taste and a greasy feel, causing plants to whither, fish to die, and water processing plants to work overtime in an effort to keep the contents of the city reservoirs potable.

One family, who had been on their way to the beach when the incident occurred, would file an unusual insurance claim, reporting that they had been driving down the street when a colossal shockwave caused all of their car's windows to spontaneously shatter. They would also report having seen, a few hours after the blast, three weary and bedraggled-looking people staggering down the street, away from the beach. These people, they would say, claimed to have no knowledge of the event before quickly moving on.

City officials, investigating the beach, would find no evidence of anything that could have caused such an explosion, but would discover that an enormous section of the beach had been fused into a cracked, blackened glass disc, suggesting that something sitting on the sand had suddenly and forcefully emitted extreme amounts of heat.

Other, more dubious reports would suggest that a strange, one-armed figure had been spotted lurking around the rocky outcroppings of the nearby cliffside, observing the investigation efforts from a distance. Witness reports were unreliable, but all had agreed that the mysterious figure had possessed a strangely-shaped head, resembling that of a wolf or a dog.

No such individual would ever be found, and these reports would later be dismissed as the imaginings of conspiracy-seekers, or else as hallucinations resulting from the toxic fumes that lingered still on the beach.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The smell of melting metal and burning scrap filled the atmosphere, the air rippling with heat even as far away as the cliffside. From atop that cliff, a shrouded figure, leaning on gleaming white longsword, watched, peering down at the smoldering, burned-out hulk that had once been the Dekabase.

A pair of figures, both female, came into view, having picked their way up the rocky surface of the cliff. As they drew near, they became recognizable as Beth and Sophie. Passing the cloaked figure, they paused, turning to glance at him.

"What are you doing?" Beth asked.

The shrouded figure waved his hand in the direction of the sea. "Look at that."

The girl and the android glanced out.

"Sunset," Sophie commented.

"Yes, but look at the way the fumes pick up the colors and scatter them all across the sky," Myk expounded. He pulled down his hood, revealing olive skin, honey-colored eyes ringed by dark circles, and hair that had been gelled into horns. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"I suppose," Beth replied.

Sophie merely shrugged. "Come. Mother is waiting. She says Zedd is expecting us."

"You go," Myk replied. "I'm going to stay and admire the view a while longer."

"As you wish," Sophie replied indifferently.

She and Beth walked away, leaving the traitorous Ranger standing alone on the cliff.

Closing his eyes, Myk breathed in deeply, savoring the smell of twisted metal, burning fuel, and, just a trace…the tiniest hint…of charred meat.

And he smiled.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jindrax numbly twirled his dirk, drilling a small hole through the hard red material, then threaded a leather braid though it, holding it up to observe the effect. Satisfied, he discarded the tassel attached to the pommel of his sword and tied the resulting ornament through the now-vacant loop.

Taking a few careful practice swings to be sure that the new addition wouldn't throw off the weapon's balance, Jindrax admired the way Toxica's horn glinted in the moonlight.

He'd always thought she had a nice horn.

With a sigh, he peered out at the smooth surface of the nearby lake, leaning back against the closest convenient tree.

The trouble with an itinerant lifetime was that very few places held any real meaning to them. A hallowed cemetery, the backyard of someone's childhood home, the parking lot of McDonalds…one was just as good as the next. Which meant that no place had been good enough.

In the end, he'd decided to go with a much older and, really, more practical tradition, building Toxica a funeral pyre and consigning her remains to ashes and smoke.

"Toxica," he mused again. "What am I going to do without you?" She was the brains of the outfit, it had always been her coming up with the brilliant idea, the mad adventures, the plot, the plans that he'd always been all-too-happy to get swept up in. Now he'd have to do the planning on his own.

"First of all," he decided, "I'm going to finish what we started, Toxica. I'm going to take him…take her down." He held up his sword, gazing at the horn. "Zen'Akara is going to die, Toxica. And you and I are going to be the ones to kill her. I promise."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The mood in the Oasis' lounge was dismal at best as the Rangers awaited word on Electra's condition. Angel and Kalen were idly playing chess, neither paying a great deal of attention to the game. Troy was sitting on the sofa, looking at, but not reading, a newspaper. Terina was just pacing back and forth, traveling a bit faster with every trip across the room.

Zoey and Shayla were sitting on the sofa, idly flipping through channels on the TV. To Zoey, television was still a novelty. Shayla, of course, had never seen one before, and was fascinated despite herself.

"Check," Angel said, moving one of his pieces.

"Where?" Kalen demanded. "Oh…well played," she said, moving a piece to guard her king. Along with Troy and Ornyk, Angel was one of the only people who could rival her at the game. "Okay, I have to ask," she added. "What is the deal with the stupid slogans?"

"Slogans?" Troy asked for clarification.

"'Unforgiving as Ice', 'Shifting as the Sands'…"

"Oh, those," Terina replied flatly. "Mythica incorporated individual battle cries into the spell. It's different for each person. Apparently he was the dramatic type. Liked that sort of thing."

"Great," the Purple Ranger muttered. 'So I'm stuck yelling 'Sharp as Paper' every time I do that."

"Looks like," the Eltarian replied.

"What's a 'Wheel of Fortune'?" Shayla asked, tilting her head curiously.

Everyone jumped as the doors opened and Fox walked in, looking exhausted. Diskette hovered at her elbow, looking equally drained, her optical sensors dim.

"Well? How is she?" Terina demanded, asking for all of them.

"The new heart has been transplanted successfully," she replied in a flat monotone. "Tissue regenerators are rebuilding her cardiovascular system around it and we're growing skin cultures for the grafts as we speak."

"There was also a lot of damage to her spine, where the blast exited through her back," Diskette added. "You organics are so fragile."

"Her spine?" Kalen asked, raising an eyebrow. "Were you able to repair it?"

"Sort of," Fox replied. "Tissue regenerators don't work well on nervous tissue-"

"Just ask Jareth," Diskette interrupted. "That arm of his will never feel anything again."

"Arm?" Troy asked, confused.

"Jareth's left arm was torn off in a fight a couple years back. We reattached it and it works just fine, but it's completely numb, can't feel a thing from the shoulder down," Fox explained dismissively. "Permanent nerve damage. He doesn't seem to mind it all that much, really. Uses it to take hot things out of the oven."

"Anyway, since we couldn't just repair her spine, we replaced it," Diskette chimed in. "Crafted a synthorganic section of spine and grafted it in place. "

"Physically, she'll be fine in a few days," Fox surmised. "She won't even scar, thanks to Shayla's holy water."

"But…?" Kalen asked expectantly, sensing bad news.

Fox sighed. "We estimate that a good four minutes passed between the time she was shot and the time Zord-1 started to resuscitate her. That's a long time for the brain to go without oxygen." She shrugged helplessly. "There's no telling when….or even IF…she'll wake up. And even if she does, she may have suffered permanent brain damage. There's just no way to tell."

An unpleasant silence followed.

"I'm going home now," the Camo Ranger said finally, sounding defeated. "It's been a long day."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kat gazed despondently into her coffee. She really didn't care for the stuff, even though she knew it'd be a waste not to drink it. Especially seeing as all the spare change they'd been able to beg off strangers and scrape from the gutters had been just enough to buy them those three cups, the newspaper Sky was reading, and a packet of something called 'nilla wafers'.

The sidewalk café at which they'd stopped had long since closed for the night, leaving them the only people left sitting at the uncomfortable plastic furniture. Luckily, the night was a warm, dry one…the only thing that could have made the picture of her misery complete at this point was for it to have been cold and raining.

It was Jack who first spoke what all three of them were thinking.

"Well, now what?"

The three of them exchanged glances, Sky peering up from his paper, Kat from her cup, and Jack, still cradling his chin in his hands, his nose crooked and swollen despite all Kat's efforts to set it properly.

"We're stuck here," Kat said finally. "Until I can rig up some means of contacting A-Squad to come get us."

"We could try contacting the local Rangers," Jack said, without much hope. "They have interstellar tech."

"If nothing else, they could help us get in touch with A-Squad," Kat added.

"Guys, we tried to kill them," Sky pointed out. "I really don't think they'd be eager to do us any favors."

"Besides…we have no idea who they are or where they live," Jack stated flatly. "They could be in any city, any region, any continent. They might not even live on this planet."

"Looks like we're not going anywhere for a while," Kat agreed.

There was a brief silence.

"We'll have to get jobs," Jack said. "Which means credentials. Birth records. Parentage. Verification of nationality. Maybe verification of species."

"I can probably fake most of that," Kat figured. "If only I knew where to start."

"I say we start by finding a place to live," Sky suggested, laying his paper out on the table in front of them. It was turned to the classifieds…specifically, housing.

Kat looked it over. "I'm not sure how currency works here, but I can't help but notice that all the highest numbers are next to the houses with the most bedrooms. With the jobs we'll be able to get, can we rally afford a three-bedroom house?"

Jack and Sky exchanged a glance.

"Um," Jack said.

"Two bedrooms will probably be enough."

"Yeah. Sky and I don't mind sharing a bed. Room," Jack hastily added, at Sky's expression. Both shot alarmed looks at Kat, but she seemed oblivious, absorbed in the want ads.

"Then I guess it's settled," Kat said. "Tomorrow, the three of us are getting an apartment."

"And tonight?" Sky asked.

"Tonight," Kat replied flatly. "The three of us are getting a cardboard box."

"It's not so bad," Jack informed them. "Once you get used to it."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zedd's crimson visor glowed as he surveyed the construction of the enormous metal assembly that was being built on the lunar surface, some distance from his palace. He could have simply used his vision to observe from his balcony, as was his custom, but this…this was important. This, he wished to view for himself. In person.

Not for the first time, he wished he still had lips with which to smile. The construction resembled a bridge, albeit without a channel beneath for water to flow. It was simply an elevated, rectangular platform with stairs leading up on either side.

He ascended those stairs, moving to stand in the center of the bridge, looking down at the colossal ring of metal that lay flat against the moon's sandy surface, its circular construction anchored to the bridge. The walls of the ring were as thick as a Megazord was tall; as a whole, the thing was easily as tall as a skyscraper, and as wide across as a small neighborhood.

His gaze wandered across the magnificent structure, taking in the arcane runes that had been etched into the metal to his exact specifications. Five vaguely humanoid slots had also been carved, each one inscribed with symbols and glyphs for magical containment. Shackles for wrists and ankles and, if necessary, tails, stool ready.

"It's perfect," he said, satisfied.

With that, he turned and walked back towards his palace, leaving the construction COGS to finish their labors.

His metallic footsteps echoed against the stone walls of his palace…the halls were quiet, for once, his guests and generals were awaiting him in his throne room, rather than wasting time in their quarters.

"Lord Zedd," DECA's electronic voice called.

Zedd paused in his stride, turning to face the disk-shaped mechanical entity.

"I have acquired the objects you requested."

"Excellent," Zedd replied, holding out his hand.

DECA produced four small, nondescript objects…a round plastic wheel, a shark's tooth, a small trowel, and a zippo lighter.

"And each of these was once owned by one of the Rangers?" Zedd inquired.

"Affirmative." The drone paused, then continued, "I have also located this…"

Zedd gaped as DECA produced a glittering ruby the size of one's fist.

"The Phantom Ruby," he whispered. "Where did you…never mind, give it here."

"It was in the possession of the Gray Ranger. Query…from whence does its power-"

"Later, perhaps," Zedd interrupted. He beckoned the small droid along as he continued down the hall. "You've done well. Follow me."

Zedd chuckled to himself as he made his way back to his throne room, easing himself down into his seat. His favored generals…Rito, Scorpina, Goldar, Magna Defender, and the three Beetleborgs… stood nearby, waiting patiently.

Well…patiently, for them. They weren't at each other's throats, for the moment, and that was good enough for Zedd.

Tense minutes passed.

Finally, the doors at the end of the room swung open, and three figures strode in.

Archerina, in all her pink-armored glory, her attitude one of blissful self-satisfaction. She was flanked on one side by the Nova Ranger, who carried a large metal case, and on the other by none other than Zen'Aku, whose padded leather armor now covered a body that was unmistakably female.

"So?" Zedd asked, when the trio reached his throne. "How did it go?"

Archerina snapped her fingers, and Nova handed her the case. Archerina opened it, displaying its contents to Zedd.

"We have succeeded in analyzing and reproducing the Accellular's design," the monarch said. "I present to you the ultimate in anti-Ranger weaponry…"

All those present craned in to get a better look at the glittering devices inside the case.

"We are calling it," Archerina said. "The Overdrive Tracker."

_Author's note: Wow. Toxica, Swan, Syd, Bridge, Doggie, and Z. Did I clean house in this chapter or what? But look at it this way: it makes a nice change from my only killing off all the Silver Rangers._

_I expect you're all tired of hearing this, but I am REALLY sorry for the ludicrously long delays this fic has been experiencing. I've been really busy, and I'm working on, like, six projects at once. I'm not even going to promise faster updates in the future, because to be honest, it probably WILL be a while. _


	93. Amplification Part 1

Amplification

By Stellar Raven and Zen'Aku Lati

Part 1: New Places, New Faces

Footsteps echoed throughout the enormous platform, sounding as various shoes and boots struck the marble floors and rebounding from the tiled walls. As a large pair of double-doors closed behind them, eight humanoid figured strode from the shadows into the light cast by the crystal chandeliers overhead, and the gas lights set into the walls. Six of them moved ahead in a group, the other two lagged behind.

Of these two, one was over six feet tall, covered from head to toe in cobalt blue armor. His head, the only exposed part of him, was gray-furred, resembling that of a well-groomed wolf. Next to him walked a much shorter figure, resembling a human female in her mid-teens who'd gone a bit over the top with her makeup. Half of her face was white, the other half black, her scarlet hair streaked with black and pulled into pigtails. Her clothing suggested that she'd raided a clown's closet. Lacking the quiet composure of her companion, she was grinning excitedly, bouncing on heels as though she was having difficulty staying on the ground.

As the taller, lupine warrior pulled her aside and began whispering intently to her, the other six fanned out and began examining the large train station in which they had found themselves.

One of them, a tallish, skinny, black-clothed figure with long hair, eyed the side of the enormous antique steam-train. Just behind him, a large, rectangular, elaborately embroidered carpet floated, giving the impression that it was watching the goings-on with interest.

"Travelion Express," the figure read aloud, his green irises seeming to whirl as they interpreted the archaic, runic script. A thick, ropy blue-black tail, ending in a golden tuft of fur, flicked lazily back and forth behind him, reflecting his state of casual curiosity.

"The door's gone," one of the girls in the group reported. She was nearly identical to the one with the tail, though she lacked a tail of her own; the two were clearly related, but as different as night and day. Her clothing was mostly pink, and would have been considered stylish by those who didn't think it garish. In one hand, for some reason, she held a worn-out broom.

The others turned around to see that the pink-clothed girl was right…the passage through which they'd entered the enormous chamber was, in fact, missing.

"We wouldn't want to go back the way we came, anyway," another said. This one was tall, and much more muscular than the first male who'd spoken. He was clothed in a pair of blue jeans and a red tank-top, his long dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He seemed to emanate an aura of authority, though it was fairly clear that the others present didn't think of him as a leader.

"No?" the one with the tail said. "Might be interesting to see what a universe looks like from the inside as it caves in on itself."

"Only you would think that, Jareth," his sister retorted.

He stuck his tongue out at her.

"I don't see any other doors out of here," said another, a girl who'd been studiously examining the room. She had ice-blue eyes and waist-length, golden-yellow hair, and was clearly very beautiful…although, to judge from her outfit (an oil-stained green jumpsuit) she could care less how she looked. At her heels walked a large, silvery-white mechanical dog, which sniffed eagerly at the floor and walls, trying to make sense of this strange new place.

"I think Lolli's right," the one in red agreed.

"Might I point out the obvious?" the wolflike creature said, as he and his companion joined the group.

"Hold it," one of the two who'd, until now, been silent, spoke up, addressing the one wearing the red tank-top. "Why were you hanging out with Ornyk when we found you, Tommy? And how come him and Panika are just hanging out with us like we're all best friends now? Aren't we supposed to be enemies?" He turned his dark blue eyes challengingly towards the two in question, flicking his own long, dark hair back out of his face. Despite his relatively short stature, he didn't appear to at all intimidated by the taller, more predatory figure of the armored wolf.

"I'm with Deacon," said the other who hadn't yet spoken, a young man with shaggy, shortish blonde hair, wearing a white T-shirt and khaki pants. In his hand, he held a copper rapier.

Deacon glared at him. "Get off my side RIGHT now," he growled.

"How many times have these two tried to kill us? This week?" the one in white continued, ignoring him.

"Ornyk and I reached a…," Tommy began hesitantly.

"I believe 'truce' is the word you're groping for," Ornyk said amiably, smiling to show off a mouthful of frighteningly sharp teeth.

"Truce," Tommy agreed. "While you guys were running around. Anyone have a problem with that?"

Nearly everyone opened their mouths to voice their objections.

"No? Good," Tommy interrupted. "Now, what were you going to say, Ornyk?"

"I was going to suggest the probability that we're meant to take the train."

As the others boarded the train, the girl in the green jumpsuit jumped down onto the tracks, peering down the tunnel through which they ran. It appeared to be the only way in, or out, of the station.

"No light at the end of this tunnel," she announced. "So it's either very long, or it turns, or….something else entirely." She sighed. "There's far too much magic involved for my tastes."

"Lolli, get off the tracks before you get electrocuted," the girl in pink said, reaching down to give the blonde a hand up. Lolli accepted, allowing herself to be pulled back up onto the platform…and found herself staring straight into the other girl's eyes. The two stood for a moment, hands still touching, then hastily pulled apart.

"That's subway tracks," Lolli snapped, "Not train tracks. I've met bread smarter than you."

"Um...sorry," the pink girl muttered.

"Hey guys!" Jareth called. "Check this out!"

Lolli strode off in the direction of the train, leaving the other girl standing, staring at her hand.

"Mara! You coming?"

Mara jumped. "What? Yeah, I'm coming…you don't have to shout, jeeze."

The others had evidently been exploring the train ever since Lolli'd jumped down onto the tracks. They had all gathered in the third of the train's five cars.

"The last car is full of junk," Tommy reported, joining the others third car. "And the fourth car is a dining car. This one seems to be the living compartment."

"The next car up is full of some sort of crystallized coal," Ornyk said.

"You mean diamonds?" Deacon asked.

"No," Ornyk replied. "I mean crystallized coal. I've never seen anything like it, but it's definitely magical. Fuel for the train, no doubt."

Tommy glanced around the car, but saw only seven people, counting himself and not counting the mechanical dog or the flying carpet.

"Where's Stephen?" he asked.

"Checking out the engine," Jareth replied.

"And it's a bust," the white-clothed blonde said, entering the car from the front of the train. "All the controls are frozen. Nothing works."

"Seriously?" Mara asked, resting her chin on the handle of her broom despondently. "So…what do we do, then? Walk down the tunnel?"

"I'm not walking anywhere," Lolli retorted. "Not without shoes."

Tommy blinked, looking down at the blonde-haired girl's feet. Both were bare, and one was stained black up to her knee. "And what happened to your shoes?"

"Lost one to a pit of ink, ditched the other," she replied.

"But your clothes are back to normal," Deacon argued. "All of ours are. Why are you still covered in ink? And why didn't you get your shoes back?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," she replied bitterly.

"I guess we could ride on the carpet," Stephen said uncertainly. "Or Mara's broom."

"No way," Jareth said, standing from his seat. "I wished for a way home, and I got this train. It has to work." He moved purposefully towards the engine car.

"Just because you wished for a way home doesn't mean the train's it," Tommy argued reasonably, following him. "The tunnel might be it. The train being here could be a complete coincidence."

"No it couldn't," Jareth argued, his tail waving impatiently as he reached the controls and examined them. "Nothing with me is _ever_ coincidence."

"You're wasting your time," Stephen said, joining them.

"Did you try the start lever?" Jareth asked.

"What start lever?"

He pointed at the controls. "This big lever labeled 'start'."

"First of all, I can't read it like you can, and second, yes, I did try it, and it wouldn't-"

Jareth seized the lever and pulled it. The metal handle moved effortlessly, sliding into place with a smooth _click!_.

Instantly, a piercing steam whistle blew, and the entire train vibrated to life.

Jareth shot Stephen a smug look, then turned his attention to the tracks ahead.

"All aboard!" he yelled, manipulating more levers. Slowly at first, then beginning to gather speed, the Travelion Express shot forward into the dark tunnel.

Before long, glimmering points appeared in the blackness, multicolored lights that shot past the windows. Apart from the stars, outside were only the tracks, which glowed, seeming to appear in front of the train as they were needed. Tommy had little doubt that if he were to go to the back of the train and look out, he'd see them vanishing.

"Looks like we're on our way," Jareth said happily.

"Yeah," Stephen allowed, looking somewhat disgruntled. "But on our way where?"

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Something was calling.

Suddenly wide-awake, Helaprosti opened his eyes, staring up into the darkness of his dimmed chambers. The call was coming from somewhere on the grounds, as clear as could be.

Sitting up and turning to hang his feet over the side of his bed, the dark-haired boy stretched and rose to his feet, dressing quickly in the dark. He wouldn't normally have bothered getting dressed for something like this, but the Keepers had a habit of teleporting in and out of the Grounds at all hours of the night, and he never knew when he'd run into them.

Making his way out into the halls, he followed the call. It wasn't a sound, or a vision, just a feeling in the back of his head, an undeniable sensation, simple knowledge that something wanted his attention. It wanted him to know where it was, and so, quite simply, he did.

The Library. Home to more ancient tomes than existed, as far as he knew, anywhere. He reached for the tarnished bronze key sticking out of one of the stone blocks that composed the walls, that, if turned, would increase the flow of gas to the ensconced, dimly burning lanterns set near the ceiling…but paused, realizing that more light wouldn't be needed.

A faint, spectral blue glow was emanating from one of the shelves, as though ghostly fire was consuming one of the books, throwing flickering shadows onto the others.

The Xenotome. Book of the Unknown.

Making his way over to it, Helaprosti reached up and pulled the shimmering tome from the shelf. It didn't move at all, but still seemed to vibrate in his hands somehow.

Helaprosti carried the book over to one of the waist-high, polished wood tables, the light of the Xenotome more than bright enough to see by. Placing it down on the mahogany surface, he reverently fingered the M-shaped, golden clasp that held the cover shut. Taking a deep breath, he unhooked it…and the book sprang open, its pages shining like the sun.

The White Keeper squinted, trying to read the page through sudden, stinging tears. As his eyes adjusted to the light and his vision cleared, letters began to flow across the page in elegant, flowing calligraphy, as though the book was writing itself by some unseen hand.

One by one, the names of the six Keepers appeared, each one in ink that matched that Keeper's color.

_Caerulame_

_Bunicentis _

_Mutaridequa_

_Caeluvertus_

_Aqubachina_

_Dralgonus_

Then, to his surprise, the row of names moved to the side of the page, shrinking as it did to make room for a second row, six more names that wrote themselves alongside the first column.

_Aurvonta_

_Galdiursas _

_Venugrantum _

_Vimidentia _

_Lucobris_

_Igmaceus_

The White Keeper stared, fascinated, as the two columns began to flow across the page, swirling and mixing until they formed a sort of yin-yang….and then separated, the new names fading away.

Helaprosti rubbed his eyes…which is a pity, because had he kept them open, he may have seen a seventh name add itself to the bottom of the remaining list in dark red ink, just before the book clapped shut of its own accord.

The light faded. Try as he might, Helaprosti was unable to get the book to open again. The Xenotome had revealed all it cared to, for the present.

The White Keeper never did get back to sleep that night.

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_One Month Later…_

The town of Chestnut, New York, had seen its share of troubles in the last few months. It had been attacked by metallic, plant-like monsters, then besieged by spandexed teenagers with questionable motives, and, more recently, assailed by giant monstrosities and enormous, mechanical animals. These days, anyone living in this town had to expect the unexpected.

But when a large, antique locomotive suddenly appeared in the sky and plummeted to the ground, coming to a shaky, uneven halt in the middle of First Avenue and backing up traffic for seven blocks, it was considered strange even by local standards.

Oblivious to the furious car horns, inside the train's third car, a number of bruised bodies and limbs struggled to disentangle themselves from one another.

"Way to go, Valentine," Stephen grumbled, pulling himself to his feet and checking to make sure nothing was broken. "Did we land, or were we shot down?"

"I'm terribly sorry, Stephen," The Gold Ranger's voice snapped back from the train's engine. "Had I only known that you were a master of the fine art of landing steam-powered locomotives on busy highways, I'd have asked for your assistance."

"Is everyone okay?" Tommy asked practically. "Sound off."

"White Ranger, alive and annoyed," Stephen declared, dusting himself off.

"Pink Ranger, nothing broken," Mara announced. "I think."

"Green Ranger, head hurts, make the world stop spinning?" Lolli chimed in, sounding dazed.

"Silver Ranger, still going," Deacon said.

"Gold Ranger, lost and confused," Jareth called, walking into the car. "So…same as ever."

"We're fine, too," Ornyk chimed in from the back of the car, where he was seated next to his sister. "If anyone cares."

"Where are we?" Mara asked, gently examining the side of Lolli's head, where a large nasty bump was beginning. Lolli seemed too dazed to object.

"In the middle of a city," Jareth replied. "Didn't look familiar."

"And what dimension are we in?" Stephen asked. "Are we home?"

The commotion outside the car grew louder. There was a banging on the door.

"This is the police! Come out with your hands in the air!" a loud voice demanded, speaking High Terran in a strange-sounding accent.

The Rangers exchanged mystified glances.

"What's a police?" Mara asked.

"They're dressed like Enforcers," Deacon reported, pulling aside the curtain and peeking out the window.

"They ARE Enforcers," Tommy said. "At least, that's what Enforcers are called on Earth."

"Are we on Earth, then?" Mara asked.

The Gold Ranger walked over to the door and opened it, poking his head out. He blinked at the sudden rush of cold air…it was freezing outside the train car.

At least three of the Enforcers…or pol-eese, or whatever, were standing outside, guns drawn and aimed at the door.

Jareth blinked. And closed the door, locking it.

"I don't think we want to go out there," he said.

"Come out or we'll open fire!"

"How do we know you won't open fire anyway?" Jareth demanded loudly through the door..

"Jareth, just do as they say," Tommy said. "Come on, everyone. Umm…except for you two," the Red Ranger added as an afterthought, glancing at Ornyk and Panika, who were nonchalantly lounging towards the back of the car. "I think you might draw unpleasant attention."

"More attention than landing a train in the middle of the street?" Lolli mumbled.

"I think she hit her head pretty hard," Mara guessed.

"Just go quietly," Tommy said. "We can make up a story later, right now we need to get that looked at. Okay?"

Jareth sighed, opened the door, and made a point of walking out with his hands in plain view, first carefully coiling his tail around his waist beneath his shirt, keeping it safely out of sight. The others followed, Mara having to steady Lolli to keep her from falling over.

"Murphy, stay," the Pink Ranger hissed as she exited.

The mechanical German shepherd, which had been about to follow its creator, whimpered, ears drooping, and slunk underneath one of the train's chairs, lying down dejectedly.

"We're not armed," Tommy said to the police as he led the group off the train. This wasn't precisely true, Jareth had his Laser Lamp in his pocket, and a Ranger was never really unarmed anyway, but none of them was carrying a _conventional_ weapon.

"Gods, but it's cold out here," Deacon complained, pulling his black denim jacket tighter.

"Hands where I can see them," one of the policemen snapped.

The Silver Ranger looked about to object, but a hasty glance from Tommy silenced him.

"What's her problem?" One of the police asked, gesturing towards Lolli with his gun.

"She hit her head when we crashed," Mara told him, speaking carefully. Her High Terran was a bit rusty.

The cop seemed a bit more sympathetic. "We'll have someone check it in a sec. Rich, check inside, see if there are any more."

One of the cops moved towards the train's entrance and began climbing the stairs. Tommy moved as though to stop them, but froze when the cop's gun twitched in his direction.

"It's just…you should know about-"

"Holy Shit! What the Hell is THAT?!"

Tommy winced as gunfire sounded from within the train, followed by flashes of blue-black fire and flickering red light in the car's windows.

There was an explosion of glass as Ornyk leapt through Travelion's window, landing in a feral crouch on the street. There were so many gasps of terror and astonishment from the people on the street that it was a wonder everyone present didn't pass out from lack of oxygen.

The remaining two cops raised suddenly shaking guns towards the Zornian, who surveyed the situation carefully.

He was in motion before anyone knew it, grabbing Tommy by the shoulders and heaving him at the two cops. Not daring to shoot, the police hesitated as the alien backflipped up into the air, landing atop the train's car.

With a cocky wave, Ornyk vanished in a crackle of indigo fire.

There was a moment of stunned silence.

"He took us," Mara blurted out. "I mean, it…that thing. Onto its train. I think…I think it was planning to eat us."

Every Ranger's head whipped around to gape at her. Fortunately, the cops seemed to interpret this as shock at the idea of being eaten. They relaxed, holstering their guns.

"Shit, son. Why didn't you SAY you'd been snatched by a monster?" the one in charge asked of Tommy. "Didja think we wouldn't believe you, after everything that's happened lately?"

"I…we…barely believed it ourselves, Officer." Tommy replied, a bit lamely.

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_Keepers,_ Helaprosti's voice called, echoing within Pete's mind. _Trouble. Report to the Grounds._

Pete raised his hand.

"Excuse me, Ms. Appleby? May I please be excused to save the world?"

The teacher paused in her lecture, giving him a strange look, clearly debating whether she should even try to deny him permission. Finally, with a sigh, she gestured to the door.

"Thanks," Pete said, racing to the door. He allowed himself a smirk. Being a Keeper was a royal pain a lot of the time, but getting out of class was definitely a perk. Or at least it would be, he reflected, his grin fading, if he weren't always getting out of class so they he could risk getting his butt handed to him by Haezoh. Or worse.

As soon as he was outside the classroom, he closed his eyes and concentrated, melting into a streak of green light that shot into the air. When next he opened his eyes, he was standing alongside his friends at the Grounds, their headquarters.

Helaprosti's eyes were glued to the screen on the wall at the far end of the room.

"Is that a train?" Brad asked. "In the middle of First Avenue?"

"It is," Helaprosti confirmed.

"Well, what's it _doing_ there?" the Red Keeper demanded.

"Holding up traffic?" Liz suggested.

Brad shot the Pink Keeper a sidelong glance, in response to which she just shrugged.

"Sorry, but how is this our problem? It's not like the train's attacking anybody."

"How did a train wind up in the middle of the city?" Antoinette asked. "The nearest tracks are miles from here."

"And those kind of trains haven't been used for decades," Pete added. "Something's definitely up. Something supernatural."

"There's more," the White Keeper added. He gave a command to the screen, and the scene rewound, displaying a close-up of the train, with police escorting a number of teenagers as they disembarked. The Keepers blinked in surprise as a…as something leapt out through the train's window, threw one of the teenagers into the policemen, and then leapt atop the train, teleporting away.

"Who…or what…was THAT?" John asked.

"Why?" Brad asked lightly, not taking his eyes off the screen. "Want his number?"

The Blue Keeper shot him a glare.

"We won't find the answers to any of these questions standing here," Helaprosti pointed out quickly, before John could reply.

"Then let's go check it out," Antoinette agreed. "Should we go as humans or Keepers?"

"Humans," Liz suggested. "No need to spook the straights unless we find trouble."

"I concur," Helaprosti declared. "Let's see if we can get any information from those six humans who were on board."

"On it," the Pink Keeper assured him.

In an eye-defying array of multicolored lights, the Keepers teleported away.

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"I can't believe they didn't even want to question us," Deacon said incredulously, as the policemen proceeded to rope off the train with yellow plastic crime scene tape. The Rangers all stood just outside the designated perimeter, except for Lolli, who was still being checked out by the paramedics, and Mara, who'd been keeping her company.

"Me neither," Stephen agreed.

"Check it out," Jareth said casually, his eyes on the train. "Travelion's window just un-shattered itself. Cool."

No one paid him the slightest attention.

"So, umm…now what?" Deacon asked.

"It WILL look kind of suspicious if we go back on board, won't it?" Tommy asked. "I guess we'll have to think of something."

The Rangers looked up as Mara and Lolli approached, the Green Ranger carrying a paper cup.

"So, any idea why we crashed?" Mara inquired.

"We probably ran out of magicoal," Jareth replied. "We were scraping the bottom for a while. The train was probably running on fumes. What did the paramedics say?"

"Just a bump," Mara replied, sounding relieved. "She'll be fine."

"A bump, my ass," Lolli grumbled. She downed the asprin she'd been holding, chasing it with the contents of the cup. "Feels like someone took a ball-peen hammer to my skull."

"Maybe you should lie down," Tommy suggested.

The Green Ranger shook her head. "They say I should try not to go to sleep for another couple hours, just in case."

"So…once again. What do we do now?" Stephen inquired.

"I want to look around a little," Tommy said. "I want to know whether this is Earth…and if it is, whether it's MY Earth."

"Was your Earth this cold?" Jareth asked bitterly, shivering.

"Seriously, it's freezing out here," Mara agreed.

Tommy shook his head. "It is not. I don't think you people realize what a hot place Terra is. This is just winter, is all."

"Well, if you're going to go exploring, I suppose I should come along," Lolli surmised, still sounding a bit grumpy, though the medicine was clearly helping. "I'm the best information gatherer here."

"You sure you're up to it?" Jareth asked.

"A walk, some fresh air, it can only help, right?"

"I'm coming too," Deacon said. "I need to move around, after a week cooped up in that damned train."

"Me too," Stephen agreed.

Tommy shook his head. "Half of us should stay with the train, just in case."

Deacon turned to Stephen, making a fist and holding it above his palm. "Match you for it?"

A brief game of Rock-Paper-Scissors followed, during which Stephen lost two out of three.

"I win," Stephen declared.

"Excuse me? You lost. Twice."

"No I didn't. I threw Rock the second time. You threw Scissors."

"I threw Paper," Deacon asserted.

"No. You didn't."

"Um, yes. I did."

"If you _meant _to throw Paper, you did it wrong. Your fingers were clearly-"

"I don't care which one of them comes as long as they both shut up right now," Lolli announced, wincing at the noise.

"Stephen, you lost. Stop making up reality as you go along. Deacon, Lolli, Tommy, happy info-hunting. We'll watch the train," Jareth said.

"We'll try to be back by dark," Tommy called back, as the three of them headed off down the sidewalk.

Jareth leaned idly against the streetlight. Stephen sulked.

Mara bit her lip as the others walked away, and stayed silent for as long as she could, until…

"Lolli shouldn't be up and about so soon. I don't think she's up to it."

Jareth raised an eyebrow. "Mara…Lolli isn't you. Why do you care about her?"

"I don't! I just...I mean…I DO care about people besides myself , you know."

"No, you really don't," the Gold Ranger reminded her.

"I did win," Stephen growled. "I should be going."

"I do so!" Mara protested. "I care about lots of people."

"I'm going to go along," the White Ranger announced.

"No, you're not," Jareth said. "Because if you do, you'll leave the train underguarded, and if something happens to it, it'll be all your fault."

"No, it'll be all Deacon's fault for lying about the game, and yours for backing him up."

"What about Mom? Do you think I don't care about Mom?"

The Gold Ranger sighed, closing his eyes and knocking the back of his head against the light pole on which he was leaning.

"Why didn't _I_ go?" he asked the sky.

Surprisingly, about twenty minutes later, the sky answered.

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"That was fun, wasn't it?"

Ornyk peered back over his shoulder to see his sister appearing in a crackle of red light.

"Wondered where you'd gone. No, not especially," he replied, returning his attention to the street below, where the Rangers were conferring with the local enforcers. From what his keen ears could detect, they'd managed to excuse their presence on the train by claiming that it was his, and that he'd kidnapped them. Typical.

"Although it was...different," he added, after a moment's thought. "I've never been shot at by a conventional firearm before."

"What was it like?" Panika asked curiously.

Ornyk twisted a finger in his lupine ear. "Loud," he replied.

At that moment, a breeze blew across the rooftops. Ornyk caught a whiff of something familiar. His ears pricked up, indicative of sudden interest.

"Do you smell that?"

"Mmmhmm. Rain coming," Panika replied, absently filing her nails.

"Not _that,_" Ornyk snapped.

"What then?" the more humanoid Zornian asked. She sniffed. "Oh."

"Come on," Ornyk called, strolling to the side of the skyscraper.

In twin crackles of red light and indigo flames, the two supernaturally gifted aliens vanished, teleporting to the source of the aroma they'd detected.

"Hmm," Ornyk growled quietly. "Now what's galactic metal doing in a place like this?" He inhaled again, his sensitive nose picking up on the faint traces of scents long buried. Something was...familiar...and his eyes widened as he realized what it was. _No,_ he thought to himself. _Can't be._

"Ooh. Slide!"

Ornyk rolled his eyes as his sister darted towards the distractions offered by the playground they'd found themselves on. Fortunately, there were no children nearby...probably scared indoors by the looming thunderhead that was brewing above.

Ornyk held out his hand, feeling over the ground, trying to sense..._THERE. _He strolled over to the spot where the unearthly vibrations were strongest.

"Is it here?" Panika asked brightly, suddenly next to him. Without waiting for an answer, she dived into the ground as though it were a liquid, the earthen surface rippling like water.

Ornyk tapped his paw impatiently. A few moments later, she emerged, darting up from beneath the ground and coming to rest next to him.

To his surprise, she wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, her childlike exhuberance gone.

"Something's wrong. My power feels...wrong. Ornyk, what-?"

"Never mind that now," he interrupted, casting his gaze sharply to either side. Best not to explain that to her here, not so close to...THAT. Such things always attracted attention, and one never knew who might be listening. "Was it there?"

"Oh! Yep!" Panika confirmed, shedding her discomfort in an instant, her mood changing as though someone had flipped a switch. "Big metal bug."

Ornyk smiled, displaying two rows of fearsome Zornian teeth. "I knew it. He WAS here. Ivan, you old bastard. How you do get around." He inhaled again, his nose confirming what he already knew.

There was just no mistaking the smell of Ooze.

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"Public Libraries have the _slowest_ internet access," the Green Ranger complained, clicked a few more keys. "Nope. That settles it, Tommy. Not only is there no record of any monster attacks or Power Rangers in Angel Grove, California…there's no record of any Angel Grove, California. This is not your Earth."

Tommy sighed. "Right planet, wrong universe."

"Tough break, man," Deacon sympathized, patting his shoulder.

"Well," the Red Ranger said. "Let's get back to Travelion…"

"Hang on," the Green Ranger said, still searching the Net. "I said there were no Rangers in Angel Grove. But there are some right here. Check it out."

Tommy and Deacon leaned in, eyeing the pictures that Lolli was bringing up on the screen.

There was a long pause. Finally, Deacon broke the silence.

"Are they wearing spandex?"

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"So, if you care to find me, look to the Western sky,

As someone told me lately, everyone deserves a chance to fly!

And, if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free…"

"Jareth. _Please_ stop singing?" Mara requested.

The Gold Ranger rolled his eyes. "Well. This song loses something without the instrumental in the background anyway."

A cold droplet fell onto the back of Stephen's hand. He examined it, then turned his eyes skyward in apprehension.

"Oh, man…"

"What?" Jareth asked.

As if in answer to his question, the sky split open and began pouring icy water on them.

Mara squealed, and Jareth let out a shriek that was practically feline. The crowd that had been milling around the train scattered, heading for shelter, leaving only the three Rangers.

"Let's get back on board!" Stephen suggested. "At least it's dry in there."

For perhaps the first time in history, no one cared to argue with the White Ranger. The three ducked under the yellow police tape (except for Jareth, who hopped over) and made their way back into Travelion's passenger car.

"I really hate water," Jareth grumbled, removing the fedora from his head and twisting it in his hands, wringing it out onto the ground. Planting the damp hat back on his head, he then repeated the act with the golden tuft of his tail, squeezing water from it distastefully.

"Not too fond of it at the moment, myself," Mara agreed.

"At least it got rid of the gawkers," Stephen ventured.

"Hate water," the Gold Ranger repeated, cringing. "Haaaate water."

The next few moments were spent in damp, cold, uncomfortable silence.

"So where can we find more magicoal?" the White Ranger finally asked.

"I dunno," Jareth muttered, his wary eyes on the downpour outside the window. "Maybe I can learn to conjure some."

"If you plan to try, wait until we can retreat to a safe distance," Stephen suggested dryly.

A tapping sound began to beat against the walls and roof of the small compartment.

"What _now_?" Mara whined. "Hail?"

Their heads jerked towards the door as something knocked almost timidly on the metal outside.

With a sigh, Jareth coiled up his tail again, making his way to the door.

Outside was a faceless, gray-skinned, semi-metallic creature with leafy vines like deradlocks growing from its scalp. It made a menacing noise, brandishing sharpened leaves like knives.

"Aaah!" Jareth cried. "Heartless!" He slammed the door and backed up, just as the soot-colored plant creature jabbed with his leafy weapon, lodging it firmly in the door.

"Oy, could this day get any worse?" Mara whined, as she, Stephen and Jareth backed as far away as possible from the door, eyes on the blade that protruded through the inside of the door.

Shortly after, the blade was yanked free of the metal, and a persistent hacking at the antique vehicle from all sides began.

"You had to ask," Stephen quipped.

Abruptly, everything halted.

"Is it over?" Mara asked.

As if in response, the door was blown in by some kind of explosion, leaving the car smelling of soil, charred wood and gun powder.

"Mara, do **not** say another word!" Jareth barked from his ducked position on the floor of the antique car.

Once the smoke and flying wood chips had cleared, the three stunned Rangers looked up to see a giant gaping hole where the door had been. The cold air rushed in on them, and raindrops took advantage of the opportunity to ride the drafts as it blew in on them, immediately rendering all the drying off they'd managed to do useless.

Beyond the new 'doorway', the three Rangers noted that the "Heartless" weren't alone. Standing in the rain among them were six determined-looking teenagers.

"Liz!" the blond male in red barked.

"On it!" the girl in pink confirmed. The girl raised her arms.

Immediately, the Heartless that were approaching the opening were yanked up into the air, as though they'd been lassoed by invisible strings.

The red-clad blonde then rushed towards the opening.

"Are you guys alright?" he asked.

Mara had been about to say something smart, but stopped when she got a good look at the newcomer.

"Jesus," she gasped.

Jareth, too, seemed somewhat taken aback.

"Bobby…," he said, almost too softly to be heard above the wind and rain.

Stephen blinked, recognizing the name. His eyes shot towards the red-clad boy who was staring at them in bafflement. "Isn't he supposed to be…?"

"Dead," Mara finished softly.

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Huh? Dead?

"What?" the blond boy asked, confused.

"Brad! Look out!" another of the six called out, a dark-skinned girl in black, alerting him of the faceless creatures that were quickly approaching him from behind.

The athletic-looking boy identified as Brad quickly stepped back out into the rain and extended his hand. As if on command, one of the hubcaps from a nearby car popped off the wheel and shot towards his hand, stopping a few inches shy of his palm. He then turned his palm upward, the hubcap hovered just above it.

The hubcap began to spin, gaining speed and crackling with static electricity, something that normally shouldn't have been possible in the pouring rain. He turned his palm downwards, and he then spun on one foot and hurled the spinning chrome disc at the faceless creature. There was a disquieting 'Squelch!'.

The Heartless paused…and then its left arm fell off. Murky liquid began flowing from a slash that ran diagonally from its left armpit to its waist on the right. Suddenly, it fell apart, its upper body sliding off to the side, leaving its legs to collapse next to it.

From the train's car, three voices breathed in unison.

"Woah…"

Brad smirked.

But more and more of those creatures were appearing, materializing from the puddles that speckled the street and potholes. The six dripping wet teens looked around at their soot-colored foes, who now had them surrounded.

"Alright fellas. It's that time again!" the boy in red announced. "**Dalog Yodogh, unite!**"

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"What did he say?" Mara muttered.

"I dunno," her brother replied. 'Something about a dog."

The walls of the train chose that exact moment to reassemble themselves, like film running in reverse, all of the debris and shrapnel flying back into place and reassembling itself seamlessly, cutting the three Rangers off from the Heartless, the teenagers, and the rain.

"Well," Stephen said. "That's convenient."

Multicolored lights flashed through the car's water-blurred windows.

"What was THAT, now?" the Pink Ranger demanded.

"The Enforcers coming back? A comet striking the planet? The Care Bears arriving to save the day?"

Mara glared at her brother.

"What?" he asked defensively. "Hey, we already see dead people. Nothing would surprise me at this point."

"You're so not helping."

The Gold Ranger rolled his eyes, then considered. "Actually, to be honest, it looked like a transmutation reaction."

"A _what_?" Stephen demanded.

"The wasted energy thrown off by a spell effect. Like the flashes of light when we morph."

"Oh."

There was a tinkling noise as one of the windows of the train shattered behind them. Turning to see what caused it, the three Rangers spied more Heartless, attempting to break in.

"Man, these things are everywhere!" The White Ranger complained.

Jareth reached into his pocket and withdrew what looked like an antique oil lamp. There was a _click_ as the handle folded down and a blaster barrel emerged from the spout, transforming the light source into a hand-held pistol.

There was a bright explosion of golden fire as he pulled the trigger, blowing away not only the Heartless, but also the back wall of the train.

"Maybe we should just let them have their way with the stupid train," Stephen suggested, over the renewed sound of the rain. "They can't possibly do it anymore damage than we can."

"This thing is our only way home," Jareth reminded them, rubbing his lamp, the small jewel on top glowing brighter as he built the charge. "Who knows how many more times it can fix itself? We've got to get rid of them."

And with that, he did something neither Stephen nor Mara ever thought they'd see Jareth do…he walked willingly out into the rain. The Heartless were beginning to recover from the blast…it seemed to have completely dazzled them, but now they were on their feet again. Bolts of gold energy swirled around Jareth as he fired, seemingly at random, the blasts seeking out their targets on their own.

Not to be out-done, Stephen grabbed the copper rapier that lay on one of the chairs nearby and rushed out as well, crossing blades with the Heartless. He parried a slash of a leaf-blade, then planted his foot on the monster's chest and shoved it back. As it tried to regain its balance, he thrust, stabbing it through the heart…assuming it had one.

Another of the creatures entered the train, its movements cautious, as though anticipating another blast. Seeing that there was only one person aboard, it seemed to gain courage, moving towards her threateningly.

Mara backed away until her back hit the wall. She looked around desperately…and her gaze fell on the worn-looking broom that was propped in the corner. She made a dive for it, her hands closing around the wooden shaft, then turned, just as the Heartless attacked.

The Pink Ranger managed to move aside, letting out a squeal of pain and surprise, the beast's jagged, razor-keen blade tearing a line of fire across her right arm, blood staining her stylish pink blouse and falling to Travelion's floor.

Desperately, Mara held out the broom, pointing it towards the gaping hole in the side of the train car. Responding to her mental command, the cleaning implement came to life. It took flight, pulling her along for the ride, yanking her forcefully out of the car and into the rainy street outside.

Mara stumbled as the brief leap ended, barely managing not to take a faceplant onto the asphalt. She turned, eyes wide, just in time to see the Heartless as it began to pursue her…

Once again, Travelion's wall repaired itself, sealing the beast inside.

The Pink Ranger breathed a sigh of relief…then, abruptly, tensed again, realizing that she was now on a street packed with the creatures. She held up her broom in what she hoped was an assertive manner, as the Heartless began to close in on her.

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Meanwhile, on the other side of the train, five colorful forms moved about the street, fending off the soulless creatures.

The Green Keeper danced to and fro, evading leafy blades as best as he could…until the Haezoh ensnared his feet with its tendrils, pulling them out from under him. Pete hit the pavement, hard, his twin shortswords falling from his grip and clattering to the ground. He lunged for them, but before he could reach them, the Haezoh yanked back on its vines, lifting him up off the ground and swinging him through the air.

He spun once, twice, three times before the monster released him, flinging him painfully against the side of the train. The Green Keeper slid to the ground, colliding with the wet pavement. A sharp pain erupted in his left arm, as the Haezoh stabbed down at his with one of its leaves, planting the blade in his bicep, then lifted him up into the air.

Pete gritted his teeth as the edge of the leaf sliced up his arm, his own weight dragging him down against the blade. Planting a foot on the beast's chest, he pushed it back as hard as he could, forcing it to release him. Once again he fell to the pavement, just managing to keep his footing this time.

Out of ideas, Pete did the only thing he could think to do. Placing his hand against the car, he 'Glinched' the train. Metal seemed to spread across his outfit as the train's coloration became his own.

The Haezoh didn't so much as slow down…color meant nothing to it. It thrust an arm forward, thorny tendrils snaking forward to attack.

Pete ducked the vines, rushed forward, and, with all the power of a steam-driven piston, delivered a devastating punch to the creature. The Haezoh's skull split like a ripe watermelon, its contents splattering out behind it. The creature collapsed to the ground like a sack of wet cement.

Grimly, the Green Keeper shook his hand, trying to shake free the gunk. The rain helped somewhat…now, if only it could cool the fire than ran down his arm where the Haezoh had slashed him. He examined the gash dismally…it was a deep one….

Blinking in astonishment, Pete watched as the wound began to close…not so much healing as reversing, droplets of blood literally separating themselves from the street to rejoin his body. Before his very eyes, his skin and suit both knitted back together, the pain vanishing, all the damage reversed…

Just like the train kept doing.

"Well, all right," he said happily. Spying his weapons, he rushed to retrieve them before rejoining the fray.

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The faceless, charcoal-colored creatures forced Mara back until her back was pressed against the train. As one of them swung at her face, she ducked frantically, its blade striking sparks from the metal surface.

The Pink Ranger tried to knock its legs out from under it with her broom, but couldn't get enough leverage from her position, the wooden shaft striking the side of the Heartless' leg with a hollow _Thunk!_

The soulless creature seemed to stare down at her in derision for a moment. Then, raising its arm, it projected forth a green energy blade and prepared to strike.

Mara screwed her eyes shut, raising her arm in a feeble attempt to shield herself.

_SMASH!_

Broken glass rained down on her from above as one of Travelion's windows shattered from within, something large and silver colliding with the Heartless, knocking it away from the helpless Pink Ranger.

Mara's eyes snapped open at the sound of four metal paws coming into contact with the pavement.

"Murphy?" she asked, blinking in surprise at the mechanical dog that stood protectively before her, metal ears laid back as he growled at the enemy.

A smile broke out across Mara's face as she pulled herself to her feet.

"Good dog! Am I ever glad to see you!"

The silvery-white, metal German Shepherd hesitated, and seemed to be waiting for something.

Mara blinked. During the week they'd spent in close quarters on the train, Lolli had taught her a few of his commands.

"Oh, what was it…right…Murphy! Silver Bullet!"

The dog's pointed ears snapped up, and he let out an eager bark. Drawing back to store tension in the springs in his legs, he leapt forward, melting into a streak of silver that shot back and forth, knocking down not just the Heartless who was threatening Mara, but every one of the faceless creatures nearby.

Mara scratched the sensor behind his ear as he came to rest next to her. The dog whimpered happily.

"I have GOT to get me one of these," She said happily.

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John backed away as the Haezoh approached, waiting for them all to draw in close enough that he could take them out with relative ease.

His back bumped against something, and he turned his head sharply so that he could see what it was out through the side of his visor.

It was the White Keeper, his fiery swords making a flickering orange mist of the drizzling rain. A number of Haezoh were also menacing him.

"Jump Break?" Helaprosti suggested.

John shook his head. "Double Dragon," he replied.

"We haven't practiced that one."

"No time like the present," the Blue Keeper replied.

His back was pressed up against Helaprosti's, and that was all the contact John needed. The blue coloring vanished from his suit, as though the rain were washing it away, his visor changing its shape and the symbol on his chest changing from a set of scales to a stylized flame. In less than a second, he'd become a perfect replica of the White Keeper.

As a quick afterthought, John went and added the blue back into the highlights of his costume, just in case anyone needed to be able to tell them apart.

"On my mark," Helaprosti said, as he and John both willed their weapons to vanish.

The Haezoh continued to approach, weapons at the ready.

"Mark!" The White Keeper called.

Both thrust their hands forward, a ring of flames appearing, encircling their wrists, one ring white and the other blue. With a bright burst of flames, an enormous pair of fiery serpentine dragons emerged from their hands, snaking out into the air, raindrops sizzling against them.

Darting forward, the dragons wove their way through the soulless footsoldiers, burning gaping holes through their plant-like bodies as though they were nothing more than paper.

As the fire penetrated through the ranks of Haezoh, two of them leapt together, merging into a Haezoh Supreme. When the white dragon snaked around and darted in to attack, its fiery body, instead of burning through, washed over the Haezoh harmlessly, unable to burn through its enhanced body.

John spied this, and he elbowed Helaprosti.

The White Keeper turned his head, and John nodded at the lone survivor.

"Final Fire?" Helaprosti suggested.

John nodded. "You're on."

Both Keepers turned to face the Supreme, each gesturing at it with one hand. Their dragons, in response to their mental commands, whipped their heads around to face the Haezoh Supreme as it began to approach their masters.

Rearing back, the two dragons opened their mouths and breathed forth twin streams of searing hot flame, enveloping the Supreme in a blue-white ball like a miniature sun. Heat rippled the air, making steam of the raindrops long before they ever touched the white-hot fireball. The surface of the street beneath the blaze began to shimmer as the concrete began to melt and liquefy.

"I think he's done," John said, after a moment. Although he'd never admit it, the truth was he couldn't maintain the effect any longer.

Helaprosti nodded, also drained. Sweat poured down his face beneath his helmet.

The fire died and the dragons vanished as both Keepers allowed their hands to drop to their sides. Blue once again washed over John's suit as he returned to his original shape.

The Supreme was gone, completely incinerated. Not even ash remained. All that was left was a pair of footprints, pressed into the liquefied concrete by the Haezoh Supreme's weight before it had been vaporized. Steam rose from the spot as the raindrops cooled and hardened the molten cement, leaving pockmocks in its surface as they did.

The sounds of battle still raged nearby over the gentle roar of rain striking the pavement…their maneuver had only destroyed those Haezoh that had stood within about twenty feet from them.

The White and Blue Keepers exchanged a glance, sighed, and conjured their weapons, a pair of axes appearing in John's hands, and Helaprosti wielding a flaming sword.

"It never ends," John muttered.

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"What ARE these things?" Stephen wondered aloud, parrying another blow with his rapier. The creature's strength was such that his arm was beginning to go numb from all the impact his blade had absorbed. The once-smooth copper sword was now nicked and scarred, it was only a matter of time before the soft metal gave to the harder leaf-blades these things wielded. Luckily, none of them had thought to turn their energy-blades against him; one of those would have cut through his sword effortlessly.

"They're strong, that's what they are," Mara replied. "Take Down!" she commanded, pointing at the nearest one. Murphy crouched, pouncing on it and tearing its throat out with his powerful hydraulic jaws.

"I'm starting to miss Putties," the Gold Ranger agreed, polishing his lamp on his sleeve. The gem set into the top of the lamp glowed feebly, almost as though the weapon were tired.

Stephen's eyes widened as the Heartless he was fighting took a step back, the vine-like dreadlocks on its head rising up and pointing their tips in his direction.

Not sure what was coming, but knowing that it couldn't be good, he dived aside, narrowly avoiding a spray of greenish-yellow liquid.

"They shoot acid," he informed the others helpfully, eyeing the puddle as it began to eat into the ground, dissolving several layers of asphalt before the falling rain diluted it and washed it away.

"Great," Jareth called cheerfully, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Anything else?" he asked, blasting the creature nearest him. The blast was a feeble one, barely a shove to the Heartless. "Aw, man…," he muttered, backing away slowly as the creature advanced on him.

The White Ranger attempted to block another blow, but this time the copper finally gave, the Heartless' blade slicing neatly through his weapon. The end of his sword clattered to the pavement, landing in the gutter, leaving him holding little more than a copper handguard and a few inches of the blade. He attempted to block the next blow with just the handguard, but the impact stung his hand and knocked what remained of the weapon from his grip.

There was a crash of metal and an electronic whimper as one of the Heatless backhanded Murphy, knocking him out of the air in mid-pounce and sending his titanium body smashing into the pavement. Sparks flew from his joints as he struggled to pull himself to his feet, still growling threateningly at any of the creatures who approached Mara. His next step forward was a limp, one of his hind legs clearly damaged.

"Murphy," she wailed softly. "What else can go wrong today?"

As if on cue, the Heartless paused, as one, drawing back and standing aside as a new figure emerged from the mist.

The three Rangers regrouped automatically, eyes on the new arrival. He was a head taller and a good deal broader than the Heartless, his entire body wound in barbed wire, like a metal mummy. He had no face, only a pair of gaps in the metal winding that suggested where his eyes should have been. Water ran off him in torrents, gathering in the channels between his wire and dripping off of his spikes as he approached.

"Mara," Jareth muttered. "Please stop talking."

Abruptly, the sounds of water striking the pavement ceased, the droplets of rain slowing and coming to a halt in midair. Rain still fell from the sky above, but it never reached them, instead striking some invisible barrier overhead, as though they were covered by a giant glass bowl.

The drops that floated around them began to combine, joining together into larger globules, which were then fed by threads of water that rose up off of every surface, drawing itself out of puddles, off the sidewalks, even from their clothes. It all gathered together into two or three long ropes of water that quickly slithered through the air, over to the other side of the train.

There was a sudden sound like bacon sizzling, only much, much louder, and the streetlights around them flickered briefly.

"Um. What...just happened?" Jareth asked, confused, as the barrier overhead vanished and the rain began to fall again.

Those were the last words out of his mouth before the monster thrust an arm forward, sending a coil of barbed wire that snaked out from its wrist, ensnaring the Gold Ranger around the midsection, his chainmail shirt the only thing saving him from being shredded by the metal barbs that ran down the length of the wire.

With a flick of its wrist, the monster yanked the coil, pulling Jareth off his feet and spinning him once around its head before releasing him, sending his body flying. With an "Oof!", he came crashing down onto the top of the train, sliding across the wet surface and tumbling off of the other side.

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Brad let out an "Oomph!" as he was thrust back against the metal shaft of a streetlight, knocking the wind out of him. The Haezoh that had him pinned drew back its arm, aiming to stab him through the visor of his helmet with its blade.

Energy coursed through the metal against his back…he could feel it. A desperate idea planted itself in his mind.

Glaring through the pain, the Red Keeper thrust his hands out to the sides, fists clenched.

Metal groaned as, in response to his motion, the thick cables within the shaft of the streetlight tore free from their prison, breaking free from the steel pole. The light flickered out, its power supply disrupted, the sparking cables swaying freely though the air like living things. The Haezoh paused, eyeing the cables warily.

There was just one problem with his plan.

"Nette!" he called. The water!"

The Black Keeper paused, glancing his way. She saw what he was about to try…and realized that he would fry himself if he did.

"Liz, cover me," she requested.

Standing next to her, the Pink Keeper nodded. "Can do," she said. The pink halberd she was using to fend off the Haezoh vanished, and she thrust her arms to the sides, projecting a sphere of force around herself and her friend.

Antoinette closed her eyes and concentrated. The falling raindrops slowed, then ceased, floating freely as if gravity had ceased to apply. More kept falling, but Liz remedied that, creating a second telekinetic shield above them.

"Hurry," she muttered, eyes closed tightly as she strained to maintain such a large barrier.

Focusing carefully, the Black Keeper weaved the floating globlets of water together, causing them to join into a long, watery rope. Tendrils of water floated up off of the ground, from puddles and potholes, streaming up off of every wet surface nearby, including the bodies of the Keepers.

Once everything was dry, the rope of water that floated, suspended in the air, came to life, darting to and fro, weaving its way across the battlefield until it connected every last one of the Haezoh.

Pete, Helaprosti, and John stopped what they were doing and broke off their attacks, realizing that the others had something planned. They stepped back and waited warily.

"Now!" Nette commanded desperately, not certain how long she could maintain the effect. Just sparing the concentration to speak had caused the rope to waver; she had to focus even harder afterwards to get it to regain its cohesion.

Brad kicked the Haezoh that was holding him against the pole, knocking it back, then gestured at it. The sparkling wires snaked forward.

There was a surge of energy that vibrated the very air, the powerful current traveling through the coil of water, racing from body to body. In an instant, the soulless creatures had been cooked alive. Ionized steam, all that remained of the rope of water, filled the air, along with the acrid stench of fried Haezoh.

There was a long pause. Finally, the Keepers relaxed. Liz's shield dropped. The cables drooped, lifeless. And, finally, the rain that had been held back began to fall again, enveloping them with the sound of droplets striking the concrete.

The Keepers regarded each other in silence for a moment.

"That went well," Pete said.

"What about those kids in the train?" Liz asked. "Are they okay?"

As if in answer to her question, there was an anguished wail, and a black-clothed form flew through the air, skidded across the top of the train, and fell to the pavement, rolling to a halt. A strange blaster made of gold metal clattered to the ground next to him.

"Ow," he said weakly.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Liz asked, helping him to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm used to it," the boy replied, in the careful, deliberate manner of someone not speaking his first language. He seemed uninjured, but his clothes bore the unmistakable marks of having been slashed at by Haezoh leaves. His shirt had been torn just below his ribs, its bottom half was still attached only by a few threads. Through the holes in his shirt, glinting golden metal was visible. A soggy, sodden, wide-brimmed hat sat atop his head, though how he'd managed not to lose it while being thrown was far from clear.

He looked around, then, spying his weapon, bent down to pick it up.

A long, dark, ropy tail, with a golden tuft on the end, waved lazily back and forth behind him as he did.

"Ummm…," Pete said intelligently.

"Oh, hey," the boy said, straightening and seeming to realize for the first time to whom he was speaking. "Native Rangers. Cool."

The Keepers exchanged glances.

"Well," the stranger said finally. Smirking, he jerked his thumb towards the train. "Party's on the other side."

Before they could say anything further, he put his fingers to his lips and blew a sharp whistle. The door of the train opened and a rectangular piece of embroidered cloth flew out. Hopping aboard, the strange boy flew up and over the train, vanishing from sight.

"He has. A flying. Carpet," Brad said slowly, trying to assimilate that fact.

"He has a _tail_," Pete added.

A loud scream from the other side of the train split the air.

"He has trouble," Antoinette summed up.

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"I don't like this planet," Deacon announced. "It's too cold, it rains all the time, and places close way too early."

Tommy glanced back at the glass doors of the library, which were being locked from within by the surly librarian. He glanced at his watch.

"They were supposed to stay open at least another hour. Unless my watch is off."

"Your watch is always off," Deacon grumbled. He held out his hand, toying with the wall of water that tumbled from the awning that kept the sidewalk dry. "It only goes to twelve."

"All the clocks here stop at twelve," Lolli informed him. The Green Ranger was sitting idly on the sidewalk, tinkering with her wristwatch using a tiny, sparking tool that she'd produced from some hidden pocket. "Haven't you noticed?"

"Not really," the Silver Ranger said flatly. "So now what do we do?"

"Wait for the rain to let up, then head back to the train and meet up with the others," Tommy replied.

There was a loud burst of electricity, and Lolli made a satisfied noise, holding up her left arm and eyeing the wristwatch with the closest thing to a smile she ever wore.

"What have you DONE to that thing?" Tommy inquired.

What had once been a simple clear-green plastic digital watch was now a much wider, thicker, bulkier device…still clear-green and still obviously a watch, but very much changed.

"Yeah, you've been fiddling with it the whole trip," Deacon concurred. "What's it do? Shoot lasers? Project force-fields? Make ice cream?"

"Remember Pilot?" Lolli asked, fishing into her pocket and removing a small black disk, about an inch or so across.

"Your talking laptop?" Deacon ventured.

"That's the one. Well, the laptop was crushed when the Oasis crashed, but I managed to save his hard drive. And so…" Pressing a hidden switch and opening the face of the watch, Lolli snapped the disk into place. Closing the lid, she pressed a button on the watch's face.

The face lit up, and began to make horrible noises, like gravel in a blender, the dial around the circular face spinning erratically, jerkingly, in both directions. When it finally ceased, the watch spoke.

"…Hello?"

"Ta da!" Lolli cried. "Welcome back, Pilot."

"Lolli? Deacon. Tommy. What happened?" the watch's tone was a puzzled one. "And how am I capable of seeing you when my camera appears to be missing?"

"It looks like your hardware's been…modified," Deacon told him.

There was a pause as Pilot ran a quick diagnostic. "So it has. Well, thank you for finally repairing me. Even if it HAS taken you a month and six days to get around to it."

"Hey, a lot's been going on," Lolli said defensively. "Be glad I got around to it at all."

"How did he know how long it's been since the crash?" Tommy asked.

"Hello? I AM a watch," Pilot replied. "Apparently..."

"Oh. Right."

"And to answer your question, Deacon…yes. Everything but the ice cream."

Lolli fiddled with the watch's buttons, then stepped out into the street. The rain never touched her, running off an invisible barrier that floated above her head. She grinned up at it, then shot a challenging glance at her fellow Rangers.

"Well?" she asked. "Are you coming?"

Tommy and Deacon exchanged a glance, then stepped off the sidewalk, careful to stay under Pilot's force-field.

"Not bad, for something I threw together out of spare parts," the Green Ranger said smugly.

"Yes, congratulations," Deacon muttered, smirking. "You've invented the umbrella."

"Oh, shut up."

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Murphy growled ferociously, attempting to defend Mara and, by proxy, Stephen, despite all the damage he'd sustained. He made a forward motion, as though to leap at the chainlink monster, but his damaged leg failed to support him and he fell to the pavement with an electronic whimper.

Chainlink threw back his barbed-wire head and let out a laugh, the sound reminiscent of an axe being sharpened. He took a step forward, kicking the malfunctioning dog aside as though he were a discarded soda can, and advanced on the two Rangers who stood backed up against the train.

Mara and Stephen exchanged a glance. There was no avenue for escape, not with the train behind them and the army of Heartless encircling them. There was no choice but to fight.

Stephen assumed a fighting stance he'd often seen Deacon use, and Mara mimicked him, hoping to at least make it_ look_ like she knew what she was doing.

Chainlink paused, considered, and decided he had the advantage. Assuming a stance of his own, he let out a roar and rushed forward.

"Yaa!"

Something black flew forward from above the train, smashing into Chainlink feet-first. The monster stumbled back a half step, but was otherwise undamaged.

Jareth, however, rebounded off of the monster and fell heavily to the pavement, butt-first.

"Oof! Ow…Okay, that's far enough!" he cried, staggering to his feet, lamp in hand. "Take a step back, foul demon, or face my wrath!"

Chainlink glowered, taking a menacing step forward. The Gold Ranger raised his lamp and pulled the trigger, grinning wickedly.

His grin faded as the drained lamp produced only sparks.

The monster tilted his head to the side, as if to say, "You've GOT to be kidding."

"Oops. Heh…forgot about that," Jareth chuckled nervously, tucking away the useless weapon. He extended his hand. "Umm…truce?"

Chainlink shook his head sadly.

"Didn't think so," the Gold Ranger replied flatly. He sighed. "All right, go ahead."

The monster delivered a savage backhand that lifted Jareth off his feet and sent him flying, over the heads of the Heartless and into a nearby alley, where he landed with a painful cry and a clattering of trash cans.

Chainlink gestured towards the alley with a nod of his head, and a pair of Heartless started off in that direction to finish off the downed Ranger.

"Jareth!" Mara yelled.

Stephen just shook his head, resumed his stance, and prepared to leap at the monster. They were definitely outmatched, but he was determined to at least go down fighting.

The beast started towards them again, but before it could get within ten feet, six figures vaulted over the train and landed between the monster and the Rangers.

They stood in fighting stances of their own, some wielding weapons, some not, each one wearing a monochromatic spandex-and-leather suit of a different color. Apart from the color, the only notable difference lay in the shape of the colored visors that stood out against the black helmets they wore.

"Power Rangers?" Mara asked softly, amazed.

"Aww, they started without us," the one in Green said.

"So let's catch up," the Pink one replied.

Five of the Rangers leapt into battle, some taking out the Heartless and others focusing on the Chainlink monster. The one wearing Black and Gold stayed behind, turning to Stephen and Mara.

"You two okay? Where's that other boy?"

Mara blinked. She'd nearly forgotten! "Down that alley. Two of those Heartless things went after him."

"Heartless? You mean the Haezoh?"

"Who cares what they're called?" Stephen demanded, pointing down the alley. "Just go save his ass!"

The female Ranger looked as though she was considering slapping him around till he changed his tone, but evidently decided to take care of business first. She ran off down the alley, hoping to catch up to the Haezoh before they caught up to the boy with the tail.

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It was bad enough that they had crash-landed in a dimension that wasn't theirs-the frigid temperature was a good indicator-but when Tommy, Lolli and Deacon returned to the crashsite, they were surprised by the chaotic scene.

A creature resembling a barb-wire mummy was having his way with the colorful defenders of this Earth, while their compatriots fended off dark creatures vaguely reminiscent of Ivan Ooze's foot soldiers, but with a plant motif.

"What the Hel?" Deacon asked, pretty much speaking for the all as they stood gaping.

"Those must be the local Rangers," Tommy assessed, doing a quick mental head count.

"One of ours is missing," he reported before darting from under Lolli's protective forcefield and into the frey. Lolli and Deacon weren't far behind. Zig-zagging through flailing limbs and flying bodies, the three Terran Rangers caught up to the rest of their team.

"We've only been here a couple hours and you've already landed into trouble," Deacon scolded jokingly, then took on a fighting stance of his own as he asked, "So, what did we miss?"

Taking Mara's arm, Lolli assessed the crimson stain that was spreading across the sleeve of her blouse. It was a nasty gash, good and deep. "We're gonna have to get that looked at."

"I'm fine," Mara dismissed nervously, and for a brief moment the two made eye contact. But Lolli was the first to break it.

"Where's Murphy?" Lolli demanded, letting go of Mara's bleeding arm and scanning for her mechanical dog. "Damn! I just fixed you!"

"Glad to see you, too," Mara muttered.

"Where's Jareth?" Tommy demanded.

"He got smacked down that alley," Stephen reported, gesturing to said alley with a nod of his head. "But one of them went to check on him," he finished.

The Red Ranger looked over to where the indicated local Rangers were battling it out, and found himself rushing over to join in. Tommy made his presence known by taking down a Haezoh upon arrival.

"Stay back!" the Red local Ranger warned, breaking focus long enough to get a barbwired fist to the gut.

"It looks like you could use some help," Tommy insisted, dodging the punches of one Haezoh.

Bringing his sword from its invisible sheath, the Red Keeper delivered a downward slash to the oncoming Chainlink, and barked, "Do you have a deathwish, man?"

"Nope, do you?" Tommy posed after delivering a spinning-heel kick to the head of his Heazoh.

"Shotokan Karate?" the Red Keeper identified, impressed, while fending off a pesky Haezoh.

"Second degree black belt," Tommy huffed, struggling to avoid the sharp-looking leaves of another Haezoh he was fighting. "You?" he posed, dodging an attempt at his head and then sweeping the legs from under the faceless freak.

"Hap ki do, black belt, first degree," the Red Keeper reported, lifting a flailing Haezoh into the air and hurling it at Chainlink.

All of a sudden Tommy found himself in the middle of a Haezoh dogpile, absorbing vicious kicks and punches, wishing he could morph.

_Wait a minute. Who says I can't? _Tommy reasoned to himself. He twisted his left hand, a small device appearing strapped to his wrist. A second small object materialized in his other hand.

"Shift into Turbo!" he invoked, sliding the key into his Turbo Morpher and giving it a sharp twist. There was a burst of red energy that threw the creatures off him, and he emerged from the dogpile as a fully morphed Turbo Red Ranger.

Mara, Lolli, and Deacon each did a double-take, the burst of red light catching their attention.

"How is his Turbo Morpher working _here_?" Deacon demanded, spinning to evade an unfriendly fist. "There's no way he can link up to his Zeo Crystal."

"His Turbo Morpher's running on the residual Zeo energy in his body. It won't last," Lolli replied, fiddling with the dial on her watch face. The watch lit up, blinking to life, a sphere of invisible energy growing to surround herself and Mara.

"You got it working," Mara noted, eyeing the watch the Green Ranger had been working on during their month-long train ride.

"Don't sound so shocked," Lolli rebuked, leaning back against the inside wall of their bubble and watching in amusement as the Haezoh pounded uselessly against the force field, trying unsuccessfully to penetrate the barrier.

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By the time the Black Keeper arrived at the ally, the two Haezoh had the boy with the tail cornered, and he was frantically knocking what looked like a gold-plated gravy boat against his other hand like a stubborn remote control.

"Hey!" the Black Keeper barked, hoping to draw the Haezoh's attention away from the strange-looking civilian.

"Gimme a second. I'll be right with you," the boy replied, as though she'd been addressing _him_.

You could almost _see_ the giant question mark float above the Black Keeper's head, but she didn't stay distracted for long. She'd managed to catch the attention of one of the Haezoh, and it acknowledged her by launching forth a thorny vine from its palm. She blocked it with one of the weapons she carried, a three-pronged stabbing implement, allowing the vine to wrap around _it_ instead.

The Black Keeper then yanked as hard as she could on her sai, raising its twin as the creature stumbled forward, aiming to stab it in the face, but as the creature's head drew nearer to the metal spike, it unfurled one of the vine-like tendrils from its head and ensnared the weapon, tearing it from her grasp.

This left Nette with a malevolent monster hurdling towards _her_, and not towards certain death as she'd hoped. She quickly released her remaining sai, the one with which the Haezoh's arm-vine was entangled, spinning aside. Now disarmed, she backed up, ending up against the wall alongside the black-clad civilian.

"Hey, how's it goin'?" he casually asked. "Friends of yours?"

The Black Keeper stared at him blankly. _Yeah, I got nothin'_ , she thought to herself.

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"Room for one more in there?" Stephen inquired, as the Haezoh backed him up against Pilot's shield.

"Say please," Lolli teased, adjusting the dial.

"Lolli!"

"Okay, okay, come in."

The White Ranger jumped through the force field's surface, which allowed him to pass while still keeping out the charcoal-skinned monsters.

"Deacon? You want in, too?" the Green Ranger asked.

"No thanks, I'm good!" he called back.

Deacon was fairing fairly well for a powerless human up against a small army of supernatural monsters…which is to say, he sported numerous bruises, several deep cuts, the beginnings of a black eye, and, he suspected, a broken toe.

He was having the time of his life.

"Remind me again why we can't morph?" Stephen requested.

"Well, Mara and I have our Turbo Morphers. Those should work, for a minute or two…," Lolli began.

As if on cue, Tommy's morph failed, returning him to human form.

"One minute, thirty-four seconds," Pilot reported. "Your results may vary…neither of you has Tommy's body mass, so you may not have absorbed as much-"

"No, I mean, why can't we morph with our REAL powers?" Stephen interrupted.

"Because the boundaries of pocket universes tend to cut us off from the Morphin Grid," the Green Ranger replied. "And that's where the energy comes from."

"And Oz was a pocket universe?"

"That's right."

Stephen ran a hand through his hair.

"Well, is THIS?"

Lolli blinked. "What?"

Stephen waved his arm, gesturing at the chaos outside their little bubble of safety. "This! Is it a _pocket _universe, or just a universe?"

Lolli and Mara exchanged a glance.

"He may have a point," Mara admitted.

"I hate it when that happens," Lolli grumbled. "Okay, let's find out. It's showtime."

Three Power Morphers appeared, materializing in their hands.

"**Brachiosaurus!"**

"**Dragonzord!"**

"**Pterodactyl!"**

The force field faded as Pilot vanished along with Lolli's human body, but the armored bodies of the Green, White, and Pink Rangers now stood in its place.

"I love it when I'm right," Stephen said smugly.

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Spotting an opening, the Black Keeper insisted of her companion, "Run."

"Run? RUN?! What do you take me for? A coward?"

She shot him an incredulous look.

"Well, yeah, okay, I'm a coward. But I'll have you know that I'm also a mage! A really powerful mage."

"You're insane," Antoinette said flatly.

"And a mage! Watch!"

The boy with the tail stepped forward and brought his hands together, chanting.

"_Incantus Arumi Incendious_!"

To the Black Keeper's surprise, a golden ball of fire appeared between the boy's hands. He seemed just as surprised as she did, his face lighting up.

"Aha! Take that!" he cried, sending the sphere of magic hurtling at one of the Haezoh.

The ball struck the monster in the chest, wreathing it in golden flames, and then fading to reveal…

A snowman. A big, soot-colored snowman, complete with broomstick. And a carrot for a nose.

_Er-tay..._

"Oops," the boy muttered flatly.

Nette shrugged…as strange as thathad been, it had worked. Gathering up all the moisture in the air, she commanded, "Freeze!" turning the remaining Haezoh into an ice statue. Then, to finish it off, shoved it to the ground, causing it to shatter into large chunks.

Now that the alley was (live) Haezoh-free, the Black Keeper ventured, "Okay, so, how'd you do that?" She waved a hand in the general direction of the snow-Haezoh.

"I could ask you the same thing," the boy replied.

There was a loud shattering sound, as of a human-sized figure being slammed through a car's windshield.

"Ask me later," Nette replied. "We gotta go _now_."

"Yeah. Good call."

The Black Keeper raced out into the street, where, to her surprise, she saw a number of morphed figures…three of which looked very unconventional, their helmets molded in the shaped of animal faces and their bodies covered in some sort of strange plastic-metal armor.

"Wait a minute…You're a Keeper?" Antoinette asked. She glanced to her side, expecting to see the strange boy with the tail, but he was curiously absent.

"If 'Keeper' means 'Power Ranger', then guilty as charged."

She looked back to see him just approaching, having followed at a leisurely walk. He blinked in surprise at the sight of his fellow Rangers in full armor.

"And apparently I can morph!" he informed. "Good to know." He grinned at her. "See ya around," and ran off to join his compatriots.

After a millisecond more of gaping, the Black Keeper decided to do the same.

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_Whoa. _

Brad was in mid-strike when the flash of red caught his attention. He had to dodge the flying Heazoh, and when he looked again, the figure rising was unmistakably one of them A Keeper of the Power. No wait, those kids had called them "Rangers". Brad wasn't sure what the difference between a Keeper and a 'Ranger' was, but he was glad the Red Ranger was there. Especially after seeing him fight.

Shortly after the long-haired guy morphed, there came another flash of colored light—multiple flashes. Brad knew a morph when he saw it…and sure enough, three armored figures joined the carnage.

Good, because the trouble was about to be compounded, and he was still short a man—or rather a _wo_man. Speak of the Devil…There she was, cutting through the chaos to meet him.

"Check the reinforcements?" Antoinette puffed upon arrival. She crossed her sais above her head to block the downward slash of the Supreme's leaf dagger, pushing it away and forward-kicking the thing in its leather-bound gut.

"Yeah," Brad confirmed. "And we could use all the help we can g—" Brad continued, but was rudely cut off by an uppercut, immediately followed by a jab.

_Damn. Ptep's really laying it on heavy today. Must have something to do with the train._

The next thing Antoinette knew, her butt was hitting the cold, hard pavement. And before she could fully react, the Black Keeper found herself plucked up by one of her legs and thrown to land on the roof of an SUV.

Once her vision cleared, she took stock of the surrounding chaos and carefully extracted herself from the roof of the vehicle, which had been badly dented by the impact. She'd be feeling that come morning.

The scene around her was a bit much. To be fair, it wasn't as if she and her team had never experienced these kinds of odds, but this was different.

Up until this point, all their battle grounds had more or less been spacious, but this area was dense with abandoned vehicles, a huge steam train and relentless rain. Plus there was a ridiculously difficult monster, too many Haezoh, and another set of multicolored warriors; the danger increasing as space decreased.

Brad noticed this with increasing alarm.

The Red Keeper found himself ensnared in the crushing bear hug of the chain link monster. If the pressure of the creature's metal arms didn't do him in, the barbed wire cutting past his suit and into his flesh would.

Amidst the pain, he almost forgot that despite this prickly situation, he had the upper hand. He had to smirk.

Focusing outside of the pain, the Red Keeper willed the metal coils that made up his adversary to slowly come undone, and concentrated further on the creature's arms until it released him.

"There's a good boy," Brad quipped.

"Okay, guys! Let's power up!" Brad announced, and the other Keepers turned to acknowledge him. "**Yogenta! Power up**!" the Red Keeper announced, then headed off the role-call.

"**Aqubachina**!" Brad invoked. Instantly, the design of his suit changed and the spandex of his suit was replaced with an armored leather to rival that of the Haezoh Supreme. The transformation was punctuated by the spilling off of red energy that blasted the Supremes nearest him back. Brad then conjured his sword.

"**Bunicentis!**" Liz commanded, her suit going through a similar transformation—similar in that the girls' suits were slightly different to begin with—and then brought forth her halberd.

"**Caerulame!**" Antoinette called, summoning her sai.

"**Caeluvertus!**" John summoned, and brought out his axes.

"**Mutaridequa!**" Pete called up and procured his short swords.

"**Dralgonus!**" Helaprosti bade, bringing out his sword and igniting it.

"Now the real fun begins," Brad announced.

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Seemingly all too soon, Tommy found himself once again unmorphed, and as much as he'd have liked to find out why that was, he couldn't spare the time, for those faceless creatures were advancing towards him.

But before he could give too much thought to the fact that his was the only unmorphed body, there came another flash of multi-colored light so powerful, it sent the nearby creatures flying. It forced even him backwards a few steps. A quick glance at the native defenders showed that they had apparently Battleized, or whatever the local equivalent was.

The charcoal creeps were momentarily disoriented. Good.

Deacon staggered over to his side, clutching his ribs. He looked like he'd been through a meat grinder, but he was grinning widely.

"Are we having fun yet?" he asked.

Before Tommy could reply, Jareth appeared.

"I am! And you would be too, if you looked over thataway."

Tommy and Deacon followed his finger, to see the other three Rangers, fully morphed and locked in combat with the Haezoh who had been standing too far away to be stunned by the morph-effect the locals had caused.

"We can _morph_," Deacon declared, his grin growing still wider.

The Haezoh began to regain their senses, moving towards the Rangers.

"Looks that way," Tommy said. "So what are we waiting for?"

"I've been waiting for Psychonauts 2 to come out," Jareth offered.

Tommy sighed, shaking his head. "Just morph."

**"Lion!"**

** "Elephant!"**

** "Tyrannosaurus!"**

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"Pterodactyl Thunder Whip!"

The ribbon of pink light lashed out through the crowd, slicing long gashes in the hard exoskeletal bodies of the charcoal-colored footsoldiers. Grayish slime poured out, like ash mixed with water.

"Ew," she complained, retracting the whip back into its handle. She took a few steps back, her back meeting those of the White and Gold Rangers. "This poor thing'll never be the same," she lamented, petting the whip.

"This is no time to get sentimental," the sword in Stephen's hand chastised, even as the scimitar was being wielded against any Haezoh that ventured too close. "Keep your mind on the task at hand, Pink Ranger."

"Oh, you worry too much," the almost-identical feline head on the end of the Gold Ranger's scythe replied, mowing the legs out from under a particularly belligerent undead monster. "We're winning."

"And I would very much like it to stay that way," Saba replied. "Which will not happen unless we stay focused."

"If you focus too much on one thing, you miss everything else," Kyra replied. "Best to just let it flow."

"You _would _say something like that. You were always-"

"_Guys!_" Jareth and Stephen yelled.

The two weapons fell silent under the glare of their wielders.

"Sorry," they replied sullenly.

_Thank you for NOT being sentient_, Mara thought, twirling her whip fondly before flinging its long coils out at the ranks of villains once again.

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Deacon reached behind him and produced a pair of diamond-edged radial saws, setting them whirring with a thought and diving forward, moving his arms in wide sweeps. Haezoh ducked and weaved, evading his slashes.

Encircled, the Silver Ranger ducked low and spun, cutting them all off at the knees. Jumping free from the circle of crippled monsters, Deacon sought fresh foes…not a difficult search.

Something scrabbled at his boot. He glanced down to see one of the legless Haezoh clinging to his leg, about to impale him through the thigh with an energy-blade.

"Gah!" he yelled. Producing his Blade Blaster, he pointed it at the creature's head and ventilated its skull with more shots than were strictly necessary.

"Tenacious little buggers," he muttered, as it fell motionless.

He produced his swords and backed away from the crawling remainder of his victims, along with a number of completely healthy (if undead can ever be called healthy) Haezoh who had been fortunate enough to escape his saws, stopping only when his back bumped someone else's. He spun, swinging…only to find his weapon crossed with that of the native Blue Ranger.

Neither quite relaxed. Instead they automatically switched places and began fighting back-to-back.

"These things have any weaknesses?" Deacon inquired casually.

"Just keep hitting. They go down eventually."

The Silver Ranger grinned widely beneath his helmet. "I was hopin' you'd say that."

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"They keep coming," Nette muttered, her arms on autopilot as her long hours of training paid off, her sais catching leaf-blades and piercing dusky armored shells. "They just. Keep. Coming."

"I need a vacation," Liz complained, pulling the bladed end of her halberd free from a Haezoh skull.

Kicking away her latest opponent, the Black Keeper stowed her weapons and stomped on the ground, prompting a large stalagmite to spring up from beneath the asphalt, not so much impaling the Haezoh as smashing it from below and knocking it helplessly into the air.

…Almost just in time for the Green Ranger to be thrown into it, the stone crumbling as her golden vest-thing struck it.

"Ya know, I _knew _the rock-spike thing was a bad idea as soon as I did it," the Black Keeper said contritely, pulling her weapons back out as still more of the zombies advanced.

"You okay?" Liz asked, helping her up.

"Fine," the girl replied, shaking back the long, blonde hair that spilled out the back of her helmet. "How 'bout you guys? Holdin' up okay?'

"We're hangin' in." Nette replied tensely, both of her sai currently entangled in vine-coils, one of her legs pressed against their owner's chest in an attempt to keep him at bay.

"Ruby Ray!"

A red laser-beam lanced out from the gem on the Green Girl's helmet, somehow reducing the vines to salad without damaging the weapons they had held.

"Thanks," Nette replied, gathering up a handful of water from the still-growing puddles on the ground and condensing it into a spike of ice around her sai, with which she impaled her opponent through the thorax. The ice spread across and throughout the Haezoh, allowing her to shatter it with a well-placed tap.

"Anytime."

The three of them became aware of the presence of the two Red-armored fighters, who'd managed to fight their way over to them.

"We're getting nowhere," Brad complained.

"I'd noticed," the other man in Red agreed.

"Any thoughts?"

"A couple," the foreign Keeper (Ranger? Whatever) replied. "Care to discuss them?"

"Come on," the girl in Green said. "Let's keep these things at bay while the Reds confer."

Liz twirled her bladed staff expertly. "After you."

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"What the hell could they be talking about?" Stephen puffed.

The other Terrans glanced over in the direction he indicated, to see Tommy and his red-garbed counterpart conferring in the midst of the battle. As they watched, the two split up, each one making his way through the hoard of enemies to regroup with his team.

As the native Red Ranger joined his group, the Pink one spread her arms apart, surrounding their team with a telekinetic bubble.

Stephen clapped his hands, the markings on his Tiger-shield coming to life with white light. He then forced his hands out to the sides, a sphere of white energy expanding to surround them, forcing back the marauding Haezoh-Heartless-whatever-things.

_Alright, fellahs, here's the plan_, Brad began, getting the attention of the other Keepers mentally. _We're gonna try and get barb-wire face in the middle…_

"Here's what we're gonna do, guys," the Red Ranger informed his team, who was huddled inside Stephen's shield, listening intently. "We're gonna force these zombie freaks in the middle…"

_Once everyone's together, Nette, Liz, I need you two to immobilize them…_

"Once they're frozen, Mara, Lolli, I need you two to operate the Canine Canon and blow 'em sky high."

_They'll be blown sky high!_

"Yeah, that's a great plan, fearless leader," Jareth said. "Except…"

"I don't think Murphy's up to any blasting," Mara said apologetically.

The Red Ranger glanced over through the milky white barrier at the fallen machine, who was lying on the side of the battlefield, sparking from numerous wounds.

"Lolli? How long will it take you to get him back on his feet?" Tommy asked.

"To get him working at peak condition, a few hours."

"And to just get him working well enough for a Canine Cannon blast?"

The Green Ranger performed a few mental calculations. "Thirty-eight seconds."

"Make it happen," Tommy commanded. As she left, he turned to the others. "Okay, we need to buy her time. Start forcing these…things…over in that direction. Stephen, you take left. Deacon, right. I'll take middle. Mara, take to the sky. Give us an Arrow Storm on my signal."

"Roger that," she replied, saluting and then taking off into the sky, the surface of the white sphere rippling as she passed through it.

"And me?"

Tommy turned towards Jareth. "You," he replied. "Start singing."

Jareth grinned. "Sing what? Should I bust a rhyme, gangsta-style, or shall we take a stroll down Broadway?"

Tommy rolled his eyes, unsheathing his sword and releasing the hook-claws from within his gauntlet. "Just _sing_!"

"Whatever you say," the Gold Ranger replied, as the shield vanished and Tommy, Stephen, and Deacon ran into the fray.

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Liz dropped her shield and the Keepers started to move…only to pause as the sound of music began to drift over the battlefield, apparently coming from…everywhere.

"Okay, what's _that_?" Pete asked flatly.

Liz considered. "I think it's _Do You Believe in Magic_."

Nette blinked. "It IS _Do You Believe in Magic_," she confirmed. "What the hell?"

But things just got more bizarre, as ripples of gold light began playing over their armored bodies, casting a flickering amber glow over everything.

"This is new," John said, looking at his gold-enshrouded hands.

"Look sharp," Helaprosti warned.

Looking up, the group saw Chainlink striding slowly towards them. The group fanned out, surrounding him, leaving a gap in their circle in the direction they wanted him to go.

Chainlink thrust a hand forward, sending out a snake of barbed wire that shot towards Pete's head. The Green Keeper easily sidestepped it, severing it with a twirl of his blade.

"Is he slowing down?" the boy inquired curiously.

Helaprosti glanced across the crowded lot to where the strangers were rounding up the Haezoh. The golden light played over them as well. Pink was nowhere to be seen, Green was crouched off to the side, fiddling with something, Red, Silver, and White were fighting…but Gold was just standing there, apart from the action. The strange song appeared to be coming from him.

"No," he replied, catching on. 'We're moving _faster_."

"Score," Liz accepted. "So let's use it."

And with that, the Keepers rushed back into battle, assaulting the metallic monster from all sides, but attempting to drive him in one general direction.

"Woah!" Pete yelled, as a lucky flick of the monster's arm sent a coil of sharpened wire wrapping around his waist. Wincing as the metal cut through his leather armor and sliced his skin, Pete failed to react in time to prevent the creature from lifting him up off his feet and throwing him skyward.

The world tumbled end-over-end for him until he employed his ability to fly, bringing his sickening jaunt to a smooth halt.

"Whew," he muttered, shaking his head. Blinking, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye…a flash of pink, standing in bright contrast against the leaden gray sky.

The newly arrived Pink Ranger, just floating there, sitting cheekily on nothing. There was a pink-and-white bow in her hand, although she wasn't using it for anything other than absently twirling it like a baton.

Pete drifted over to her. She started as he came near, surprised.

"Another flier," she said. "Cool. Hi, I'm Mara."

"Um, Pete," the Green Keeper replied, shaking her hand. "Not to tell you how to do your job or anything, but shouldn't you be down there, helping?"

"Shouldn't YOU?" Mara replied. "I'm waiting for my cue, if you must know."

"Your cue? To do what?"

"You'll see. Seriously, get back down there. This is the good part…you don't want to miss it."

Pete shrugged, turning away from her and putting his body at the right angle to fly down and rejoin his team…but he paused, catching sight of two Haezoh standing atop one of the nearby buildings, staring up at them. Just standing there, staring, in a very, very unnerving manner.

_Spider-sense tingling, _Pete thought in a worried tone. _Whatever they're up to, it can't be good._

Sure enough, as the Green Keeper watched in horrified fascination, the mud-like flesh on the Haezoh' backs seemed to liquefy, a pair of distorted growths bubbling up from their skin. The ugly bulges swelled, them seemed to deflate like balloons, leaving each of the undead monsters with a pair of limp flaps of leathery skin growing from its back.

Then the flaps stood straight up, revealing themselves to be boneless, veined, leathery wings. They immediately began to flap so fast as to become nearly invisible, filling the air with a deadly hum.

_Uh-oh, _Pete barely had time to think.

The Haezoh rocketed up into the air, one of them tacking Pete and sending him spinning end-over-end through the air it grappled with him, the other shooting past them towards the Pink Ranger.

Mara, about to release her arrow, saw the Haezoh coming at the last minute and turned, letting loose her shot. The shining pink projectile pierced the monster through the torso, leaving behind a small hole through which ashen mud poured, but it didn't even seem aware of the injury.

Raising her bow, Mara braced for impact as the flying minion slammed heavily into her, its momentum carrying them both higher into the air.

Mara grimaced, pushing back with all the force her flying power could give her, bringing their upward travel to a halt and, gradually, reversing their direction. The Haezoh struggled, pushing back with all the thrust its wings could provide, the whole while clinging tenaciously to the shaft of Mara's bow and ignoring her attempts to kick it free.

The Pink Ranger was so intent on trying to dislodge the monster that she didn't notice as its head reared back, as though it was inhaling. The monster suddenly thrust its head forward, spitting a stream of thin green liquid from the vines on its head directly into Mara's face.

Mara screamed, releasing her grip on her bow as the acid began to eat at her visor, the damage translating into an unbearable burning in her eyes. Blinded, she fell end-over-end for a moment until she managed to desperately arrest her flight. Staying in the air, as opposed to falling, was instinct…but she simply hovered helplessly, hands pressed to her damaged faceplate, unable to do anything but wish fervently for the fiery pain to fade.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooo

_ ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss _

Rangers were fast to begin with, but with the magic of the Gold Ranger's song playing over them, the White, Silver, and Red Rangers practically flew as they raced back and forth, herding the hapless Heartless over towards the barbed-wire monster.

Tommy spared a glance in that direction, and had to do a double-take…Jareth's music was affecting the native Rangers as well as them. That was new…normally the effect confined itself to their group.

The other team of Rangers was, to put it simply, kicking ass. The monster wasn't able to land a single blow, whatever he did. Lightning-fast kicks, punches, and blows from various weapons were coming at him from all angles, sometimes high, sometimes low, but always with the intent of forcing him in one direction. Tommy had to hand it to these locals…they knew their stuff. Almost better than his own team.

Okay…definitely better than his own team. They acted in concert effortlessly, obviously enjoying the benefits of lots and lots of training together. None of the Terran Rangers, with the possible exception of himself, Deacon, and Fox, EVER trained, let alone together.

A bash against the side of his helmet brought Tommy's thoughts back to the here and now. Planting a foot against the chest of the Heartless who'd struck him, the Red Ranger twisted himself up into the air, using his power to remain suspended and spinning as he planted kick after kick against the undead creature's torso, driving it back towards the rest.

Finally backflipping off the monster, Tommy's boots struck the street again with a splash. He extended the hooked claw-blades from his gauntlet and turned to find his next opponent, but before he could, Lolli made the announcement.

"Done!" she called, hefting Murphy in his cannon-mode.

Tommy gritted his teeth. As another of the Heartless struck at his feet, he leapt back, landing several feet away.

"Rangers, back off!"

Tommy grinned, turning to the Silver Ranger. "Deacon. Round 'em up."

"Aye, captain!" Deacon saluted with one of his swords. **"Razor Rush!"** he invoked, magic causing his words to reverberate.

Melting into a streak of silver, the Ranger raced in circles around the group of zombie-like creatures, splashes of inky, ash-colored mud flying as unseen diamond-edged blades cut through their chitinous skins.

There was a loud crashing sound from nearby, and the metallic wire-monster was thrown their way. Deacon phased back into normal reality alongside Tommy and Stephen as the monster landed roughly, more or less in the center of the group of minions.

As soon as it did so, all of the monsters began to struggle against some unseen force…the Pink Keeper's telekinesis, attempting to hold them in place. The Black Keeper stepped forward and likewise did her part, the abundant water gathering itself to the monsters and freezing in place, encasing them all in a layer of ice so bone-chillingly old that it was all any of them could do to move.

Conjuring his Blade Blaster, Tommy fired a single shot, straight up.

_ oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooo_

_ ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss _

The Green Keeper and the flying Haezoh jerked this way and that, erratically zigzagging through the air as they fought for control of their course.

With a valiant effort, Pete managed to twist himself free from the undead minion's grasp, spinning away and severing one of the Haezoh's wings with a lucky swipe of his sword. The monster went into a lopsided downward spiral, falling towards the pavement below.

"Yes!" Pete said, watching eagerly for the monster to go splat.

Instead, it regrew its wing and shot back up towards him.

"No!" Pete amended, in the exact same tone. He glared down at it. "Fine. Come get some." Tightening his grip on his swords, he shot down and met the creature head on, the impact almost knocking him out as the two tumbled downward.

The Haezoh was just as winded by the impact, its wingbeats faltering…and that was all the opportunity Pete needed. Two more well-timed swipes removed the wings, taking away any control the Haezoh had.

Seizing the struggling monster firmly, Pete shot down as fast as he could, adding gravity's power to his own. About ten feet above the street, Pete shifted course, shooting out horizontally over the pavement, turning his downward momentum into speed.

Throughout this whole process, the Haezoh had been struggling to regenerate its wings again. Finally, it succeeded, its wings beating furiously in an effort to take control of their flight.

"Not this time," Pete said, smiling.

The Haezoh produced a leaf-blade and drew back its arm to strike…just as Pete flew the undead monster straight into the arm of a streetlight with a sickening SQUELCH.

At that speed, the thick, blunt metal pole may as well have been a razor's edge. The Haezoh was sliced cleanly in half, its entire back side gone in an instant. Its remains crumbled away, dissolving into filthy mud in Pete's arms. He laughed triumphantly, adjusting his flight and rocketing back upwards.

_ oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooo_

_ ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss _

A line of fire erupted across Mara's stomach as a blade raked across her armor. Another slash appeared on her arm, yet another down her leg.

Unarmed and still blind, The Pink Ranger produced her Blade Blaster and desperately slashed at the air around her. A surge of triumph shot through her as she felt her blade catch on something and heard the screech of a wounded monster.

Then it was gone, leaving her floating in the black.

"Where are you?" she whispered.

The burning was gone, her face tingling as her helmet slowly began to heal. The world began to return, albeit blurry and dim.

Then everything was fire again as the air nearby pressed against her, an ear-compressing BOOM and a wall of flame knocking her sideways through the air.

She tumbled, and was just beginning to right herself when it happened again, another explosion knocking her aside and sending her spiraling towards nowhere.

"Okay," she muttered. "That's really starting to get old."

She shot straight up and shook her head, the world finally returning to focus, her gaze falling on the flying monster as it prepared to launch yet another exploding seed.

In its free hand, it held her bow.

Her eyes narrowed at the monster. "That's _mine_," she growled. Unbeknownst to her, her eyes began to shine beneath her helmet, and the Power Coin in her belt began to emit a blinding, bright pink light.

The beast fired its seed.

Mara's hand shot out and caught it. A moment later, there was a muffled _whump_, and black smoke curled up from between her fingers.

Pete, who'd been shooting back up to help, froze, jaw slack in astonishment. He even backed up a bit…power was pouring off the girl in waves, you could _feel _it, rippling through the air. He watched as the girl raised her arms, holding them straight out on either side.

**"Leap of Faith!" **the Pink Ranger invoked, her entire body turning into a silhouette of pink energy, a long stream of light erupting from either arm and curving into a giant crescent. Like an arrow from the bow this crescent formed, the bolt of light that was Mara shot forward with blinding speed, leaving the Haezoh with no time to react. It struck the monster head-on…and then the light faded.

For a split second, nothing happened.

Then, just as Pete was beginning to think that nothing would, the flying Haezoh exploded from within, a massive sphere of unearthly, blinding pink-white light flaring into being, sending out a halo-shaped shock wave that expanded outwards, lighting up the sky and sending the hapless Green Keeper tumbling back.

When he finally righted himself, he saw the Pink Ranger, floating where the Haezoh had been, bow in hand, the pink glow from the coin in her belt buckle fading.

Then, the Pete's shock and dismay, she went limp and began to fall, demorphing with a flash of Pink light, completely out cold.

_ oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooo_

_ ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss _

There was a long, expectant pause. Even the half-frozen monsters seemed to be waiting, as if curious as to why the Red Ranger would choose to shoot UP.

Tommy glanced skyward.

"Problem, fearless leader?" Jareth asked.

"Your sister's late."

"She's always late," the Gold Ranger replied. "You should plan around it."

**"Leap of Faith!"**

Everyone's head jerked up at the words that echoed from above. Suddenly, a bow of pink light appeared, fired off what appeared to be an enormous energy arrow, and finally dissipated. The arrow struck something unseen, and likewise vanished. A moment later, the entire sky erupted in a blinding pink supernova.

"Ow," Jareth said succinctly, hands covering his visor as though rubbing his eyes.

"Was that _Mara_?" Lolli asked, astounded, moving to stand next to them, Canine Cannon in hand. "Since when can she do THAT?"

Something green came hurtling down from the sky. As it drew near, it revealed itself to be the Green Keeper, carrying a disoriented Mara. He righted himself and set his feet on the ground.

"Mara?" Lolli asked, concern in her voice as she moved to support her friend.

"M'okay," she muttered. "Just…tired."

"Guys," Stephen said in a warning tone, drawing the Rangers' attention back to the monsters, who had had enough standing around. They were struggling valiantly against the forces holding them immobile, and were beginning to win.

"Right. Lolli."

The Green Keeper moved to the front, leveling the Canine Cannon.

"Pete!" Brad called. Pete glanced over to the Keepers, who had combined their weapons, forming a large cannon of their own. He hasted to join them, adding his swords to the assembly.

For the first time, the chainlink monster seemed uncertain, glancing from one superweapon to the other in dismay.

"Let 'em have it!" Deacon commanded joyously.

Lolli pulled the trigger, as did Brad.

Twin blasts of energy struck the chain-wire monster, who promptly exploded in an enormous fiery blast, taking all of the nearby Haezoh with him, metal shrapnel and shreds of mud, ash, and leathery flesh showered the area. Out of long habit, the Rangers and Keepers automatically turned their backs, bracing against the blast, closing their eyes tightly until it was over and the only sound left was that of the still-falling rain.

Once the bits of wire and long-dead organics settled, and all unwanted remnants were shaken free from fur and leather, capes and manes, the Green Keeper finally spoke.

"Well, that was fun."

"Yeah," the Pink Ranger concurred, still a bit unsteady on her feet. "Let's _not_ do that again real soon."


End file.
